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Friedrich Engels and the Foundations of Socialist Governance

  • Book
  • © 2021

Overview

Authors:
  1. Roland Boer

    1. School of Marxism, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China

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  • Offers a unique insight into the structures of socialist governance in the world today
  • Does so by examining oft-ignored texts by Friedrich Engels at the roots of the Marxist tradition
  • Identifies the basic principles of socialist governance that are well worth reconsidering

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Philosophy (BRIEFSPHILOSOPH)

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
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  2. Introduction and Synopsis

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 1-8

  3. The State as a Separated Public Power

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 9-24

  4. Socialist Gewalt and the Dictatorship of the Proletariat

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 25-50

  5. Abolition or Dying Away of the State?

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 51-89

  6. Towards Enmeshed Socialist Governance

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 91-112

  7. Conclusion: What is in a Name?

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 113-117

  8. Back Matter

    Pages 119-123
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Keywords

About this book

This book states that the political systems of China, Vietnam, Cuba and other socialist countries are showing distinct maturity and ability to deal effectively with challenges – the most recent being the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to understand how they have developed their structures, it is time to return to the roots of the Marxist tradition and re-examine the question of socialist governance. It was Friedrich Engels (and less so Marx) who laid out some of the theoretical foundations for socialist governance. On the basis of extensive research in 1870s and 1880s, Engels developed his analysis of the nature of hitherto existing states as a ‘separated public power’; the role of the dictatorship of the proletariat and its exercise of power; the actual meaning of the ‘withering away of the state’, which would be one of the very last outcomes of socialist construction; and the nature of socialist governance itself. On this matter, he proposed a de-politicised public power that would stand in the midst of society and focus on managing the processes of production for the sake of the true interests of society.

Authors and Affiliations

  • School of Marxism, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China

    Roland Boer

About the author

Roland Boer is a professor in the School of Marxism, at Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China. Among numerous works on Marxism and philosophy, he has published the five-book work, The Criticism of Heaven and Earth (2007-14). In 2014, it was awarded the Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize. He has recently published Stalin: From Theology to the Philosophy of Socialism in Power (Springer 2017) and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners (Springer, 2021).

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Friedrich Engels and the Foundations of Socialist Governance

  • Authors: Roland Boer

  • Series Title: SpringerBriefs in Philosophy

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4695-9

  • Publisher: Springer Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-981-16-4694-2Published: 09 October 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-16-4695-9Published: 08 October 2021

  • Series ISSN: 2211-4548

  • Series E-ISSN: 2211-4556

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XV, 123

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Political Philosophy, Governance and Government, Political Theory

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