Rethinking Leninism

This special section on ‘Rethinking Leninism’ emerges from sessions organized at the Society for Socialist Studies’ Annual Meetings, held at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in May 2009 at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The articles re-consider Lenin’s legacy, suggesting new ways of understanding his political thought and the implications for political strategies on the left today

Soviet Pins: Souvenirs as Spoils in the Triumphal Procession

In Moscow today, old Soviet pins, which had once been awarded to school kids as a rite of passage, are sold as souvenirs to tourists. These pins are an example of the many ruins of the Soviet Union that have experienced a metamorphosis: they connote an entirely new set of meanings that have supplanted their previous significance without any change in their material form. This article explores the transformation of these “cultural treasures” through the creative output of another Soviet “ruin”: the post-Stalinist philosopher, Evald Ilyenkov, whose work challenged the hegemony of Soviet Diamat, but has not been adequately studied in the West

SPECIAL SECTION ON RETHINKING LENINISM: Introduction

Consulting Editor, Special Section on "Rethinking Leninism" This special section on ‘Rethinking Leninism’ emerges from sessions organized at the Society for Socialist Studies’ Annual Meetings, held at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences in May 2009 at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The articles re-consider Lenin’s legacy, suggesting new ways of understanding his political thought and the implications for political strategies on the left today. Cette section spéciale sur le theme ‘Re-penser le léninisme’ est le résultat de sessions organisées lors des réunions annuelles de la société pour les études socialistes, qui se sont déroulées pendant le Congrès des sciences humaines en mai 2009 à Carleton University à Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Les articles réinterrogent l’héritage de Lénine, suggérant des nouvelles manières de comprendre sa pensée politique et leurs conséquences en termes de stratégie politique pour la gauche aujourd’hui

E.V. Ilyenkov and Creative Soviet Theory: An Introduction to 'Dialectics of the Ideal'

Abstract This article aims to introduce E.V. Ilyenkov's 'Dialectics of the Ideal' , first published in unabridged form in 2009, to an English-speaking readership. It does this in three ways: First, it contextualises his intervention in the history of Soviet and post-Soviet philosophy, offering a window into the subterranean tradition of creative theory that existed on the margins and in opposition to official Diamat. It explains what distinguishes Ilyenkov's philosophy from the crude materialism of Diamat, and examines his relationship to four central figures from the pre-Diamat period: Deborin, Lukács, Vygotsky, and Lenin. Second, it situates his concept of the ideal in relation to the history of Western philosophy, noting Ilyenkov's original reading of Marx through both Hegel and Spinoza, his criticism of Western theorists who identify the ideal with language, and his effort to articulate an anti-dualist conception of subjectivity. Third, it examines Ilyenkov's reception in the West, previous efforts to publish his work in the West, including the so-called 'Italian Affair' , as well as existing scholarship on Ilyenkov in English