Project Gutenberg #17350
The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism
Bertrand Russell
1920Russell's first-hand report on Soviet Russia in 1920 and his critique of Bolshevik theory, written after meeting Lenin.
Project Gutenberg #17350 Public domain in the United States Cover source Local typographic cover created for The Missing Workbook from public-domain source metadata
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the genuine proletarian, who is not to be confounded with the paper proletarian of the Marxian schema. In a capitalist state, the Government and the capitalists on the whole hang together, and form one class; in Soviet Russia, the Government has absorbed the capitalist mentality together with the governmental, and the fusion has given increased strength to the upper class. But I see no reason whatever to expect equality or freedom to result from such a system, except reasons derived from a false psychology and a mistaken analysis of the sources of political power.
I am compelled to reject Bolshevism for two reasons: First, because the price mankind must pay to achieve Communism by Bolshevik methods is too terrible; and secondly because, even after paying the price, I do not believe the result would be what the Bolsheviks profess to desire.
But if their methods are rejected, how are we ever to arrive at a better economic system? This is not an easy question, and I shall treat it in a separate chapter.