The Subject and the Ideal: A Critical Discussion among Russian Marxists before the Revolution

At the beginning of the 20th century, criticism of both the classical positivist materialism of the orthodox Marxists and the idealist tendencies of the "legal Marxists" was voiced by some important figures in Russian Marxism, whose positions on this aspect anticipated later critical theory. Thinkers such as A. A. Bogdanov and A. V. Lunacharskii interpreted the ideal as an essential dimension for the development of a critical reflection on the present, as a "different" standpoint from which to view and judge the world as it is. For both, such an Archimedean standpoint was neither given by historical determinism nor by transcendent values. Their "realism," which was not a mere recognition of the dynamics of social, economic and political reality, expressed an emotional affirmation of the creative life of humanity and a strong belief in its power. In this perspective, "critical" Marxism represented an alternative to orthodox Marxism. In contrast to contemporary "critical theory," however, it did not question the idea of a powerful human subject that conquers nature and history.