Stalinist

Although reform in the Soviet Union stalled between 1969–1982, a generational shift gave new momentum for reform. Changing relations with the United States might also have been an impetus for reform. While it was Jimmy Carter who had officially ended the policy of Détente following Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, East-West tensions during the first term of U.S. President Ronald Reagan (1981–1985) increased to levels not seen since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. After years of stagnation, the "new thinking" of younger Communis ...

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History of the Soviet Union 1985-1991, History of the Soviet Union 1985-1991 - The rise of Gorbachev, History of the Soviet Union 1985-1991 - Reforms, History of the Soviet Union 1985-1991 - Unintended consequences, History of the Soviet Union 1985-1991 - Yeltsin and the dissolution of the USSR, History of the Soviet Union 1985-1991 - The August Coup, History of the Soviet Union 1985-1991 - Formation of the CIS and official end of the USSR, History of the Soviet Union 1985-1991 - Summary, History of the Soviet Union 1985-1991 - Post-Soviet restructuring

Read more here: » History of the Soviet Union 1985-1991: Encyclopedia II - History of the Soviet Union 1985-1991 - The rise of Gorbachev

He was born in 1939 to a Jewish family in Forest Hills, New York. His parents Phil and Blanche Horowitz were school-teachers in Sunnyside Gardens, Queens, New York City, and raised their son in a strict 'Stalinist' environment. Horowitz went to Columbia University as an undergraduate, later taking a Master's degree in English literature at the University of California, Berkeley. Horowitz became a prominent member of the New Left movement in the United States—a break with the earlier Communist Party USA. After moving to California, Horowitz ...

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David Horowitz, David Horowitz - Life and career, David Horowitz - Work in Race-Relations, David Horowitz - Academic Bill of Rights, David Horowitz - Projects, David Horowitz - Regarding Peter Jennings' death, David Horowitz - Criticism, David Horowitz - Books, David Horowitz - Quotations

Read more here: » David Horowitz: Encyclopedia II - David Horowitz - Life and career

Many of those who describe themselves as "socialists" often argue that socialism necessarily implies democracy, thus making "democratic socialism" a redundant term. The fact that one specific movement is called Democratic Socialism does not mean that other branches of socialism must be any less democratic. However, the term is often used by those who wish to contrast this form of socialism with Communism or other ideologies that Democratic Socialists consider dictatorial ideologies in p ...

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Democratic socialism, Democratic socialism - Definitions, Democratic socialism - History, Democratic socialism - Characteristics, Democratic socialism - List of Democratic Socialist parties, Democratic socialism - Books

Read more here: » Democratic socialism: Encyclopedia II - Democratic socialism - Definitions

The origins of the Communist International are to be found in the split in the workers' movement that surfaced in 1914 with the beginning of the First World War, although divisions between revolutionary and reformist minded elements had been developing for some considerable time. For example, as far back as 1899, reformist or right wing elements in the socialist movement had supported the entry of French socialist Millerand into the government of the day. On the other hand, revolutionary or left wing elements were fiercely opposed to this de ...

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Comintern, Comintern - Origins of the Communist International, Comintern - The First Four World Congresses of the Communist International, Comintern - From the Fifth to the Seventh World Congress, Comintern - From the Last Congress to Dissolution, Comintern - Alleged Independence, Comintern - After the Comintern

Read more here: » Comintern: Encyclopedia II - Comintern - Origins of the Communist International

Foster joined the Socialist Party of America in 1901 and was a member until he was expelled in 1909 for activity in a left wing faction of the party in Washington. Foster then joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in 1909, when he took part in one of the IWW's "free speech fights" in Tacoma, Washington. He changed his middle initial from "E" to "Z" while in Tacoma in order to avoid confusi ...

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William Z. Foster, William Z. Foster - Early years, William Z. Foster - Entry into politics and trade union work, William Z. Foster - Organizing packinghouse workers, William Z. Foster - The steel strike of 1919, William Z. Foster - Joining the Communist Party, William Z. Foster - The TUEL, William Z. Foster - The Farmer-Labor Party, William Z. Foster - Setbacks and successes, William Z. Foster - Foster's return to power, William Z. Foster - Eclipse and return to power

Read more here: » William Z. Foster: Encyclopedia II - William Z. Foster - Entry into politics and trade union work

Official policy toward religious groups in the 1980s was consistent with that of the early socialist era, when a series of measures sought to bring organized religion to heel. The state exercised substantial control over clerical appointments, religious instruction, preaching, and proselytization. Roman Catholics and Uniates were the major targets. The government closed convents and monasteries an ...

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Religion in Communist Czechoslovakia, Religion in Communist Czechoslovakia - 1948, Religion in Communist Czechoslovakia - 1950s and 1960s, Religion in Communist Czechoslovakia - Late 1960s, Religion in Communist Czechoslovakia - 1970s, Religion in Communist Czechoslovakia - 1980s, Religion in Communist Czechoslovakia - Situation at the end of Communism

Read more here: » Religion in Communist Czechoslovakia: Encyclopedia II - Religion in Communist Czechoslovakia - 1980s

Zgoda camp was set up by the Soviet NKVD, the forerunner of the KGB, after the Red Army's 'liberation' of southern Poland. The camp was later handed over to the communist Polish secret service, the notorious Urząd Bezpieczeństwa. On March 15, 1945, Morel became a chief of the labor camp. According to Jonathan Sack: "On the first night at Swietochlowice, when the first contingent of Germans arrived, at about 10 o'clock at night he walked into one of the barracks a ...

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Salomon Morel, Salomon Morel - During the war, Salomon Morel - Zgoda camp, Salomon Morel - Extradition controversy, Salomon Morel - Reference

Read more here: » Salomon Morel: Encyclopedia II - Salomon Morel - Zgoda camp

For religious fundamentalists, sacred scripture is considered the authentic, and literal word of God. Fundamentalist beliefs depend on the twin doctrines that God articulated his will precisely to prophets, and that followers also have a reliable and perfect record of that revelation. Since Scripture is considered the word of God, fundamentalists believe that no person has the right to change it or disagree with it. As a result, people are "obliged" to obey the word of God. The appeal of this point of view is its simplicity: people mu ...

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Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism - The fundamentalist phenomenon, Fundamentalism - Fundamentalism and politics, Fundamentalism - Objections to the use of the term, Fundamentalism - Basic beliefs of religious fundamentalists, Fundamentalism - Christian views, Fundamentalism - Jewish views, Fundamentalism - Mormon views, Fundamentalism - Islamic views, Fundamentalism - Non-Abrahamic religions, Fundamentalism - Non-religious fundamentalism, Fundamentalism - Arguments in favor of fundamentalist positions, Fundamentalism - Criticism of the fundamentalist position, Fundamentalism - Fundamentalism and politics

Read more here: » Fundamentalism: Encyclopedia II - Fundamentalism - Basic beliefs of religious fundamentalists

For religious fundamentalists, sacred scripture is considered the authentic word of God. Fundamentalist beliefs depend on the twin doctrines that God articulated his will precisely to prophets, and that followers also have a reliable and perfect record of that revelation, which has been passed down to modern day in an unbroken chain of tradition. Since Scripture is considered the word of God, fundamentalists believe that no person has the right to change it or disagree with it. As a result, people are "obliged" to obey the word of God ...

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Fundamentalism, Fundamentalism - The fundamentalist phenomenon, Fundamentalism - Fundamentalism and politics, Fundamentalism - Objections to the use of the term, Fundamentalism - Basic beliefs of religious fundamentalists, Fundamentalism - Christian views, Fundamentalism - Jewish views, Fundamentalism - Mormon views, Fundamentalism - Islamic views, Fundamentalism - Non-Abrahamic religions, Fundamentalism - Non-religious fundamentalism, Fundamentalism - Arguments in favor of fundamentalist positions, Fundamentalism - Criticism of the fundamentalist position, Fundamentalism - Fundamentalism and politics

Read more here: » Fundamentalism: Encyclopedia II - Fundamentalism - Basic beliefs of religious fundamentalists

As noted in the introduction, a "Communist state" is a state where a Communist Party holds power within the context of a single-party system of government. In this definition, 'Communist State' and Democracy are mutually exclusive. Thus, a country where a Communist party is part of the government is not automatically a "Communist state." Furthermore, the historical states of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, Slovak Soviet Republic and Bavarian Soviet Republic were short-lived revolutionary entities that are difficult to define as Communist states, because the status of non-Communist politi ...

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Communist state, Communist state - Definition of a Communist state, Communist state - Historical examples, Communist state - Early examples of communist societies, Communist state - 20th century, Communist state - Communist theories and ideologies of government, Communist state - Relationship between party and state, Communist state - Criticism and advocacy, Communist state - List of current Communist states, Communist state - Defunct Communist states, Communist state - References and further reading, Communist state - References on human rights violations by Communist states

Read more here: » Communist state: Encyclopedia II - Communist state - Historical examples

Anti-communism - Objections to Communist theory. The central part of Karl Marx's communist theory is historical materialism, a methodology for studying history using dialectical reasoning which concludes that human society has grown or evolved through several historical stages due to the contradictions inherent in each stage, with each transition to the next stage involving the overthrow of the existing socioeconomic order. This idea was first theorized by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, but Marx used it to justif ...

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Anti-communism, Anti-communism - Background, Anti-communism - Types of Anti-Communists, Anti-communism - Fascism and Anti-Communism, Anti-communism - Anti-communism in the United States and Cold War, Anti-communism - Repression and Anti-Communism, Anti-communism - Criticisms of Anti-Communism, Anti-communism - Notable Anti-Communists, Anti-communism - Contemporary anticommunism, Anti-communism - Objections to Communist theory, Anti-communism - Anticommunist histories, Anti-communism - Economic performance of communist governments, Anti-communism - Anarchist anti-Communism, Anti-communism - Notable Anti-Communists, Anti-communism - Anti-Communists who are also Anti-Fascists, Anti-communism - Notable Anti-Communist Dissidents, Anti-communism - Anti-Communist Statesmen and Military Leaders, Anti-communism - Leaders of the Russian anti-Bolshevik White Movement, Anti-communism - Anti-Communist Terrorists

Read more here: » Anti-communism: Encyclopedia II - Anti-communism - Contemporary anticommunism

Christian communism - Communism or Communalism. A number of Christians, of various political persuasions, object to the use of the word communism in the term "Christian communism" due to that word's association with countries such as the Soviet Union, often known as "communist states". They point out that Christian communism has very little in common with the practices of those countries, and therefore argue that Christian communism should be called Christian communalism - or something similar - ins ...

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Christian communism, Christian communism - Brief History, Christian communism - Origin of Christian communism, Christian communism - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Christian communism - True Levellers, Christian communism - Christian communists, Christian communism - Thomas J. Haggerty, Christian communism - Controversy, Christian communism - Communism or Communalism, Christian communism - Free will, Christian communism - Government, Christian communism - Establishing Christian communism

Read more here: » Christian communism: Encyclopedia II - Christian communism - Controversy

The party was founded in 1920 after the Third International decided that greater attempts should be made to establish communist parties across the world. The CPGB was formed by the merger of several smaller Marxist parties: the British Socialist Party, the Communist Unity Group of the Socialist Labour Party and the South Wales Socialist Society. The party also gained the support of the Guild Communists faction of the National Guilds League, assorted shop stewards' and workers' committees, socialist clubs and individuals and many former membe ...

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Communist Party of Great Britain, Communist Party of Great Britain - Formation, Communist Party of Great Britain - The 1920s and 30s, Communist Party of Great Britain - The 1940s and 50s, Communist Party of Great Britain - 1960s and 1970s: Decline of the party, Communist Party of Great Britain - 1977-1991: breakup of the party

Read more here: » Communist Party of Great Britain: Encyclopedia II - Communist Party of Great Britain - Formation

Class warfare is a term long-used by many socialists (including Marxists and communists, but also anarchists, democratic socialists, etc.) to describe social and political conflicts between classes (groups of people with a different relationship to the means of production, and to each other). In this view, capitalism consists of two social classes: the wage-workers (the proletariat) and the business owners or capitalists (the bourgeoisie). The wage-workers do not own or have control over the means of production, and must sell their la ...

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Class conflict, Class conflict - Classes under capitalism, Class conflict - Class in the Soviet Union and similar societies

Read more here: » Class conflict: Encyclopedia II - Class conflict - Classes under capitalism

The theory of State Capitalism does not play a prominent part with in the traditional Trotskist position, indeed Trotsky rejected the idea that the USSR was not communist claiming instead that it was a Degenerated workers' state. However, alternative currents within the Trotskyist tradition have developed the theory of State capitalism as an explanation of the non-socialist nature of the USSR as well as states such as Cuba and China. The most common definition of state capitalism within Marxist literature is that it is a social system ...

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State capitalism, State capitalism - Use by Trotskyists, State capitalism - Use by Left-communists and Council communists, State capitalism - Use by Maoists, State capitalism - State Capitalism in Western countries, State capitalism - Use within Murray Rothbard's writings

Read more here: » State capitalism: Encyclopedia II - State capitalism - Use by Trotskyists

The death of Stalin in 1953, and Nikita Khrushchev's Thaw, paved the way for a wave of liberalization in the arts throughout the Soviet Union. Although no official change in policy took place, artists began to feel free to experiment in their work, with considerably less fear of repurcussions than during the Stalinist period. In the 1950's Moscow artist Eli Beliutin encouraged his students to experiment with abstractionism, a practice thoroughly discouraged by the Artist's Union, which strictly enforced the official policy of Socialis ...

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Soviet art, Soviet art - Early years, Soviet art - Socialist Realism era, Soviet art - Soviet Nonconformist Art, Soviet art - Reference, Soviet art - External link

Read more here: » Soviet art: Encyclopedia II - Soviet art - Soviet Nonconformist Art

According to most English-language encyclopedias, such as the Encyclopædia Britannica, the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica and the Columbia Encyclopedia, as well as the CIA World Factbook, the term Central Europe is taken to include: Switzerland Germany Liechtenstein Austria Slovenia Alpine countries (west to east) Poland Czech Republic SlovakiaSee also:

Central Europe, Central Europe - Between the Alps and the Baltics, Central Europe - Culturally Central-European, Central Europe - Central Europe behind the Iron Curtain, Central Europe - The new members of the European Union, Central Europe - Remnants of the Holy Roman Empire

Read more here: » Central Europe: Encyclopedia II - Central Europe - Between the Alps and the Baltics

The legal system of the Soviet Union was the principal model followed by other members of the Soviet family of legal systems (Mongolia, the People's Republic of China, the countries of eastern Europe, Cuba and Vietnam being the most notable). This legal system was developed after the Russian Revolution and based on traditional Western civil law, with many elements originating in the Russian legal tradition (going back as far as the 10th centur ...

See also:

Soviet law, Soviet law - History and influence of Soviet Law, Soviet law - The Structure of a Soviet Court, Soviet law - Internal security

Read more here: » Soviet law: Encyclopedia II - Soviet law - History and influence of Soviet Law

Chronology 1936 Chronology 1937 Chronology 1938-1939 Bombing of Guernica Battle of the Ebro edit Spanish Civil War - Political background. From 1934 to 1936, the Second Spanish Republic was governed by a center-right coalition that included the conservative Catholic Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (CEDA) as well as liberal politicians. The internal contradictions in the government, which had a liberal Prime Ministe ...

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Spanish Civil War, Spanish Civil War - Introduction, Spanish Civil War - Political background, Spanish Civil War - Foreign involvement, Spanish Civil War - The war: 1936, Spanish Civil War - The war: 1937, Spanish Civil War - The war: 1938, Spanish Civil War - The war: 1939, Spanish Civil War - Social Revolution, Spanish Civil War - People, Spanish Civil War - Figures identified with the Republican side, Spanish Civil War - Journalists and spies, Spanish Civil War - Figures identified with the Nationalist side, Spanish Civil War - Political parties and organizations, Spanish Civil War - The Popular Front, Spanish Civil War - Supporters of the Popular Front, Spanish Civil War - Nationalists, Spanish Civil War - Others, Spanish Civil War - Notes, Spanish Civil War - Related films

Read more here: » Spanish Civil War: Encyclopedia II - Spanish Civil War - Introduction

When Tito died in 1980, Yugoslavia had a $20 billion foreign debt amassed by the bureaucracy. The IMF and World Bank were brought in and laid down draconian conditions of austerity and free market radicalism to try to squeeze the debt out of Yugoslav workers. The Yugoslav federal government essentially became the internal agency of these imperialist financial institutions. While a description of the economic disaster is outside the range of this article, these conditions eventually helped pave the way for various bureaucratic nationalist war ...

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Croatia in the second Yugoslavia, Croatia in the second Yugoslavia - Serbian postwar domination, Croatia in the second Yugoslavia - Rich republics?, Croatia in the second Yugoslavia - Re-centralization, Croatia in the second Yugoslavia - The Croatian and Slovenian response, Croatia in the second Yugoslavia - Imperialist policy, Croatia in the second Yugoslavia - Aftermath

Read more here: » Croatia in the second Yugoslavia: Encyclopedia II - Croatia in the second Yugoslavia - Re-centralization

Born in London to a journalist father, Spender went to Gresham's School, Holt and University College, Oxford, where he met W. H. Auden. He did not finish his degree and went to Germany. (However, he was made an honorary fellow of the college in 1973.) Around this time he was also friends with Christopher Isherwood (who had also lived in Weimar Germany), and fellow Macspaunday members Louis MacNeice, and C. Day Lewis. He would later come to know W.B. Yeats, Allen Ginsberg, Ted Hughes, Joseph Brodsky, Isaiah Berlin, Mary McCarthy, Roy Campbell, Raymond Chandler, Dylan Thomas, Jean-Paul Sartre and T. S. Eliot, as well as members of the B ...

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Stephen Spender, Stephen Spender - Early life, Stephen Spender - The war years, Stephen Spender - Late life, Stephen Spender - Sexuality, Stephen Spender - Selected Bibliography, Stephen Spender - Poetry, Stephen Spender - Letters, Stephen Spender - Essays, Stephen Spender - Drama, Stephen Spender - Memoir, Stephen Spender - Fiction, Stephen Spender - Notes

Read more here: » Stephen Spender: Encyclopedia II - Stephen Spender - Early life

Communism - Soviet Marxism. In Russia, the 1917 October Revolution was the first time any party with an avowedly Marxist orientation, in this case the Bolshevik Party, obtained state power. The assumption of state power by the Bolsheviks generated a great deal of practical and theoretical debate within the Marxist movement. Marx believed that socialism and communism would be built upon foundations laid by the most advanced capitalist development. Russia, however, was one of the poorest countries in Europe with an ...

See also:

Communism, Communism - Early Communism, Communism - Marxism, Communism - The growth of modern Communism, Communism - Soviet Marxism, Communism - Cold War years, Communism - Maoism, Communism - Communism after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Communism - Criticism of communism, Communism - Comparing Communism to communism, Communism - Schools of communism, Communism - Organizations and people

Read more here: » Communism: Encyclopedia II - Communism - The growth of modern Communism