4min chapter

11.1 Why the Russian Revolution Failed: When Rich Kids do all the Socialism

WHAT IS POLITICS?

CHAPTER

The Personal Destiny of Our Revolutionary Socialists Depends on What You Have to Say

In 1881, Marx had corresponded with a young Russian Marxist and disciple of Tlekhanov named Vera Zasilich. She asked him if there's any hope of socialism in Russia without having to go through an extended capitalist phase. His reply is really interesting because he writes four drafts; you can see his hesitance to assert anything too forcefully by the progression of the drafts. He starts with a long several pages response and then ends up with a short response about page long. But weirdly, he leaves out most of this stuff that I just quoted in his final response.

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