Scientific Communism
Encyclopedia
Scientific communism was one of the three major ingredients of Marxism-Leninism
as taught in the Soviet Union
in all institutions of higher education
and pursued in the corresponding research institutions, and departments. The discipline consisted in investigation of laws, patterns, ways, and forms of class struggle
, socialist revolution, and development of socialism
and construction of communism
. Towards the end of the Soviet Union, the exam was not particularly difficult and often was treated more a formality then a serious step in social indoctrination.
Passing exams in scientific communism was an obligatory prerequisite in obtaining any postgraduate scientific degree in the Soviet Union; see "Kandidat
" article for details.
Typical courses of study included the following topics, among others.
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
as taught in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in all institutions of higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
and pursued in the corresponding research institutions, and departments. The discipline consisted in investigation of laws, patterns, ways, and forms of class struggle
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
, socialist revolution, and development of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and construction of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. Towards the end of the Soviet Union, the exam was not particularly difficult and often was treated more a formality then a serious step in social indoctrination.
Passing exams in scientific communism was an obligatory prerequisite in obtaining any postgraduate scientific degree in the Soviet Union; see "Kandidat
Kandidat
The Candidate of Sciences degree is a first post-graduate scientific degree in some former Eastern Bloc countries, such as Russia and Ukraine, which is awarded for original research that constitutes a significant contribution to a scientific field. The degree was first introduced in the USSR on...
" article for details.
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 proletariatDictatorship of the proletariatIn Marxist socio-political thought, the dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a socialist state in which the proletariat, or the working class, have control of political power. The term, coined by Joseph Weydemeyer, was adopted by the founders of Marxism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in the...
- Transformation of socialism into communism
- Socialist democracy
- Communist interpersonal relations and upbringing
- Criticisms of anti-communismAnti-communismAnti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
Other components of Marxism-Leninism
- Marxist-Leninist philosophy (Marxist philosophyMarxist philosophyMarxist philosophy or Marxist theory are terms that cover work in philosophy that is strongly influenced by Karl Marx's materialist approach to theory or that is written by Marxists...
plus developments of Vladimir LeninVladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
), subdivided into dialectical materialismDialectical materialismDialectical materialism is a strand of Marxism synthesizing Hegel's dialectics. The idea was originally invented by Moses Hess and it was later developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...
and historical materialismHistorical materialismHistorical materialism is a methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history, first articulated by Karl Marx as "the materialist conception of history". Historical materialism looks for the causes of developments and changes in human society in the means by which humans... - Political economyPolitical economyPolitical economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...
subdivided into the political economy of capitalism and political economy of socialism