Nikolai Danielson
Encyclopedia
Nikolai Frantsevich Danielson (also known as N-on, Nik-on, Nikolai-on, 1844-July 13, 1918) was a Russian economist and sociologist
.
.) During that period, Nikolaion became involved in radical political circles and sympathized with the populist (narodnik) movement.
' opus "Capital"
, volume 1. The translation had been initiated by Mikhail Bakunin
, before Bakunin's break with Marx, and continued by German Lopatin
. While completing the translation, Danielson initiated a correspondence with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
which continued for the rest of their lives. Danielson also translated volumes 2 and 3 of "Capital", which were published in 1885 and 1896. In 1880, Danielson published the article "Studies of Our Post-Reform Economy" in the journal "Slovo", no. 10. Marx (who had taught himself Russian) commended it and encouraged Danielson to expand it into a book, which Danielson subsequently did. That book, bearing the same title, appeared in 1893. This book and the article on which it was based contained extensive statistical material on Russia's economic development.
, Vladimir Lenin
and Peter Struve, among others. To Danielson's chagrin, his critics grouped him together with 'populist' ('narodnik') writers like V.P. Vorontsov
and Nikolay Mikhaylovsky. Whereas Vorontsov claimed that the development of industrial capitalism in Russia was impossible for lack of markets and N.K. Mikhailovsky thought that capitalist development, while possible, was undesirable and could still be prevented, Danielson argued that capitalist industrialisation was already well underway in Russia by the 1890s. In this the "orthodox" Marxists agreed with him. However, in the 1890s, Plekhanov, Lenin and their associates argued that capitalism in Russia must follow essentially the same course as capitalist development in Western Europe. Danielson believed that the 'capitalist stage' of development could be foreshortened in Russia, since Russia, owing to its late development, could adopt the latest industrial technology from the West without having to undergo the social evolution that had first produced it in the West. This theory went back to A.I. Herzen and N.G. Chernyshevsky and strongly influenced the theoreticians of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party
(PSR), such as V.M. Chernov. It also anticipated Leon Trotsky
's theory of "uneven and combined development". Danielson argued that capitalism was essentially dispensable for further economic development, and that industrialisation could continue on the basis of a socialist economy. Like the populists ('narodniki') he saw the peasant village communes which still survived as potential nuclei for a socialist organisation of the Russian economy. Plekhanov and Lenin denounced this as dangerous utopianism.
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
.
Early Life
In the 1860s he worked at the St Petersburg Mutual Credit Association. Mutual credit associations were then often associated with utopian and social reform politics. (The term 'mutualism' and the idea of a 'people's bank' of mutual credit had been proposed by the French social critic ProudhonPierre-Joseph Proudhon
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon was a French politician, mutualist philosopher and socialist. He was a member of the French Parliament, and he was the first person to call himself an "anarchist". He is considered among the most influential theorists and organisers of anarchism...
.) During that period, Nikolaion became involved in radical political circles and sympathized with the populist (narodnik) movement.
Economic Writings and Translation of Capital
In 1872, Danielson published the first Russian translation of Karl MarxKarl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
' opus "Capital"
Das Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
, volume 1. The translation had been initiated by Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin was a well-known Russian revolutionary and theorist of collectivist anarchism. He has also often been called the father of anarchist theory in general. Bakunin grew up near Moscow, where he moved to study philosophy and began to read the French Encyclopedists,...
, before Bakunin's break with Marx, and continued by German Lopatin
German Lopatin
German Lopatin was a Russian revolutionary, journalist and writer.-Biography:...
. While completing the translation, Danielson initiated a correspondence with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
which continued for the rest of their lives. Danielson also translated volumes 2 and 3 of "Capital", which were published in 1885 and 1896. In 1880, Danielson published the article "Studies of Our Post-Reform Economy" in the journal "Slovo", no. 10. Marx (who had taught himself Russian) commended it and encouraged Danielson to expand it into a book, which Danielson subsequently did. That book, bearing the same title, appeared in 1893. This book and the article on which it was based contained extensive statistical material on Russia's economic development.
Views on Marxism
Danielson regarded himself as a Marxist but was sharply criticized by the self-proclaimed "orthodox" Marxists Georgi PlekhanovGeorgi Plekhanov
Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist theoretician. He was a founder of the Social-Democratic movement in Russia and was one of the first Russians to identify himself as "Marxist." Facing political persecution, Plekhanov emigrated to Switzerland in 1880, where...
, Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir 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...
and Peter Struve, among others. To Danielson's chagrin, his critics grouped him together with 'populist' ('narodnik') writers like V.P. Vorontsov
Vasily Vorontsov
Vasilii Pavlovich Vorontsov was an influential Russian narodnik economist and sociologist, one of the principal protagonists in the controversy between narodnik and Marxist economists in the 1880s and '90s.-Life:V.P. Vorontsov came from a distinguished aristocratic family...
and Nikolay Mikhaylovsky. Whereas Vorontsov claimed that the development of industrial capitalism in Russia was impossible for lack of markets and N.K. Mikhailovsky thought that capitalist development, while possible, was undesirable and could still be prevented, Danielson argued that capitalist industrialisation was already well underway in Russia by the 1890s. In this the "orthodox" Marxists agreed with him. However, in the 1890s, Plekhanov, Lenin and their associates argued that capitalism in Russia must follow essentially the same course as capitalist development in Western Europe. Danielson believed that the 'capitalist stage' of development could be foreshortened in Russia, since Russia, owing to its late development, could adopt the latest industrial technology from the West without having to undergo the social evolution that had first produced it in the West. This theory went back to A.I. Herzen and N.G. Chernyshevsky and strongly influenced the theoreticians of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party
Socialist-Revolutionary Party
thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries...
(PSR), such as V.M. Chernov. It also anticipated Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
's theory of "uneven and combined development". Danielson argued that capitalism was essentially dispensable for further economic development, and that industrialisation could continue on the basis of a socialist economy. Like the populists ('narodniki') he saw the peasant village communes which still survived as potential nuclei for a socialist organisation of the Russian economy. Plekhanov and Lenin denounced this as dangerous utopianism.