What do you think?
Rate this book
Unlearning Marx: Why the Soviet Failure was a Triumph for Marx
The theories of Karl Marx and the practical existence of the Soviet Union are inseparable in the public imagination, but for all the wrong reasons. This book provides detailed analyses of both Marx’s theory of history and the course of Russian and Soviet development and delivers a new and insightful approach to the relationship between the two.
Most analyses of the Soviet Union, from any perspective, focus on trying to explain the failure to establish socialism, giving too much weight to the political pronouncements of the regime. But, for Marx, this approach to historical explanation is back-to-front, it's the political tail wagging the economic dog. When we move our focus from the stated aims of building socialism, and look at what actually happened in Russia from emancipation in the 1860s, through the Soviet era to the 1990s, we can clearly see the patterns which Marx identified as the essential features of the transition from feudalism to capitalism in England from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth. As such, the Soviet experiment forms an important part of Russia’s transition from feudalism to capitalism and provides an excellent example of the underlying forces at play in the course of historical development.
Unlearning Marx will surprise Marx’s admirers and his detractors alike, and not only shed new light on Marxism's relationship with the Soviet Union, but on his ongoing relationship with our world.
Most analyses of the Soviet Union, from any perspective, focus on trying to explain the failure to establish socialism, giving too much weight to the political pronouncements of the regime. But, for Marx, this approach to historical explanation is back-to-front, it's the political tail wagging the economic dog. When we move our focus from the stated aims of building socialism, and look at what actually happened in Russia from emancipation in the 1860s, through the Soviet era to the 1990s, we can clearly see the patterns which Marx identified as the essential features of the transition from feudalism to capitalism in England from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth. As such, the Soviet experiment forms an important part of Russia’s transition from feudalism to capitalism and provides an excellent example of the underlying forces at play in the course of historical development.
Unlearning Marx will surprise Marx’s admirers and his detractors alike, and not only shed new light on Marxism's relationship with the Soviet Union, but on his ongoing relationship with our world.
184 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2021
12 people are currently reading
217 people want to read
About the author
Steve Paxton
2 books16 followersIn addition to an academic career culminating in doctoral research with GA Cohen at Oxford, Steve Paxton has worked on building sites and in betting shops, been a PHP programmer and a T-shirt designer, been employed, self-employed and unemployed, blue-collar, white-collar and no-collar. He combines the experience of this varied career with his academic background to bring unique insights to the printed page.
His latest book is 'How Capitalism Ends'.
He is also the author of 'Unlearning Marx' and was a contributor to The Communist Manifesto: New Interpretations (Edinburgh University Press/NY University Press, 1998.) ISBN: 978-0748610358
His latest book is 'How Capitalism Ends'.
He is also the author of 'Unlearning Marx' and was a contributor to The Communist Manifesto: New Interpretations (Edinburgh University Press/NY University Press, 1998.) ISBN: 978-0748610358
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 11, 2021
If you're tired of listening to Jordan Peterson fans repeat a load of nonsense about Marx, but didn't really have the tools to set them right, this book will help you out...
The person who recommended it to me commented that it's a quick read because you get the whole argument in the first third - the rest is just technical discussion and historical evidence - but actually almost all of that is really readable - most of the theory sections are interesting and clearly written (there was one section I struggled with) and the historical chapters are interesting because they focus on providing the evidence to back up the theory, rather than just narrating a succession of leaders and policies. (Wrote the same review by mistake on the Kindle edition, but should have been here - haven't got a kindle.)
The person who recommended it to me commented that it's a quick read because you get the whole argument in the first third - the rest is just technical discussion and historical evidence - but actually almost all of that is really readable - most of the theory sections are interesting and clearly written (there was one section I struggled with) and the historical chapters are interesting because they focus on providing the evidence to back up the theory, rather than just narrating a succession of leaders and policies. (Wrote the same review by mistake on the Kindle edition, but should have been here - haven't got a kindle.)
February 11, 2021
If you're tired of listening to Jordan Peterson fans repeat a load of nonsense about Marx, but didn't really have the tools to set them right, this book will help you out...
The person who recommended it to me commented that it's a quick read because you get the whole argument in the first third - the rest is just technical discussion and historical evidence - but actually almost all of that is really readable - most of the theory sections are interesting and clearly written (there was one section I struggled with), and the historical chapters are interesting because they focus on providing the evidence to back up the theory, rather than just narrating a succession of leaders and policies.
The person who recommended it to me commented that it's a quick read because you get the whole argument in the first third - the rest is just technical discussion and historical evidence - but actually almost all of that is really readable - most of the theory sections are interesting and clearly written (there was one section I struggled with), and the historical chapters are interesting because they focus on providing the evidence to back up the theory, rather than just narrating a succession of leaders and policies.
February 11, 2021
A clear and original thesis, a new take on the Soviet Union, plus quite a bit on Marx as a historian which is less well known than his political and economic work. Quite concise but well documented with loads of notes - I read the ebook which makes the notes easy to check as you go through, there are often extra little bits of information, not just references for figures and quotes etc.
March 5, 2021
This book takes a controversial approach to understanding the Soviet Union through Marx's theory of history. It's clear and assumes no prior knowledge of either, but still gets right into the details. Recommended.
April 19, 2023
This book argues that rather than disproving Marx's theory of history the fall of the Soviet Union it proves it.
Why Unlearning Marx? Because we have interpreted the works of Marx through the lens of Lenin and Trotsky since the October Revolution. A premature revolution as the Russian Empire had not developed into a capitalist econony let alone the advanced one needed to allow a society to progress to socialism. The result has been that we think Marxism has failed when in reality Marx's work successfully predicted that the Soviet system would fail and would give way to Capitalism. Ironically the October revolution had to become the Bourgeois revolution it sought to over leap.
What we think is the failure of Marxism is, in fact, the failure of the Leninist interpretation of Marx. He argues that all 'Marxist' societies that have existed or exist have been built upon the views of Lenin and suffer from the defects inherent to Leninism.
The book is well worth reading and its thesis deserves consideration.
Why Unlearning Marx? Because we have interpreted the works of Marx through the lens of Lenin and Trotsky since the October Revolution. A premature revolution as the Russian Empire had not developed into a capitalist econony let alone the advanced one needed to allow a society to progress to socialism. The result has been that we think Marxism has failed when in reality Marx's work successfully predicted that the Soviet system would fail and would give way to Capitalism. Ironically the October revolution had to become the Bourgeois revolution it sought to over leap.
What we think is the failure of Marxism is, in fact, the failure of the Leninist interpretation of Marx. He argues that all 'Marxist' societies that have existed or exist have been built upon the views of Lenin and suffer from the defects inherent to Leninism.
The book is well worth reading and its thesis deserves consideration.
Read
November 4, 2022Reviewed in the June 2022 issue of the Socialist Standard:
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blog...
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blog...
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blog...
https://socialiststandardmyspace.blog...
January 21, 2024
Great little introductory piece for Marxist theory, with an interesting thesis to consider.
May 20, 2023
When one espouses an interest and enthusiasm for a Marxist analysis of economics and politics, one is repeatedly whacked on the nose with a rolled-up magazine entitled "But what about the Soviet Union?" This book does a great job of explaining how it is possible to strike back with an even larger rolled-up magazine called, "Not my Problem!"
Paxton shows in a very short span how the charge of "But what about the Soviet Union," is a very wrong-headed critique. Of course, we know that most of the people who make it are not being very clever in the first place and that they usually know very little of either Marxism or the USSR. Still, it's helpful to have a framing to be able show why Marx would have had little optimism for the success of the Soviet project- even if he might have championed it in sentiment- that is based on an analysis of Marx's own writings.
This book is also is a nice introduction to the Analytic Marxism of Canadian philosopher G.A. Cohen. That is the most challenging part of the book and it dragged a little for me. I had to re-read chunks of it a couple of times but in the end found it enriching. Previously, I had only been exposed to Cohen's (underwhelming) moral philosophy so it was great to get exposure to the brass-tacks style Marxist analysis which put him on the map.
This is a fairly quick read that delivers much bang-for-buck. Check it out if anything I've just mentioned sounds interesting/valuable to you.
Paxton shows in a very short span how the charge of "But what about the Soviet Union," is a very wrong-headed critique. Of course, we know that most of the people who make it are not being very clever in the first place and that they usually know very little of either Marxism or the USSR. Still, it's helpful to have a framing to be able show why Marx would have had little optimism for the success of the Soviet project- even if he might have championed it in sentiment- that is based on an analysis of Marx's own writings.
This book is also is a nice introduction to the Analytic Marxism of Canadian philosopher G.A. Cohen. That is the most challenging part of the book and it dragged a little for me. I had to re-read chunks of it a couple of times but in the end found it enriching. Previously, I had only been exposed to Cohen's (underwhelming) moral philosophy so it was great to get exposure to the brass-tacks style Marxist analysis which put him on the map.
This is a fairly quick read that delivers much bang-for-buck. Check it out if anything I've just mentioned sounds interesting/valuable to you.
October 8, 2021
I thought this was good and informative book. He presented statistics and clear evidence why Russia couldn't be communist let alone a socialist revolution. Paxton is sympathetic to Bolsheviks attempts to hold onto power. It was noble attempt to create socialism in Russia but ultimately need a new path forward.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews