Marxism in the global and Russian contexts

Marxism in the global and Russian contexts


Chernysh M.F.

Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, First Deputy Director for Research and Education at the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia mfche@yandex.ru

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Chernysh M.F. Marxism in the global and Russian contexts . Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2018. No 5. P. 15-25




Abstract

Modern Marxism is now going through a process of revival in social science. Marxist ideas have proved to be more resilient that was ever deemed by adepts of liberal reforms. The reasons why they survived in the last twenty years lies in the fact that capitalism, the main object of Marxist analysis does not only keep going, but also declines in many ways. In the modern world inequality is growing. The problems that seemed to have been done in the 20th century are back in force. Modern technologies and higher level of productive forces led to the rise of new problems and new contradictions that require a return to an adequate description by social theory. This is proved by the fact that Marxist schemata are often used to argue in favor of reforms that are essentially liberal. In particular, the Russian reforms relied on the idea of primary accumulation transformed into a popular myth. Marxist structural analysis can only become effective if it is applied to a concrete society and its political and economic order. The younger generation of sociologists learn Marxism for one more reason. Unlike many other sociological theories it kept improving its visions of society in line with the changes that occurred in them.


Keywords
social theory; Marxism; classes; primary accumulation; globalization

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Content No 5, 2018