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The Socialist Phenomenon: A Historical Survey of Socialist Policies and Ideals
The Socialist Phenomenon is a powerful survey of socialism and socialist thought from ancient times to the present day. Most assume that socialism and communism began with the writings of Karl Marx, but through his book Shafarevich lays out with amazing clarity that socialism is an evil that has been present in man’s thoughts and actions for thousands of years.
In the age of “democratic socialism” and other modern iterations, The Socialist Phenomenon reminds us of the truth about socialism and the dangers that come when societies embrace socialist policies and ideals.
435 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1975
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718 people want to read
About the author
Igor R. Shafarevich
49 books19 followersIgor Rostislavovich Shafarevich is a Russian mathematician who has contributed to algebraic number theory and algebraic geometry. He has written books and articles that criticize socialism and was an important dissident during the Soviet regime.
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January 16, 2012Recommended by Alexander Solzhenitsyn in his address, "A World Split Apart."
August 29, 2012
Ever wonder about the historical, psychological and spiritual facets of socialism? Is socialism a scientific theory? Is it a practice? Is it a special religion? Is it a feeling, a desire? Shafarevich discusses many approaches, rich with historical and biographical evidence. A masterpiece.
April 29, 2012
This book change totally my understanding of system I was living in 80es. Analysis of political system built by communists in Russia made by mathematician. Amazing work!
March 3, 2022
The Socialist Phenomenon examines socialism as a historical force, tracing it all the way back to Plato's republic and the Inca empire. Far from the Marxist view of socialism following capitalism, Shafarevich demonstrates how it has been a feature of thought and dogma since the axial age.
Why then? Because, he argues, that time was the start of a new spiritual understanding of individuality, with the emergence of greek philosophers and of christianity. The subsequent appearance of socialist thought in Plato and gnostic sects were a reaction to this new paradigm.
A common thread runs through various religious doctrines, states and utopian thinker's works, and much of the book is a survey of its four essential features: abolition of private property, abolition of the family, abolition of religion, and the all-encompassing striving for communality or equality. These do not appear to the same degree in different incarnations, but they're baked into the core of socialism.
What's wrong with equality, you ask. Having people treated fairly and as equals is a good thing! Shafarevich answers that in the socialist conception, equality applies not to these external conditions, but to the inner, resulting in the eradication of the individual and a movement towards a uniformity that could hardly seem human; man remade in the image of the ant. The author scatters examples of this reoccurring urge and wish throughout the book.
The most common modern appeal for socialism is social justice. Make things better for the downtrodden! Let's help those who cannot help themselves! But this exhortation is strangely lacking in the socialist literature. Au contraire, Shafarevich finds the repeated wish to make conditions worse for the poor. Because the worse things get, the closer we get to the revolution: "Communist life is a narrow path, leading through suffering to salvation". Russian socialists decried the abolition of serfdom, since improvements in the peasants lot could turn them away from the revolutionary path. The same thinking caused Nechayev and Bakunin to call for more oppression and tyranny towards the common man.
And so it is with Marx himself: workers must expect to endure up to fifty years of civil war and international strife to change yourselves and become capable of political supremacy. And every child from 9 years old yo should be a productive worker - this at a time when Dickens and other liberals were fighting against child labor. Numerous are the examples of Marx and Engels licking their lips at news of economic crises and coming bad harvests ("then the real fun will begin").
This view of history, of a direction towards salvation is heavily borrowed from christianity. In fact, the author considers socialism as a form of atheistic religion, a complete metaphysical system with extraordinary pull and capacity to inflame individuals and to inspire popular movements. This is the emotional attraction and fanatical devotion that cannot be explained when viewing socalism as an economical theory. There are similarities to be drawn between the fiery millenarian protestant preachers and the obsessed socialist pamphleter, personified in Lenin.
The great value of this work is that the analysis goes into realms not usually touched by analysis of socalism. Those that look at the economic plans or organization of society miss what is so alluring with the socialist impulse. Overall I very much liked this book. As someone who was pretty anti-socialist going in, this at first seemed to confirm suspicions I've held myself, but then veered off into pieces of history and philosophy that I never would have put together myself.
The rise of communism in the 20th century should be considered against the waning of religion in the west. Religion had been at the core of life since forever, and now a god-shaped hole needed filling. The new lodger became communism, and the fervent hatred and persecution towards what remained of religion indicates its adherents were aware that their dogma was the inheritor.
Shafarevich quotes Dostoyevsky at length for his prophetic words on what was to come in the wake of the spiritual crisis of his day:
"Lacking the instincts of animals. ..people placed great confidence in science, forgetting that for a task like the creation of society, science was still in its infancy. Dreams appeared. The future tower of Babel became the ideal and, on the other hand, the fear of all mankind. But the visionaries were soon followed by other doctrines, simple and to the point, such as ‘rob the rich, drown the world in blood and then everything will somehow arrange itself.’ ”
Why then? Because, he argues, that time was the start of a new spiritual understanding of individuality, with the emergence of greek philosophers and of christianity. The subsequent appearance of socialist thought in Plato and gnostic sects were a reaction to this new paradigm.
A common thread runs through various religious doctrines, states and utopian thinker's works, and much of the book is a survey of its four essential features: abolition of private property, abolition of the family, abolition of religion, and the all-encompassing striving for communality or equality. These do not appear to the same degree in different incarnations, but they're baked into the core of socialism.
What's wrong with equality, you ask. Having people treated fairly and as equals is a good thing! Shafarevich answers that in the socialist conception, equality applies not to these external conditions, but to the inner, resulting in the eradication of the individual and a movement towards a uniformity that could hardly seem human; man remade in the image of the ant. The author scatters examples of this reoccurring urge and wish throughout the book.
The most common modern appeal for socialism is social justice. Make things better for the downtrodden! Let's help those who cannot help themselves! But this exhortation is strangely lacking in the socialist literature. Au contraire, Shafarevich finds the repeated wish to make conditions worse for the poor. Because the worse things get, the closer we get to the revolution: "Communist life is a narrow path, leading through suffering to salvation". Russian socialists decried the abolition of serfdom, since improvements in the peasants lot could turn them away from the revolutionary path. The same thinking caused Nechayev and Bakunin to call for more oppression and tyranny towards the common man.
And so it is with Marx himself: workers must expect to endure up to fifty years of civil war and international strife to change yourselves and become capable of political supremacy. And every child from 9 years old yo should be a productive worker - this at a time when Dickens and other liberals were fighting against child labor. Numerous are the examples of Marx and Engels licking their lips at news of economic crises and coming bad harvests ("then the real fun will begin").
This view of history, of a direction towards salvation is heavily borrowed from christianity. In fact, the author considers socialism as a form of atheistic religion, a complete metaphysical system with extraordinary pull and capacity to inflame individuals and to inspire popular movements. This is the emotional attraction and fanatical devotion that cannot be explained when viewing socalism as an economical theory. There are similarities to be drawn between the fiery millenarian protestant preachers and the obsessed socialist pamphleter, personified in Lenin.
The great value of this work is that the analysis goes into realms not usually touched by analysis of socalism. Those that look at the economic plans or organization of society miss what is so alluring with the socialist impulse. Overall I very much liked this book. As someone who was pretty anti-socialist going in, this at first seemed to confirm suspicions I've held myself, but then veered off into pieces of history and philosophy that I never would have put together myself.
The rise of communism in the 20th century should be considered against the waning of religion in the west. Religion had been at the core of life since forever, and now a god-shaped hole needed filling. The new lodger became communism, and the fervent hatred and persecution towards what remained of religion indicates its adherents were aware that their dogma was the inheritor.
Shafarevich quotes Dostoyevsky at length for his prophetic words on what was to come in the wake of the spiritual crisis of his day:
"Lacking the instincts of animals. ..people placed great confidence in science, forgetting that for a task like the creation of society, science was still in its infancy. Dreams appeared. The future tower of Babel became the ideal and, on the other hand, the fear of all mankind. But the visionaries were soon followed by other doctrines, simple and to the point, such as ‘rob the rich, drown the world in blood and then everything will somehow arrange itself.’ ”
April 13, 2022
In The Socialist Phenomenon, an incisive book published in 1980 for which Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn penned a foreword, Shafarevich looks at the genesis of socialist doctrine. In many respects, this Russian Orthodox Christian’s analysis complements Catholic conservative arch-liberal Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn’s in Leftism (1974), and enjoys the heightened awareness of someone who spent a lifetime steeped in socialism’s consequences.
Towards the end of the book, Shafarevich contemplates the socialist ideal’s relationship to individuality. He writes: “all elements of the socialist ideal—the abolition of private property, family, hierarchies; the hostility toward religion—could be regarded as a manifestation of one basic principle: the suppression of individuality.” This may seem an obvious claim: that a collectivist, materialist ideology motivated by a death instinct would find an enemy in the individual, in individuality. What may not be so obvious are the tactics and lengths to which the socialists would go to grind their enemies down to level—how socialists would ultimately dynamite the mountains to fill the valleys.
Full review: https://amgreatness.com/2022/04/07/sh...
Towards the end of the book, Shafarevich contemplates the socialist ideal’s relationship to individuality. He writes: “all elements of the socialist ideal—the abolition of private property, family, hierarchies; the hostility toward religion—could be regarded as a manifestation of one basic principle: the suppression of individuality.” This may seem an obvious claim: that a collectivist, materialist ideology motivated by a death instinct would find an enemy in the individual, in individuality. What may not be so obvious are the tactics and lengths to which the socialists would go to grind their enemies down to level—how socialists would ultimately dynamite the mountains to fill the valleys.
Full review: https://amgreatness.com/2022/04/07/sh...
March 28, 2024
5/5 - best analysis of socialism I've ever read. I feel that I learned so much, I can't wait to take notes on everything and I need to read it again to fully grasp some of the arguments. It was so enlightening to track the consistencies in socialism across cultures and epochs. Also the characteristics of socialism which have been maintained, whether looking at chiliastic qualities of the heretical movements of the middle ages up to Marxism. I especially liked the final chapters on socialism and individuality - it provided a great explanation for why socialism wipes out individuality - and its ultimate goal of death - subtle but makes complete sense.
Great read - can't wait to incorporate into classes & research!
Great read - can't wait to incorporate into classes & research!
November 16, 2020
This was a great read showing the historic roots of Socialism and its types of manifestation.
How modern Socialism is a form of ancient Socialism is explained well.
This book provides true predictive power for a Sociologist, Psychoanalyst and anyone dealing with socialism in general.
Sociology students should read this to see socialism in true context. How it is not a new form of society but an ancient recurring form. With good and bad types of society it produces.
I studied Sociology at collage and Marxist theory was one of the mandatory approaches you had to use. Why political Marxism needs to destroy family, private ownership and Religion is not explained on the courses. This book examines this and i think explaines.
The positivist and functionalist approaches in sociology can be critiqued without the need for Marxism.
Collage tried to portray Marxism as a measured critic of society. This book shows that Marxism is instead an apocalyptic force against society's.
Marxist theory should be considered the same as fascist theory as an approach.
This books historic over view shows the gapping errors in Marxism and the ideological blindness it produces.
The revolutionary thought and rejection of current society are examined well i think.
The modern socialists need for violence and destruction are examined adequately. A modern psychoanalyst may be able to explain better the intense drive Marxism produces for violence. 60 million Rusians killed by the socalists 1917-1987 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_ki...).
The only problem i have is the author did not summarise his overview of socialist societys historically. He lingered on the destructive force of modern socialism and its chiliastic (armgedon) type. Not comparing it to the four stable forms found historically.
The most stable forms of socialism have Religion and Family. Examples are Monasterys and old kingdom Eygypt. Monasterys are supplyed with members from societys with functioning familys.
I will finish by saying again, This book provides true predictive power for a Sociologist, Psychoanalyst and anyone dealing with socialism in general.
How modern Socialism is a form of ancient Socialism is explained well.
This book provides true predictive power for a Sociologist, Psychoanalyst and anyone dealing with socialism in general.
Sociology students should read this to see socialism in true context. How it is not a new form of society but an ancient recurring form. With good and bad types of society it produces.
I studied Sociology at collage and Marxist theory was one of the mandatory approaches you had to use. Why political Marxism needs to destroy family, private ownership and Religion is not explained on the courses. This book examines this and i think explaines.
The positivist and functionalist approaches in sociology can be critiqued without the need for Marxism.
Collage tried to portray Marxism as a measured critic of society. This book shows that Marxism is instead an apocalyptic force against society's.
Marxist theory should be considered the same as fascist theory as an approach.
This books historic over view shows the gapping errors in Marxism and the ideological blindness it produces.
The revolutionary thought and rejection of current society are examined well i think.
The modern socialists need for violence and destruction are examined adequately. A modern psychoanalyst may be able to explain better the intense drive Marxism produces for violence. 60 million Rusians killed by the socalists 1917-1987 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_ki...).
The only problem i have is the author did not summarise his overview of socialist societys historically. He lingered on the destructive force of modern socialism and its chiliastic (armgedon) type. Not comparing it to the four stable forms found historically.
The most stable forms of socialism have Religion and Family. Examples are Monasterys and old kingdom Eygypt. Monasterys are supplyed with members from societys with functioning familys.
I will finish by saying again, This book provides true predictive power for a Sociologist, Psychoanalyst and anyone dealing with socialism in general.
September 15, 2022
I read the version of this book that has an incredibly deep foreword written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. His foreword and Igor's rendition of Socialism impressed me because both men lived or experienced the "Good, Bad and Ugly" of the world's largest and most grand socialist experiment. They are perceptive men and certainly understand thoroughly, what they are talking about.
But this reading stands for me among the many books that dissect socialism because it goes back to history to show that the primary ideas underlying socialism and its rise are not new as they go all the way back to classical times and even some of the civilizations. It traces socialism from antiquity, its chiliastic version, and into the Americas and post-enlightenment versions. It has a long history.
I must admit that in spite of my very deliberate "Five Star" rating, I struggled to complete the latter chapters, especially the complicated narrative which makes the interesting dissection of the psychological orientation that makes socialism attractive. To my dismay, it is not the brotherhood effect as much as a claim that there is an obsession with the "ultimate futility of life and death" (my words). That claim was new to me but appears repetitive with multiple references to Freud and later psychoanalysts. Clearly, the author doesn't think much of socialism but admits that the contradiction is that those who were enamored by it and promoted it, especially among the Bolsheviks were some towering minds too.
Find your favorite socialist blowhard ( if he isn't insufferable) and send this book to them. No thinking person would see socialism in the same way again. then have a cool-headed discussion with them.
But this reading stands for me among the many books that dissect socialism because it goes back to history to show that the primary ideas underlying socialism and its rise are not new as they go all the way back to classical times and even some of the civilizations. It traces socialism from antiquity, its chiliastic version, and into the Americas and post-enlightenment versions. It has a long history.
I must admit that in spite of my very deliberate "Five Star" rating, I struggled to complete the latter chapters, especially the complicated narrative which makes the interesting dissection of the psychological orientation that makes socialism attractive. To my dismay, it is not the brotherhood effect as much as a claim that there is an obsession with the "ultimate futility of life and death" (my words). That claim was new to me but appears repetitive with multiple references to Freud and later psychoanalysts. Clearly, the author doesn't think much of socialism but admits that the contradiction is that those who were enamored by it and promoted it, especially among the Bolsheviks were some towering minds too.
Find your favorite socialist blowhard ( if he isn't insufferable) and send this book to them. No thinking person would see socialism in the same way again. then have a cool-headed discussion with them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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September 4, 2019This review brought Shafarevich's work in The Socialist Phenomenon, and his connections to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, to my attention...
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclu...
In particular, this paragraph provided some thought to ruminate....
"In Part Three, the author analyzes what he sees as the four essential features of socialist thought: abolition of private property, abolition of the family, abolition of religion, and a relentless quest for communality or equality. These features appear in different ways and degrees in different socialist experiments, but—so Shafarevich argues—they’re nascent in all socialist thought."
But this section, arising in the discussion of Part Two, opened my eyes to background of a movie I have enjoyed...
"Fans of Roland Joffé’s film The Mission may be surprised to learn that the Jesuit-run “reductions,” or communities, created by the Society of Jesus for the Guarani Indians were not quite as idyllic as the screen story suggests.
As one Jesuit at the time wrote of the compulsory Guarani dwellings, “the stench is unbearable to someone unaccustomed to it.” Most Guarani housing lacked windows and any means of ventilation. Shafarevich notes that despite its significant positives—rest on Sunday, a hunger-free existence, protection from colonial slavers, guaranteed dwellings and clothing—life in the reductions was highly regimented. Discipline was rigorous. Work on communal lands was obligatory. Private ownership and money were virtually non-existent. Flight was forbidden. Travel without an accompanying priest was banned, and the Jesuits controlled marital matches.
In the words of the author, the Jesuits’ “almost-successful attempt at reducing hundreds of thousands of people to a life as lived in an anthill seems far more terrible a picture than that of a hard labor camp.” Ironically for a paradise, the Guarani birthrate actually declined in the reductions. As a result, “the Jesuits were compelled to resort to various means of pressure on the Indians in the hope of increasing the population.”"
December 26, 2019
Phenomenonal, thorough, referenced and true
Socialism is far from a cultivated doctrine uniquely characteristic of reactions to political and economic situations in nineteenth century Europe.
Socialism is a human anthropological "phenomenon" that human societies have found themselves in since civilisation began. Or at the very least has found advocacy for itself in the intellectual realms of many such civilised societies since Ancient China at least.
It manifests universally and timelessly as a means to erode private property rights, erode the right for parents to raise their offspring as they themselves see fit, the state as the ultimate arbiter of your job, your daily routine, your house, your clothing, your behaviour, your thoughts. A calculated effort to erode any or all of your individuality.
Outside of that, Marxian Socialism is not primarily about care and compassion for the downtrodden, it is primarily about resentment for who is considered a ruling class. You may not think that matters, but it does.
In summation; Socialism is destruction and self destruction. Evident by observed behaviour and speech from such influential figures in socialist movements from Mesepotamia right up to the pre and post Stalinist USSR.
Socialism is far from a cultivated doctrine uniquely characteristic of reactions to political and economic situations in nineteenth century Europe.
Socialism is a human anthropological "phenomenon" that human societies have found themselves in since civilisation began. Or at the very least has found advocacy for itself in the intellectual realms of many such civilised societies since Ancient China at least.
It manifests universally and timelessly as a means to erode private property rights, erode the right for parents to raise their offspring as they themselves see fit, the state as the ultimate arbiter of your job, your daily routine, your house, your clothing, your behaviour, your thoughts. A calculated effort to erode any or all of your individuality.
Outside of that, Marxian Socialism is not primarily about care and compassion for the downtrodden, it is primarily about resentment for who is considered a ruling class. You may not think that matters, but it does.
In summation; Socialism is destruction and self destruction. Evident by observed behaviour and speech from such influential figures in socialist movements from Mesepotamia right up to the pre and post Stalinist USSR.
August 6, 2024
The author explores socialist ideas throughout history, and puts together the basic ideas that they share. It is an interesting way to look at this phenomenon. I think that the author's analysis of the commonalities between the various socialist thinkers and societies was brilliant. I'm just not so certain about his final conclusion. In the final chapter he tries to discern the root cause of the appeal of socialism. Here I think he hasn't found the answer. Though what he has suggested is likely the result of socialist societies, I don't believe it is what makes it appealing to so many people. As in our most recent iteration of socialism in the west--Wokeism--much of the appeal is in feeling morally superior to others. The followers believe that they have found the answer to how society aught to be (no matter how reductive, illogical or ill fated), and they are its proud deliverers. The rest of the book is definitely worthwhile. Socialism has been with us for far longer than most have considered.
July 18, 2025
Truth from a scholar of socialism
Many chapters covering history of social constructs by both western, Eastern and new world approaches as preliminary to final chapters on critique of socialism - tedious but a good scan - deep reading would be tough.
Many chapters covering history of social constructs by both western, Eastern and new world approaches as preliminary to final chapters on critique of socialism - tedious but a good scan - deep reading would be tough.
September 6, 2025
A piercing overview of 2,500 years of state socialism and its destructive agenda, characterised by the abolition of private property, abolition of the family and embrace of a purely material prosperity.
September 3, 2021
Long winded, socialism doesn’t work…end of book.
June 10, 2025
Me encanta. Y me encantaría más poner reseñas más largas pero.... Es tanto lo que tengo que decir que me da pereza. En fin, literatura.
June 29, 2025
Its a long read. Dry in places. This idea of socialism being the reflection of mans subconscious instinct towards self destruction is interesting. The tragrdy of the human condition strikes again!!!!
December 23, 2019
Do you hate or love God? One of those Soviet dissidents, whos hearth is really in Jerusalem, expounds upon the answer for you. Attempts to present a line of continuity existing in all "socialistic" thougth starting from essentially all the early tributary states to Hellenic intellectuals to the theologically incorrect heretics of the medieval ages to Utopian authors during the Age of Discovery to most of the Enlightenment bigwigs and all this culminates in "Scientific Socialism"... all of this however is just an ideological mask for pure anti-God sentiment and the universalization of cuckoldry! Fourier, Freud and Marx are the most reprehensible in all this because they're guilty of attempting to historically explain all the irreducible higher morality and in the process end up destroying all personality... but Shafarevich's a partisan of the Asiatic mode of production theory so maybe Marx was onto something after all?
When you're all about individual responsibility you really shouldn't be so hard only on charismatic leaders and their movements but the majority of the masses should be also seen as despicable from this perspective but Shafarevich doesn't really want to tackle any of the substantial contradictions of individualism... it's easier to just present simple dichotomies e.g. psychedelics: anti-individual, the "mission" of the Catholic church: pro-individual.
An alternative presentation of the party of charity, love and personality (that is their doctrinaires and historical praxis) would be desirable.
When you're all about individual responsibility you really shouldn't be so hard only on charismatic leaders and their movements but the majority of the masses should be also seen as despicable from this perspective but Shafarevich doesn't really want to tackle any of the substantial contradictions of individualism... it's easier to just present simple dichotomies e.g. psychedelics: anti-individual, the "mission" of the Catholic church: pro-individual.
An alternative presentation of the party of charity, love and personality (that is their doctrinaires and historical praxis) would be desirable.
February 3, 2021
The author of Ecclesiastes, in chapter one, reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun. That is true of Socialism as much as anything else, as Igor Sharafarevich reminds us in this 1977 historical survey of Socialist policies and ideals. This book was for me an eye-opening journey from Plato's Republic to the present of proto-Marxist movements, with a particular focus on Christian / gnostic heresies that encouraged people to pool (and steal from others) land, resources, wives, children, etc. Fascinating read, highly recommended.
September 13, 2020
This was a challenging, but extremely rewarding work. I went into it already familiar with the Socialism/Communism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but the author surprised me with his in depth analysis of the may other heads of this hydra, which have soaked the Earth in rivers of deceit, injustice, and blood, from as far back as the Egyptian and Inca Empires.
Want to read
November 16, 2009Recommended by James Schall in Another Sort of Learning, Chapter 11, as one of Eight Books on the Topic of Utopianism and Coercion.
November 30, 2020
Socialism revealed
A haunting presentation of the historic force of socialism and its grand design for mankind. You will see today’s world in a new light.
A haunting presentation of the historic force of socialism and its grand design for mankind. You will see today’s world in a new light.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews