Socialism and its Culture The Prison Manuscripts

Bukharin's "Prison Manuscripts" were written in Moscow's Lubyanka prison during 1937-1938 while awaiting his inevitable liquidation. As with Gramsci's "Prison Notebooks", Bukharin's "Manuscripts" focus on culture, ideology and philosophy in the context of building an alternative vision of socialism. A socialism to set against capitalism, fascism and the kind of socialism practised in the Soviet Union after Lenin's death. The book brings together Bukharin's key writings on socialism and its culture from the Manuscripts. Here Bukharin explores the realization of the concept of total man, the problems of freedom, equality and hierarchy, the style of socialist culture, the nature of progress, diversities in capitalism and socialism, the role of the Party, and the dictatorship of the proletariat in the cultural revolution. Its publication will be a major event for anyone interested in cultural and political history, philosophy, and ethics.
Description :
Bukharin's Prison Manuscripts were written in Moscow's Lubyanka prison during 1937-1938 while awaiting his inevitable liquidation. Like Antonio Gramsci's Prison Notebooks, Bukharin's Manuscripts too have their central emphasis on issues such as culture, ideology and philosophy in the context of building up an alternative vision of socialism, as against capitalism, fascism and the kind of socialism practised in the Soviet Union under Stalin. Written between February and April 1937, this thought-provoking volume deals with themes such as: the realization of the concept of total man, the problem of freedom, the problem of equality and hierarchy, the style of socialist culture, the problem of progress, diversities in capitalism and socialism, the role of the Party and the dictatorship of the proletariat in the cultural revolution. Its publication will be a major event for anyone interested in cultural studies, history of socialism, philosophy and ethics.

Nikolai Bukharin (1888-1938) was a leading Bolshevik intellectual and revolutionary, and the author of more than 100 articles and books. Executed as a counter-revolutionary, he was exonerated 50 years later by Gorbachev.
George Shriver has translated and edited Roy Medvedev's On Soviet Dissent and The October Revolution, as well as his Let History Judge. He is also the translator of Bukharin's How It All Began: The Prison Novel. CONTENTS:
(1) Translator's introduction by George Shriver
(2) Foreword by Boris Frezinsky
(3) To the reader by Svetlana Gurvich-Bukharina
(4) The crisis of capitalist culture and socialism socialism and its culture
(5) On the historical point of view and historical criteria for making evaluations (b.d.)
(6) The material base for socialist culture
(7) Creating a whole person
(8) The problem of nationalist cultures and the creation of an integrated socialist culture (europe and asia)
(9) Creating an integrated humanity
(10) Diversity in capitalist society and diversity in the society of socialism
(11) The problem of the individual and society
(12) The problem of equality and hierarchy
(13) The problem of freedom
(14) The problem of progress
(15) The style of socialist culture
(16) Role of the party and the dictatorship of the proletariat
(17) In the cultural revolution
(18) Conclusion
(19) Appendix-Fundamental problems of contemporary culture speech to the association pour l'etude de la culture sovietique (association for the study of soviet culture) in Paris, 3 April 1936.