Nikolay Bukharins Marxist Sociology Project

The article analyzes Nikolai Bukharin’s input in formation of the Marxist sociology school in the USSR in the 1920s. The ideological prerequisites for this school materialized at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries. Back then, demonstrating intensive development, Russian Marxism mainstream was formed as a result of internal struggle. G. Plekhanov, A. Bogdanov and V. Lenin were key figures of the intellectual struggle. It is paradoxical, but the Soviet school of Marxist sociology fused ideas of principal opponents - alleged theoreticians of Marxism.N. Bukharin played a key part in this synthesis. For the Russian Marxist sociology became a center of scientific social studies. Sociology is a prerequisite for scientific research in economic theory, and scientific socialism is a predictive and practical conclusion from historical materialism. N. Bukharin's sociological views were formed in the course of economic research on imperialism and developed from economic sociology to general sociological theory where he regarded this theory as historical materialism. Sociological interpretation of historical materialism filled it with scientific content and exposed contradictions in the theoretical system of its founders. This primarily concerned fundamental concepts of the system - the base and superstructure, productive power and production relations. Bukharin tried to modernize these theoretical constructs by proposing the idea of "immersing" the superstructure into the base and a living human machine. His ideas on dialectical unity of the individual and society and on stylistic unity of social life retain their heuristic significance nowadays. On the whole, N. Bukharin's sociological theory can serve as a stimulus for developing sociological position that can contribute to the search for a new model of social structure that ensures survival and development of Homo sapiens.

Keywords

N. Bukharin, sociology, historical materialism, Marxism, society, base, superstructure, productive power, production relations, classes

Received

03.09.2021

Publication date

27.09.2021

Number of characters

36332

Cite

GOST	Kononov I. Nikolay Bukharin's Marxist Sociology Project // Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya – 2021. – Issue 9 C. 105-116 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/socis/s013216250014594-6-1-en (circulation date: 04.05.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013216250014594-6
MLA	Kononov, Illia F "Nikolay Bukharin's Marxist Sociology Project." Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya 9 (2021):105-116. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250014594-6
APA	Kononov I. (2021). Nikolay Bukharin's Marxist Sociology Project. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya (9), pp.105-116 DOI: 10.31857/S013216250014594-6

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 1026

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Bogdanov A.A. (1918) New World. 2nd ed. Moscow: Kommunist. (In Russ.)
2. Buharin N., Preobrazhensky E. (1922) The ABC of Communism. The Popular Explanation of the Program of the Communist Party of Russia. Transl. from Russ. by Eden and Cedar Paul. The Communist Party of Great Britain.
3. Bukharin N. (1922) Theory of Historical Materialism.Hamburg: Verlag der Kommunistischen Internationale (In Germ.)
4. Bukharin N.I. (1928) The Theory of Historical Materialism. A Popular Textbook of Marxist Sociology. 5th ed. (stereotyp.). Moscow-Leningrad: Gosizdat. (In Russ.)
5. Bukharin N.I. (1988b) Selected Works. Moscow: Politizdat. (In Russ.)
6. Bukharin N.I. (1989) Problems of the Theory and Practice of Socialism. Moscow: Politizdat. (In Russ.)
7. Bukharin N.I. (1990) Selected Works. Preface, comments by S. L. Leonov. Moscow: Economica. (In Russ.)
8. Bukharin N. (1925)Historical Materialism: A System of Sociology. New York: International Publishers.
9. Bukharin N. (2005) Philosophical Arabesques. Transl. by R. Clarke. New York: Monthly Review Press. 
10. Bukharin N.I. (1925) The Political Economy of the Rentier. The Theory of Value and Profit of the Austrian School. 4th ed. (stereotyp.). Moscow-Leningrad: Gosizdat. (In Russ.)
11. Bukharin N.I. (1988a) Selected Works: History and Organization of Science and Technology. Ed. by E.P. Velikhov. Leningrad: Nauka, Leningradsk. otd. (In Russ.)
12. Discussion on the Marxist Understanding of Sociology. (1929) Istorik-marxist [Marxist Historian]. Vol. 12: 189–213. (In Russ.)
13. Gouldner A.W. (2003) The coming crisis of western Sociology. Transl. from Eng. A.S. Fomin, V.V. Kuznetsov, M.G. Ermakova. St. Petersburg: Nauka. (In Russ.)
14. Marx K. Theses on Feuerbach. In: Marx K., EngelsF. Works. 2nd edition. Vol. 3. Moscow: Politizdat: 1–4. (In Russ.)
15. Kremnyov E.V. (2020) Governance concepts in Chinese marxist Sociology in the early 20th century: tradition and revolution. Sotsiologicheskiye issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 5: 102–112. (In Russ.)
16. Kun M. (1992) Bukharin: His Friends and Enemies. Moscow: Respublika. (In Russ.)
17. Labriola A. (2010) Historical Materialism. Essays on the Materialist Conception of History. Transl. from It. and French. Moscow: LKI, 2010. (In Russ.)
18. Lenin V.I. (1969) Complete Works. Vol. 38. Moscow: Politizdat. (In Russ.)
19. Lenin V.I. (1970a) Complete Works. Vol. 39. Moscow: Politizdat. (In Russ.)
20. Lenin V.I. (1970b) Complete Works. Vol. 45. Moscow: Politizdat. (In Russ.)
21. Luhmann N. (2004) Society as a Social System. Transl. from Germ. A. Antonovsky. Moscow: "Logos". (In Russ.)
22. Lukács G. (1990) Review: Bucharin N. Theorie des Historischen Materialismus. Hamburg: Verlag der Kommunistischen Internationale, 1922. In: Shevchenko V. N. (1990) N. Bukharin as a theorist of historical materialism. Moscow: Znanie. 36–48. (In Russ.)
23. Marx K. (1962) Capital. Vol. 3. Part 2. In: Marx K., Engels F. Works. 2nd ed. Vol. 25. Part II.Moscow: Politizdat. (In Russ.)
24. Pavlyuchenkov S. A. (2008) "The Order of the Sword Bearers": Party and Power after the Revolution. 1917–1929. Moscow: Sobranie. (In Russ.)
25. Pisarev D.I. (1956) Realists. Moscow: Goslitizdat. (In Russ.)
26. Plekhanov G.V. (1941) The Materialist Conception of History. Moscow: Politizdat. (In Russ.)
27. Porshnev B.F. (2007) About the beginning of human history (problems of paleopsychology). St. Petersburg: Aleteya. (In Russ.)
28. Prisoner of the Lubyanka. Prison Manuscripts of Nikolai Bukharin. (2008). 2nd ed. Moscow: AIRO – XXI. (In Russ.)
29. Prot’ko T.S., Gritsanov A.A. (2009) Alexander Bogdanov. Minsk: Knihzny dom. (In Russ.)
30. Romanovskiy N.V. (2018) Our historical Sociology: fruits and worries. Sotsiologicheskiye issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 6: 79–90. (In Russ.)
31. Shevchenko V.N. (1990) N. Bukharin as a Theorist of Historical Materialism. Moscow: Znanie. (In Russ.)
32. Sorokin P.Α. (1994) Publicly Available Textbook of Sociology. Articles of different years. Moscow: Nauka. (In Russ.)
33. Stepin V.S. (2006) Philosophy of Science. Common problems: a textbook for graduate students and applicants for the degree of candidate of sciences. Moscow: Gardariki. (In Russ.)
34. Vodolazov G.G. (2014) Alternatives in history and history of alternatives (N. Bukharin against “barrack