by Wieser
[Front Matter and Preface]: Front matter and preface for a 1925 academic collection on the state, law, and economy of Bolshevism. The editors, including Friedrich von Wieser, explain the goal of providing a comprehensive legal and economic philosophical analysis of the Russian transformation, involving both Russian and non-Russian scholars. [Bolshevism and Communism as Spiritual Phenomena]: Professor S. Frank analyzes the distinction between 'Bolshevism' as a spontaneous, nihilistic Russian folk movement and 'Communism' as a Western-imported, materialist socio-political doctrine. He argues that the Russian revolution succeeded because the traditional religious foundation of the Tsarist state collapsed, leaving a void filled by a destructive nihilism that the Communist party exploited to establish a totalizing, anti-legal despotism. [The Worldview of Bolshevism]: Dr. A. S. Steinberg explores the philosophical core of Bolshevism, defining it as a 'militant philosophy' where theory is inseparable from revolutionary action. He discusses the 'subject' of this worldview (the proletariat as a metaphysical agent), its 'dynamic' view of history as a power struggle, and its cynical approach to culture and morality, which it views as tools for achieving a post-historical, classless society. [The Religious Essence of Bolshevism]: Professor L. P. Karsawin argues that Bolshevism is a manifestation of the Russian 'Maximalist' spirit—a religious drive toward the absolute and unreachable. He characterizes Communism as a pseudo-religion with its own scriptures (Marx), saints (Lenin), and rituals, which ultimately seeks a total 'transfiguration' of the world, albeit through a distorted, materialist lens that betrays its deeper Orthodox roots. [The Idea of Freedom and Bolshevism]: Leopold von Wiese examines Lenin's claim that freedom is a 'bourgeois prejudice.' He analyzes the sociological tension between the desire for freedom and the need for community/security. Von Wiese argues that while a socialist system demands total integration and discipline, the human impulse for self-determination is an elemental, biological constant that cannot be permanently suppressed by state-guaranteed security. [Mysticism and Materialism in Bolshevist Literature]: Professor P. S. Kogan, President of the Moscow Academy of Art Sciences, describes the shift in Russian literature from pre-revolutionary mysticism to revolutionary materialism. He contrasts the 'life-fleeing' poetry of the old intelligentsia with the 'life-building' activism of proletarian poets who celebrate technology, labor, and the conquest of nature, viewing the writer as a researcher of social reality. [From Marx to Lenin: History of the Russian Intelligentsia]: Alexander S. Isgojeff traces the reception of Marxist theory by the Russian intelligentsia. He details the evolution from the early 'academic' Marxism of the 1870s to the revolutionary 'legal' and 'illegal' Marxism of the 1890s. The essay culminates in the split between Mensheviks (seeking a European-style labor party) and Lenin's Bolsheviks (seeking a disciplined, conspiratorial party to exercise absolute dictatorship). [Modern Dictatorships]: Friedrich von Wieser provides a comparative history of dictatorship, from the classical Roman model to modern revolutionary and 'order' dictatorships (Cromwell, Napoleon, Mussolini). He distinguishes Bolshevism as a unique form that seeks radical equality through total state control of economy and culture, potentially serving as a violent corrective to historical inequalities before yielding to freer forms of leadership. [The Official Truth]: Professor N. Timaschew examines the concept of 'official truth' in the Soviet state. He describes how the Communist Party's doctrine is enforced as a mandatory state ideology through centralized propaganda organs (Glavpolitprosvet), the educational system, and the suppression of all competing religious, philosophical, or political views through censorship and the 'monopoly of legality.' [The Soviet Constitution]: N. Timaschew analyzes the Soviet Constitution as a transitional legal form. He argues that the theoretical 'bottom-up' structure of Soviets is a fiction; in reality, the state is a highly centralized military-style despotism and oligarchy. The 'dictatorship of the proletariat' has been displaced by the dictatorship of the Communist Party, and finally by the dictatorship of the party's inner leadership core. [Federalism in Soviet Russia]: A. A. Bogolepoff discusses the evolution of Soviet federalism from a tactical tool for national self-determination to a centralized 'union of republics.' He argues that while the 1923 Constitution grants formal sovereignty and the right to secede, the real power is centralized in Union organs and the Communist Party, making the federal structure a decorative facade for a unitary state. [Table of Contents: Law and Economy of Bolshevism]: A detailed table of contents for the third and fourth parts of a collective work on Bolshevism, covering legal philosophy, the crisis of modern legal consciousness, agrarian legislation, state capitalism, the council system (Rätesystem), and the communist economic system in heavy industry. [Bibliography and International Association Reports (IVR)]: Introduction to the bibliography of Bolshevism by Ernst Drahn and the start of reports from the International Association for Legal and Economic Philosophy (IVR) regarding university activities. [University Reports on Legal and Economic Philosophy]: Detailed reports from various European universities (Bern, Budapest, Dresden, Erlangen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Jena, Kiel, Naples, Parma, Santiago) regarding their lectures and seminars in legal philosophy, sociology, and economics. Highlights include the establishment of a legal philosophy seminar in Jena, studies on the economic philosophy of Romanticism in Kiel, and the development of specialized degrees like the 'Doktor rerum oeconomicarum' in Dresden. It also notes the lack of formal sociology departments in Spanish law faculties at the time. [Member News and Academic Publications]: Updates on the professional activities and publications of IVR members. Topics include the nationalization of credit, the founding of an Institute for Air Law (Luftrecht) in Königsberg, developments in labor law contracts, and the transformation of the Seminar for Trade Law in Cologne into an Institute for Economic and Foreign Law. It also details the founding of a Criminological Institute in Vienna by Police President Schober. [Report on Ludwig Heerwagen and Legal Scholarship in Leningrad]: A biographical and professional report on Ludwig Heerwagen, a long-time IVR member in Leningrad. It describes his work on the draft Soviet Civil Code, his survival through the revolution, and the current state of legal scholarship in Russia, where practical application of new codes has displaced theoretical legal research. [New Ordinary Members List (March-June 1925)]: A comprehensive list of new ordinary members of the International Association for Legal and Economic Philosophy admitted between March and June 1925. The list includes prominent political and academic figures such as Eduard Benesch, Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, Ignaz Seipel, and Karl Renner, along with professors from across Europe and the United States.
Front matter and preface for a 1925 academic collection on the state, law, and economy of Bolshevism. The editors, including Friedrich von Wieser, explain the goal of providing a comprehensive legal and economic philosophical analysis of the Russian transformation, involving both Russian and non-Russian scholars.
Read full textProfessor S. Frank analyzes the distinction between 'Bolshevism' as a spontaneous, nihilistic Russian folk movement and 'Communism' as a Western-imported, materialist socio-political doctrine. He argues that the Russian revolution succeeded because the traditional religious foundation of the Tsarist state collapsed, leaving a void filled by a destructive nihilism that the Communist party exploited to establish a totalizing, anti-legal despotism.
Read full textDr. A. S. Steinberg explores the philosophical core of Bolshevism, defining it as a 'militant philosophy' where theory is inseparable from revolutionary action. He discusses the 'subject' of this worldview (the proletariat as a metaphysical agent), its 'dynamic' view of history as a power struggle, and its cynical approach to culture and morality, which it views as tools for achieving a post-historical, classless society.
Read full textProfessor L. P. Karsawin argues that Bolshevism is a manifestation of the Russian 'Maximalist' spirit—a religious drive toward the absolute and unreachable. He characterizes Communism as a pseudo-religion with its own scriptures (Marx), saints (Lenin), and rituals, which ultimately seeks a total 'transfiguration' of the world, albeit through a distorted, materialist lens that betrays its deeper Orthodox roots.
Read full textLeopold von Wiese examines Lenin's claim that freedom is a 'bourgeois prejudice.' He analyzes the sociological tension between the desire for freedom and the need for community/security. Von Wiese argues that while a socialist system demands total integration and discipline, the human impulse for self-determination is an elemental, biological constant that cannot be permanently suppressed by state-guaranteed security.
Read full textProfessor P. S. Kogan, President of the Moscow Academy of Art Sciences, describes the shift in Russian literature from pre-revolutionary mysticism to revolutionary materialism. He contrasts the 'life-fleeing' poetry of the old intelligentsia with the 'life-building' activism of proletarian poets who celebrate technology, labor, and the conquest of nature, viewing the writer as a researcher of social reality.
Read full textAlexander S. Isgojeff traces the reception of Marxist theory by the Russian intelligentsia. He details the evolution from the early 'academic' Marxism of the 1870s to the revolutionary 'legal' and 'illegal' Marxism of the 1890s. The essay culminates in the split between Mensheviks (seeking a European-style labor party) and Lenin's Bolsheviks (seeking a disciplined, conspiratorial party to exercise absolute dictatorship).
Read full textFriedrich von Wieser provides a comparative history of dictatorship, from the classical Roman model to modern revolutionary and 'order' dictatorships (Cromwell, Napoleon, Mussolini). He distinguishes Bolshevism as a unique form that seeks radical equality through total state control of economy and culture, potentially serving as a violent corrective to historical inequalities before yielding to freer forms of leadership.
Read full textProfessor N. Timaschew examines the concept of 'official truth' in the Soviet state. He describes how the Communist Party's doctrine is enforced as a mandatory state ideology through centralized propaganda organs (Glavpolitprosvet), the educational system, and the suppression of all competing religious, philosophical, or political views through censorship and the 'monopoly of legality.'
Read full textN. Timaschew analyzes the Soviet Constitution as a transitional legal form. He argues that the theoretical 'bottom-up' structure of Soviets is a fiction; in reality, the state is a highly centralized military-style despotism and oligarchy. The 'dictatorship of the proletariat' has been displaced by the dictatorship of the Communist Party, and finally by the dictatorship of the party's inner leadership core.
Read full textA. A. Bogolepoff discusses the evolution of Soviet federalism from a tactical tool for national self-determination to a centralized 'union of republics.' He argues that while the 1923 Constitution grants formal sovereignty and the right to secede, the real power is centralized in Union organs and the Communist Party, making the federal structure a decorative facade for a unitary state.
Read full textA detailed table of contents for the third and fourth parts of a collective work on Bolshevism, covering legal philosophy, the crisis of modern legal consciousness, agrarian legislation, state capitalism, the council system (Rätesystem), and the communist economic system in heavy industry.
Read full textIntroduction to the bibliography of Bolshevism by Ernst Drahn and the start of reports from the International Association for Legal and Economic Philosophy (IVR) regarding university activities.
Read full textDetailed reports from various European universities (Bern, Budapest, Dresden, Erlangen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Jena, Kiel, Naples, Parma, Santiago) regarding their lectures and seminars in legal philosophy, sociology, and economics. Highlights include the establishment of a legal philosophy seminar in Jena, studies on the economic philosophy of Romanticism in Kiel, and the development of specialized degrees like the 'Doktor rerum oeconomicarum' in Dresden. It also notes the lack of formal sociology departments in Spanish law faculties at the time.
Read full textUpdates on the professional activities and publications of IVR members. Topics include the nationalization of credit, the founding of an Institute for Air Law (Luftrecht) in Königsberg, developments in labor law contracts, and the transformation of the Seminar for Trade Law in Cologne into an Institute for Economic and Foreign Law. It also details the founding of a Criminological Institute in Vienna by Police President Schober.
Read full textA biographical and professional report on Ludwig Heerwagen, a long-time IVR member in Leningrad. It describes his work on the draft Soviet Civil Code, his survival through the revolution, and the current state of legal scholarship in Russia, where practical application of new codes has displaced theoretical legal research.
Read full textA comprehensive list of new ordinary members of the International Association for Legal and Economic Philosophy admitted between March and June 1925. The list includes prominent political and academic figures such as Eduard Benesch, Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, Ignaz Seipel, and Karl Renner, along with professors from across Europe and the United States.
Read full text