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: 12.10.2024). 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

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