Marxism, Nationalism, and Russia

Abstract

The XIXth-century founders of contemporary Marxism willed a surprisingly slim written legacy to their followers on what role, if any, nationalism would play in paving road to socialism. Perhaps it was their preoccupation with economics, but fact remains that neither Marx nor Engels took time to lay down in black and white a cohesive national program for their disciples of yesterday and today to follow. Nevertheless, their comments on nationalism, scattered up and down their voluminous writings, had a significant effect on revolutionary strategy of Lenin and development of Bolshevik nationality policy. Their literary outpourings have assumed an even greater importance today in face of growing national movements in Asia and Africa. The conflict between nationalism and proletarian internationalism has sharpened in last generation and posed a difficult question for Marxists concerning independence movements in colonial and semi-colonial nations; namely, where do loyalties of industrial proletariat lie in freedom movements led by national bourgeoisie? The dilemma is not readily resolved by turning to works of two Socialist prophets. Unfortunately, Marx and Engels displayed an ambivalent attitude toward problems of nationalism, national selfdetermination, and national struggles in backward areas of world. On one hand, for example, they viewed nationalism as a fading phenomenon, while on other they urged proletariat to establish itself as the nation. Marx and Engels openly supported principle of national self-determination of historical peoples for Poles, Hungarians, Italians, and Irish, but bitterly denounced same aspirations of Ukrainians, Croats, Czechs, and other small ethnic groups of multi-national Russian, Prussian, and Austrian empires. Despite over-all internationalist import of their revolutionary ideology, Marx and Engels exhibited unmistakable taint of German chauvinism through their call for unification of Germany at expense of Danish self-determination in Schleswig province. The workers of different nations had too much in common to be drawn into fratricidal wars among capitalist states, Marx said; but this did not discourage Engels from urging German workers to fight to last