The Radical Tradition (Routledge Revivals): A Study in Modern Revolutionary Thought - Hardcover

Gombin, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415568080 ISBN 13: 9780415568081

Publisher: Routledge, 2009

Synopsis

Originally published in 1978, Richard Gombin’s book traces the recurrent attitudes in the history of the European revolutionary movement which have criticized socialist and communist parties for their authoritarian and bureaucratic tendencies, and which have stressed spontaneity and decentralization as the correct basis from which to change society.

From a critique of Marx, through to an examination of Soviet practice under Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin as a factor in the disillusionment of the left with the methods of the Russian Revolution, Gombin’s study examines the concepts of ‘workers’ councils’ as they emerged in several countries after the First World War. This comparative study develops the idea of a ‘council communism’ as opposed to a ‘party communism’ which, he suggests, is the fundamental concept in the criticism of orthodox Communism from the left.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Gombin

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0415568080
• ISBN 13: 9780415568081
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 162