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Socialism in Power

On the History and Theory of Socialist Governance

  • Book
  • © 2023

Overview

Authors:
  1. Roland Boer

    1. School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China

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  • Provides the first comprehensive Marxist study of a century of socialist governance
  • Deploys analysis by Marxist scholars of the countries in question
  • Identifies the key developments in theory and practice that reveal the latent superiority of socialist governance

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xv
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 1-9

  3. Marx on the State, Proletarian Dictatorship and Commune

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 11-33

  4. Friedrich Engels and the Foundations of Socialist Governance

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 35-59

  5. Lenin, Before and After October

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 61-87

  6. The Soviet Union as a Multi-national and Anti-colonial State

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 89-111

  7. Democracy and a “Socialist State”

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 113-136

  8. The “Korean Style” of Socialist Governance in the DPRK

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 137-164

  9. China’s Whole Process People’s Democracy

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 165-190

  10. The People’s Will: Stability, Safety, and Harmony in Xinjiang

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 191-218

  11. Governing the Country According to Law: The Case of the Hong Kong Storm

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 219-244

  12. Party Building: Strengthening the Construction of a Marxist Party

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 245-269

  13. Conclusion: Communism and the Common Good

    • Roland Boer
    Pages 271-280
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Keywords

About this book

This book examines the historical development—in practice and theory—of governance in socialist systems. With more than a century of such development from many parts of the world,  including the Soviet Union, China, and the DPRK (North Korea), it is possible to gain much from careful study of their political systems.
But what is the nature of this socialist governance? It is abundantly clear that the type of governance in socialist countries had never before been seen in human history. How does this governance work? What was the political theory that arose from the practice? How did this type of governance develop over time and in light of specific conditions?
These are the questions that Socialism in Power sets out to answer. It does so not by using methods developed for studying Western liberal nation-states, but by deploying Marxist-Leninist analysis. Not an abstract Marxism, but concrete Marxism, as it was applied and developed in light of the particular historical conditions of the countries in question.
The book begins with careful analysis of the works of Marx and Engels, with a particular emphasis on Engels, who was crucial in establishing the basic principles of socialist governance. Next, the book focuses on the Soviet Union, which was the first country in human history to experience socialism in power. The rarely studied DPRK (North Korea) comes next, as a transition to East Asia, followed by a number of chapters on China, which arguably has the most developed form of socialist governance.

Authors and Affiliations

  • School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China

    Roland Boer

About the author

Roland Boer is a professor in the School of Marxism, at Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China. Among numerous works on Marxism and philosophy, he has published the five-volume work, The Criticism of Heaven and Earth (2007-14). In 2014, it was awarded the Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize. He has recently published Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners (Springer 2021), and Friedrich Engels and the Foundations of Socialist Governance (Springer 2021).

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Socialism in Power

  • Book Subtitle: On the History and Theory of Socialist Governance

  • Authors: Roland Boer

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5414-6

  • Publisher: Springer Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-19-5413-9Published: 02 March 2023

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-981-19-5416-0Published: 03 March 2024

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-19-5414-6Published: 01 March 2023

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XV, 280

  • Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations, 4 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Political Philosophy, Governance and Government, Political Theory

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