Fraternity of peoples
Encyclopedia
Fraternity of peoples is a concept advanced by
Marxist
social class
theory. According to Marxism, nationalism
is only a tool of the ruling class
, used to keep the working class
divided and thus easier to control and exploit. With the success of class struggle
(i.e. the abolition of social class
es), the natural brotherhood of all workers would make the idea of separate nation
s obsolete. The concept of the fraternity of the peoples is often opposed to "bourgeois cosmopolitanism".
The Tsar
ist Russian Empire
was dubbed the "prison of the peoples" ("Тюрьма народов") by Lenin. The Soviet Union
, which replaced the empire, proclaimed that the goal of its national policy was to forge a new national entity, the "Soviet people
". Even though the USSR often claimed to make significant progress on that path, its dissolution
put an end to that goal.
Soviet authorities frequently referred to "enemies of the people
" (often meaning Jews) as "rootless cosmopolitan
s", meaning people with no loyalty to the motherland. This could be seen a contradicting the theory of the fraternity of peoples by invoking nationalism.
Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
theory. According to Marxism, nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
is only a tool of the ruling class
Ruling class
The term ruling class refers to the social class of a given society that decides upon and sets that society's political policy - assuming there is one such particular class in the given society....
, used to keep the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
divided and thus easier to control and exploit. With the success 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"....
(i.e. the abolition of social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
es), the natural brotherhood of all workers would make the idea of separate nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
s obsolete. The concept of the fraternity of the peoples is often opposed to "bourgeois cosmopolitanism".
The Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
ist Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
was dubbed the "prison of the peoples" ("Тюрьма народов") by Lenin. 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....
, which replaced the empire, proclaimed that the goal of its national policy was to forge a new national entity, the "Soviet people
Soviet people
Soviet people or Soviet nation was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Initially used as a nonspecific reference to the Soviet population, it was eventually declared to be a "new historical, social and international unity of people".-Nationality politics in early Soviet...
". Even though the USSR often claimed to make significant progress on that path, its dissolution
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
put an end to that goal.
Soviet authorities frequently referred to "enemies of the people
Enemy of the people
The term enemy of the people is a fluid designation of political or class opponents of the group using the term. The term implies that the "enemies" in question are acting against society as a whole. It is similar to the notion of "enemy of the state". The term originated in Roman times as ,...
" (often meaning Jews) as "rootless cosmopolitan
Rootless cosmopolitan
Rootless cosmopolitan was a Soviet euphemism widely used during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1948–1953, which culminated in the "exposure" of the alleged Doctors' plot...
s", meaning people with no loyalty to the motherland. This could be seen a contradicting the theory of the fraternity of peoples by invoking nationalism.
See also
- Proletarian internationalismProletarian internationalismProletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is a Marxist social class concept based on the view that capitalism is now a global system, and therefore the working class must act as a global class if it is to defeat it...
- Bourgeois nationalismBourgeois nationalismBourgeois nationalism is a term from Marxist phraseology. It refers to the alleged practice by the ruling classes of deliberately dividing people by nationality, race, ethnicity, or religion, so as to distract them from possible class warfare...
- Evil empireEvil empireThe phrase evil empire was applied to the Soviet Union especially by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who took an aggressive, hard-line stance that favored matching and exceeding the Soviet Union's strategic and global military capabilities, in calling for a rollback strategy that would, in his words,...
- CosmopolitanismCosmopolitanismCosmopolitanism is the ideology that all human ethnic groups belong to a single community based on a shared morality. This is contrasted with communitarian and particularistic theories, especially the ideas of patriotism and nationalism...
External links
- On the National Pride of the Great Russians article by Lenin