Czechoslovak Post-Stalinism: A Distinct Field of Socialist Visions
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Abstract
Recent historical research has looked at post-Stalinism as a specific and distinct historical era. Whereas Anatoly Pinsky points to the post-Stalinist emphasis on subjectivity, Pavel Kolář writes about post-Stalinist indecisiveness resulting from the tension between its inheritance from the past and an anticipated future. Having both approaches in mind, this article sheds light on the anticipatory character of post-Stalinist thought, which, by critically analyzing its present, aimed to achieve a socialist future. The opening part of the article articulates a theory of modernity, which is applied to the history of thought and is employed as a general framework for defining the post-Stalinist era. Second, the authors introduce the category of post-Stalinist reflexivity and analyze internal differentiation within the thought of the party intelligentsia, which led to the birth of various conceptions of socialism (an “internal plurality”). Third, the article analyzes humanist and techno-optimist thought in Czechoslovakia and demonstrates the future-oriented nature of post-Stalinism.
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Czechoslovak Post-Stalinism: A Distinct Field of Socialist Visions
In: East Central EuropeSearch for other papers by Jan Mervart in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Jiří Růžička in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Recent historical research has looked at post-Stalinism as a specific and distinct historical era. Whereas Anatoly Pinsky points to the post-Stalinist emphasis on subjectivity, Pavel Kolář writes about post-Stalinist indecisiveness resulting from the tension between its inheritance from the past and an anticipated future. Having both approaches in mind, this article sheds light on the anticipatory character of post-Stalinist thought, which, by critically analyzing its present, aimed to achieve a socialist future. The opening part of the article articulates a theory of modernity, which is applied to the history of thought and is employed as a general framework for defining the post-Stalinist era. Second, the authors introduce the category of post-Stalinist reflexivity and analyze internal differentiation within the thought of the party intelligentsia, which led to the birth of various conceptions of socialism (an “internal plurality”). Third, the article analyzes humanist and techno-optimist thought in Czechoslovakia and demonstrates the future-oriented nature of post-Stalinism.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 680 | 150 | 17 |
| Full Text Views | 23 | 6 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 70 | 13 | 0 |
