Roman Osipovich Rosdolsky ( uk, Рома́н О́сипович Роздо́льський ''Roman Osipovič Rozdol's'kyj'') (

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

, July 19, 1898 –

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, October 20, 1967) was a prominent Ukrainian Marxian scholar, historian and political theorist. Rodolskys book '' The Making of Marx's Capital,'' became a foundational text in the rediscovery of Marx

critique of political economy Critique of political economy or critique of economy is a form of Social criticism, social critique that rejects the various social categories and structures that constitute the mainstream discourse concerning the forms and modalities of resourc ...

. As well as influenced later scholars such as

Moishe Postone Moishe Postone (April 17, 1942 – March 19, 2018) was a Canadian historian and social theorist. He was a professor of history at the University of Chicago, where he was part of the Committee on Jewish Studies. Life and career Postone was bor ...

.Postone(1993) p.21

Biography

Roman Rosdolsky was born in Lemberg (

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

) in Galicia, at that time in the

Austro-Hungarian empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, now in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, and died in

Detroit, MI Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the ...

(USA). Rosdolsky's father Osyp Rosdolsky was a Ukrainian theologian, philologist, ethnographer and translator of some repute. Roman's uncle was Ukrainian composer Danylo Rosdolsky. Both Roman's grandparents were priests of the

Greek Catholic Church The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

and well-known supporters of the independence of the Ukrainian nation.

Ivan Franko Ivan Yakovych Franko (Ukrainian: Іван Якович Франко, pronounced ˈwɑn ˈjɑkowɪtʃ frɐnˈkɔ 27 August 1856 – 28 May 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, interpreter, economist, ...

was a family friend. As a youth, Rosdolsky was a member of the Ukrainian socialist ''Drahomanov Circles''. He was drafted in the imperial army in 1915, and edited with Roman Turiansky the journal '' Klyči'' in 1917. He was a founder of the International Revolutionary Social Democracy (IRSD) and studied law in Prague. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he founded the antimilitaristic "Internationale Revolutionäre Sozialistische Jugend Galiziens" (International Revolutionary Socialist Youth of Galizia). He became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Eastern Galicia, representing its émigré organization 1921-1924 and a leading publicist of the '' Vasylkivtsi'' faction of the Ukrainian Communists. In 1925, he refused to condemn

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...

and his

Left Opposition The Left Opposition was a faction within the Russian Communist Party (b) from 1923 to 1927 headed ''de facto'' by Leon Trotsky. The Left Opposition formed as part of the power struggle within the party leadership that began with the Soviet fou ...

, and was later, at the end of the 1920s, expelled from the Communist Party. In 1926-1931, he was correspondent in Vienna of the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow, searching for archival materials. At that time, in 1927, he met his wife Emily. When the labour movement in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

suffered repression, he emigrated in 1934 back to L'viv, where he worked at the university as lecturer and he published the

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

periodical '' Žittja i slovo'' 1934-1938. He was arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

in 1942, but survived internment for three years in the concentration camps of

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

, Ravensbrück and

Oranienburg Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Geography Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. Division of the town Oranienburg ...

. He emigrated to the USA in 1947, and worked there as independent scholar - failing to obtain a university post. He published also under pseudonyms such as "Roman Prokopovycz", "P.Suk.", "Tenet" and "W.S.". Rosdolsky is mainly known in the English-speaking world for his careful scholarly exegesis on Marx's ''

Grundrisse The ''Grundrisse der Kritik der Politischen Ökonomie'' (''Foundations of a Critique of Political Economy'') is an unfinished manuscript by the German philosopher Karl Marx. The series of seven notebooks was rough-drafted by Marx, chiefly for ...

'', ''The Making of Marx's Capital''. The collection of essays overturned many previous interpretations of ''

Das Kapital ''Das Kapital'', also known as ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' or sometimes simply ''Capital'' (german: Das Kapital. Kritik der politischen Ökonomie, link=no, ; 1867–1883), is a foundational theoretical text in Historical mater ...

''. Yet he published much more, especially on historical topics. During his life, he corresponded with numerous well known Marxist writers including

Isaac Deutscher Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...

Ernest Mandel Ernest Ezra Mandel (; also known by various pseudonyms such as Ernest Germain, Pierre Gousset, Henri Vallin, Walter (5 April 1923 – 20 July 1995), was a Belgian Marxian economist, Trotskyist activist and theorist, and Holocaust survivor. He fo ...

Paul Mattick Paul Mattick Sr. (March 13, 1904 – February 7, 1981) was a German-American Marxist political writer and social revolutionary, whose thought can be placed within the council communist and left communist traditions. Throughout his life, Mattic ...

, and Karl Korsch. Mandel called Rosdolsky's work on the National Question the only Marxist criticism of Marx himself.

Main published works in English

* 1951 "The Distribution of the Agrarian Product in Feudalism", in: ''Journal of Economic History'' (1951), pp. 247–265 * 1952 "On the nature of peasant serfdom in Central and Eastern Europe", in: ''Journal of Central European Affairs'', Vol. 12, 1952. * 1963 "A Revolutionary Parable on the Equality of Men", in: ''Archiv für Sozialgeschichte'', Bd. 3 (1963), pp. 291–293. * 1965 "Worker and Fatherland: a Note on a Passage in the Communist Manifesto". Science & Society, Vol. 29, 1965, pp. 330–337 (reprinted in Bob Jessop & Dennis Wheatley (ed.), ''Karl Marx's social and political thought''. London: Routledge, 1999). * 1974 "Method of Marx's Capital". ''New German Critique'', Number 3, Fall 1974. * 1977 ''The Making of Marx's Capital''. London: Pluto Press, 197

* 1986 ''Engels and the `Nonhistoric' Peoples: the National Question in the Revolution of 1848''. Glasgow: Critique books, 1987. First published in ''Critique'', No.18/19, 1986. * 1988 "A Memoir of Auschwitz and Birkenau." (Introd. John-Paul Himka). ''Monthly Review'' Vol. 39, no. 8 (January 1988), pp. 33–38

* 1999 ''Lenin and the First World War''. London: Prinkipo Press, 1999. * 2009 "The Jewish Orphanage in Cracow". In: The Online Publications Series of the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe ww.lvivcenter.org/download.php?downloadid=107 No. 4, Lviv, October 2009 (translated by Diana Rosdolsky)

Published writing in German

* 1937 "Karl Marx und der Polizeispitzel Bangya, in: International Review for Social History", Vol. 2, Leyden 1937, pp. 229–245. * 1938 "Die Geschichte der tschechisch-polnischen Beziehungen in der ersten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts", in: rager Rundschau, Jg. 8 (1938) pp. 114–140. * 1948 "Das jüdische Waisenhaus in Krakau". In: ''Arbeiter Zeitung'', Vienna, 15 April 1948. * 1954 "Die ostgalizische Dorfgemeinschaft und ihre Auflösung". In: ''Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeschichte''. Franz Steiner Verlag, Vol. 41, Nr. 2, 1954, pp. 97–145. * 1956 "Zur neueren Kritik des Marxschen Gesetzes der fallenden Profitrate", in: ''Kyklos'', 2 (1956), pp. 208–226 * 1957 Review of Martin Trottmann, Zur Interpretation und Kritik der Zusammenbruchstheorie von

Henryk Grossman Henryk Grossman (alternative spelling: ''Henryk Grossmann''; 14 April 1881 – 24 November 1950) was a Polish economist, historian, and Marxist revolutionary active in both Poland and Germany. Grossman's key contribution to political-economic t ...

n, in: ''Kyklos'', 3 (1957), pp. 353–355. * 1957 "Der esoterische und der exoterische Marx. Zur kritischen Würdigung der Marxschen Lohntheorie I–III", in: ''Arbeit und Wirtschaft'', Vol. 11 (1957), Nr. 11ff., pp. pp. 348–351, 388–391, 20–24. * 1959 ''Der Gebrauchswert bei Karl Marx. Eine Kritik der bisherigen Marx-Interpretation'', ''Kyklos. Internationale Zeitschrift für Sozialwissenschaften'', Vol. XII 1959, Basel, pp. 27–56. * 1959 "Joan Robinsons Marx-Kritik", in: ''Arbeit und Wirtschaft'', Vol. 13 (1959), Nr. 8f., pp. 178–183, 210–212. * 1959 'Zur Analyse der russischen Revolution', in ''Die Sozialismusdebatte. Historische und aktuelle Fragen des Sozialismus'', edited by Ulf Wolter, West Berlin: Olle & Wolter, 1978: 203-36. * 1961 ''Die grosse Steuer- und Agrarreform Josefs II. Ein Kapitel zur österreichischen Wirtschaftsgeschichte''. Warsaw: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1961. * 1963 "Archivalische Miszellen über O. Bauer". ''International Review of Social History'', vol. 8(1963), pp. 436–446. * 1963 "La

Neue Rheinische Zeitung The ''Neue Rheinische Zeitung: Organ der Demokratie'' ("New Rhenish Newspaper: Organ of Democracy") was a German daily newspaper, published by Karl Marx in Cologne between 1 June 1848 and 19 May 1849. It is recognised by historians as one of the ...

et les Juifs", in: ''Etudes de Marxologie'', no.7 (Aug. 1963). * 1963 "Ein neomarxistisches Lehrbuch der politischen Ökonomie", in: ''Kyklos. Internationale Zeitschrift für Sozialwissenschaften'', Vol. XVI, 1963, pp. 626–654. * 1963 "Archivalische Miszellen über Otto Bauer". In: ''International Review of Social History'', Vol. 8, pp. 436–446, 1963. * 1963 "K. Marx und ein "Privatsekretär" Th. Sanders". ''International Review of Social History'' vol. 8(1963), pp. 282–285. * 1963 "Archivalische Miszellen über Otto Bauer". In: ''International Review of Social History'', Vol. 8, pp. 436–446, 1963. * 1963 (Review) "Alfred Schmidt, Der Begriff der Natur in der Lehre von Marx". In: ''Schweizer Zeitschrift für Volkswirtschaft und Statistik'', pp. 524–527, 1963. * 1965 "Die Rolle des Zufalls und der "Grossen Männer" in der Geschichte" (1965) . ''Kritik'', Vol 5, No. 14, 1977, p. 67-96, Verlag Olle & Wolter, ISSN 0170-4761. * 1966 "Die serbische Sozialdemokratie und die Stockholmer Konferenz von 1917", in: ''Archiv für Sozialgeschichte'', Vol. 6-7(1966–67), pp. 583–597. * 1968 "Einige Bemerkungen über die Methode des Marxschen "Kapitals" und ihre Bedeutung für die heutige Marxforschung". In: ''Kritik der politischen Ökonomie heute. 100 Jahre "Kapital"''. Frankfurt, Europäische Verlagsanstalt, pp. 9–21, 1968. * 1969 "Der Streit um die polnisch-russischen Staatsgrenzen anlässlich des polnischen Aufstandes von 1863", in: ''Archiv für Sozialgeschichte'', Vol. 9(1969), pp. 157–180. * 1973 Studien über revolutionäre Taktik : 2 unveröffentlichte Arbeiten über d. 2. Internationale u. d. österr. Sozialdemokratie. With comments about the author and the edited texts by Emily Rosdolsky. Berlin : Verlag für d. Studium d. Arbeiterbewegung, 1973. * 1976 ''Die Bauernabgeordneten im konstituierenden österreichischen Reichstag 1848 - 1849''. Introduced by Eduard März. Vienna: Europaverlag, 1976. * 1992 ''Untertan und Staat in Galizien : die Reformen unter Maria Theresia und Joseph II''. Mainz: Von Zabern, 1992. * 1979 ''Zur nationalen Frage. Friedrich Engels und das Problem der 'geschichtslosen' Völker'', Verlag Olle & Wolter, Berlin 1979, .

Writing in Italian

* 2007 "La situazione rivoluzionaria in Austria nel 1918 e la politica dei socialdemocratici", in: Antonio Moscato (ed.), ''Trockij e le pace necessaria: 1918, la socialdemocrazia e la tragedia russa''. Argo: 2007.

Writing in Polish

* 1962 "Do historij "Krawego Roku" 1846". In: ''Kwartalnik Historyczny'', pp. 403–321, 1958. * 196
''Stosunki poddańcze w dawnej Galicji''
Warsaw, Paňstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1962. * 1962 ""Spowied" Goslara." In: ''Kwartalnik Historyczny'', 1962. * 1969 "Do historij "Sojuzu vyzvolennja Ukrajny"". In: ''Ukrajan'kik Samostijnik'', 1969 et seq. pp. 31-40, pp. 29-35, pp. 38-42, pp. 33-39; pp. 26-30; pp. 32-39.

Writing in Ukrainian

* 1927 (Pseudonym T. Prokopovych) "Fridrych Engel's pro Ukrajinu". In: ''Chervonyj Shliakh'', pp. 161–186, 1927, Nr. 7-8 * 1951 "Do istorii ukrains'koho livo-sotsiialistychnoho rukhu v Halychyni (Pidchasvoienni 'Drahomanivky' 1916-18 r.r.),". In: ''Vpered'', 1951, Nr. 3-4.

About Roman Rosdolsky

, "Roman Rosdolsky (1898-1967)", Quatrième Internationale, 33 (April 1968). English translation: "Roman Rosdolsky - a genuine Marxist scholar", ''Intercontinental Press'' (New York), 6, 21: 512-514, 3 June 1968. Dutch translation: "Wie was Roman Rosdolsk

(obituary) * Obituary of Emily Rosdolsk

* Janusz Radziejowski, "Roman Rosdolsky: man, activist a scholar", in: ''Science & Society'', Vol. 42 (1978) Nr. 2, pp. 198–210 (provides biographical details). *Anson G. Rabinbach, "Roman Rosdolsky 1897-1967: an introduction". ''New German Critique'', No. 3, Autumn 1974, pp. 56–61. * Ralph Melvile 1992, 'Roman Rosdolsky (1898-1967) als Historiker Galiziens und der Habsburgermonarchie', in: Roman Rosdolsky, ''Untertan und Staat in Galizien. Die Reformen unter Maria Theriasia und Joseph II'', Mainz: Von Zabern: VII-XXV. * "On Roman Rosdolsky as a Guide to the Politics of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung", ''Science & Society'', Vol. 63, Nr 2, pp. 235–241 * Review of Roman Rosdolsky, ''Engels and the `Nonhistoric' Peoples''

*

Raya Dunayevskaya Raya Dunayevskaya (born Raya Shpigel, ; May 1, 1910 - June 9, 1987), later Rae Spiegel, also known by the pseudonym Freddie Forest, was the American founder of the philosophy of Marxist humanism in the United States. At one time Leon Trotsky's s ...

, ''A Critique of Roman Rosdolsky: Rosdolsky's Methodology and the Missing Dialectic'

*

, ''Roman Rosdolsky: Das symbolische Schicksal eines osteuropäischen Marxisten'

* Manfred A. Turban, "Roman Rosdolsky's Reconsideration of the Traditional Marxist Debate on the Schemes of Reproduction on New Methodological Grounds", in Koropeckyj, I. S., ed. ''Selected Contributions of Ukrainian Scholars to Economics. Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute Sources and Documents series''. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute distributed by Harvard University Press, 1984, pages 91–134. * John Paul Himka, "Roman Rosdolsky's Reconsideration of the Traditional Marxist Debate on the Schemes of Reproduction on New Methodological Grounds: Comments", in Koropeckyj, I. S., ed. ''Selected Contributions of Ukrainian Scholars to Economics''. Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute Sources and Documents series. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute distributed by Harvard University Press, 1984, pages 135-47. * João Antonio de Paula, "Roman Rosdolsky (1898-1967): um intelectual em tempos de extremos". ''Nova Economia'', vol.17, n.2, 2007

* Anson G. Rabinbach, "Roman Rosdolsky 1897-1967: An Introduction". ''New German Critique'', No. 3 (Autumn, 1974), pp. 56–61.

References

External links

Roman Rosdolsky Archive
at marxists.org *

International Institute of Social History The International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG) is one of the largest archives of labor and social history in the world. Located in Amsterdam, its one million volumes and 2,300 archival collections include the papers of major figur ...

A description of the Rosdolsky archives

Wikiversity Rosdolsky reading circle (Vienna)