Scientific communism (, ''nauchny kommunizm''), is one of three major elements of

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

. The communist literature defines it as "the science dealing with general

socio-political Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...

laws and patterns, ways, forms and methods of changing society" along

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

lines, according to the historical mission of the

proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian or a . Marxist ph ...

(the

proletarian revolution A proletarian revolution or proletariat revolution is a social revolution in which the working class attempts to overthrow the bourgeoisie and change the previous political system. Proletarian revolutions are generally advocated by socialist ...

); in other words, it is the science regarding the "working-class" struggle and the

social revolution Social revolutions are sudden changes in the structure and nature of society. These revolutions are usually recognized as having transformed society, economy, culture, philosophy, and technology along with but more than just the political system ...

, about the supposed "laws behind the building of

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and communism, and about the world revolutionary process as a whole."'' A Dictionary of Scientific Communism''. Moscow: Progress Publishers (1984). p. 212. In a broader sense, "scientific communism" can mean

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism () is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the History of communism, communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist gov ...

as a whole; the "scientific expression of the radical interests and objectives involved in the struggle of the working class." In other words, it was the Marxist-Leninist school of

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. The term "scientific communism" has been already used by Marx, Engels, Lenin, and other early communists; however it was used in reference to their point of view on the socialist and communist movements in the world, rather than a separate entire scientific discipline. points out that in the Soviet Union "social sciences" were seen as educational disciplines whose primary goal was forming the "correct", i.e. communist,

worldview A worldview (also world-view) or is said to be the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and Perspective (cognitive), point of view. However, whe ...

. It was an instrument for

indoctrination Indoctrination is the process of inculcating (teaching by repeated instruction) a person or people into an ideology, often avoiding critical analysis. It can refer to a general process of socialization. The term often implies forms of brainwas ...

, rather than for gaining objective knowledge.

Scientific communism as an educational discipline

The subject "scientific communism" as a separate discipline was introduced into the Soviet education system in 1963, following the order of the Soviet ideologist

Mikhail Suslov Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov (; 25 January 1982) was a Soviet people, Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union#Secretariat, Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Sovi ...

.
"К истории советской академической дисциплины «Основы научного коммунизма»"
''Идеи и Идеалы'' journal, No. 1(27), vol. 1, 2016 Paul Milton Carter in his Ph.D. thesis ''Suslov and Soviet Scientific Communism'' argued that this Suslov's move was to secure his position as "chief ideologist" and to address the growing demand on the introduction of a discipline of

of Marxist–Leninist type. Before that the role of Soviet sociologists was to counter the "

bourgeois pseudoscience Bourgeois pseudoscience () was a term of condemnation in the Soviet Union for certain scientific disciplines that were deemed unacceptable from an ideology, ideological perspective (cognitive), point of view due to their incompatibility with Marxis ...

" of sociology. Scientific communism was to take over the sociological elements of the discipline of

historical materialism Historical materialism is Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx located historical change in the rise of Class society, class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods. Karl Marx stated that Productive forces, techno ...

. Following this innovation in the education system, the department of Scientific Communism was opened by the Institute of Philosophy of the

USSR Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (u ...

. It was taught in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in all institutions of

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

and pursued in the corresponding research institutions and departments. The term was treated by authorities as encompassing the

scientific socialism Scientific socialism in Marxism is the application of historical materialism to the development of socialism, as not just a practical and achievable outcome of historical processes, but the only possible outcome. It contrasts with utopian social ...

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

and the

CPSU The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

. The discipline consisted in investigation of laws, patterns, ways and forms of

class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

, and socialist revolution, as well as the development of

and construction of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

Overview

Passing exams in scientific communism was a necessary prerequisite for obtaining a

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

degree in a science in the USSR, i.e.,

Candidate of Sciences A Candidate of Sciences is a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD-equivalent academic research degree in all the post-Soviet countries with the exception of Ukraine, and until the 1990s it was also awarded in Central and Eastern European countries. It is ...

. Typical courses of study included the following topics, among others: * Origins and development of the communist theory * Theory of socialist revolution * International communist movement * Dictatorship of the proletariat * Transformation of

into

* Communist interpersonal relations and upbringing * Criticisms of anti-communism Other components of Marxism in the Soviet education system, following Lenin's article '' The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism'': *

Marxist philosophy Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory are works in philosophy that are strongly influenced by Karl Marx's Historical materialism, materialist approach to theory, or works written by Marxists. Marxist philosophy may be broadly divided into Wester ...

, subdivided into

dialectical materialism Dialectical materialism is a materialist theory based upon the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that has found widespread applications in a variety of philosophical disciplines ranging from philosophy of history to philosophy of scien ...

and

Political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

, subdivided into the political economy of capitalism and political economy of socialism

References

{{Communism Communism Education in the Soviet Union Science and technology in the Soviet Union

Scientific communism as an educational discipline

Overview

See also

References