Marxism in Power: The Rise and Fall of a Doctrine

Details the historical development of Marxism--from the initial theories of Karl Marx, through its rise in the Soviet Union, to its recent collapse--and explains pre-Marxist socialism, basic Marxist principles, and variations of these theories.

A political historian updates, broadens, and simplifies his adult-level history of Soviet power. Setting the scene with the recent collapse of Marxist regimes around the globe, Kort presents the rise of socialist ideas with the Industrial Revolution and shows how Marx and Engels collaborated to develop the Marxist movement; the book is most valuable for its unusually clear explanation of the basic idea of dialectical materialism. Kort explains why Western European Marxists became reformers rather than revolutionaries while Russian Marxists, in their despair, became increasingly violent, and he shows how political and social conditions elsewhere led to other versions of Marxism, particularly in China. Moving into more recent history, the author's evident abhorrence for Marxism's results skews his presentation. Harping on the repressive side of the ``dictatorship of the proletariat,'' he passes over the appeal of Marxist ideals to both intellectuals and workers, pointing instead to the massive political and economic failure that caused former communists to beg for Western aid. Concentrating on the fortunes of particular political leaders, Kort fails to answer the obvious question: If the philosophy of Marxism was so terrible, why did it appeal so strongly to so many ordinary people around the world? Clearly presented, but not a balanced viewpoint. Source notes; chronology; index. Photos not seen. (Nonfiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.