The Golden Age (Main Currents of Marxism, Vol. 2)

The second volume of Kolakowski's magisterial history and analysis of the Marxist tradition covers the period from death of Engels to the Bolshevik Revolution. This is also approximately the period of the Second International. Kolakowski describes this as the "Golden Age" of Marxist thought, a period characterized by a diversity of Marxist thinkers and continued interaction of Marxists with other intellectual traditions. This volume has all the virtues of Vol. 1., exhibiting Kolakowski's remarkable command of Marxist and general philosophical history, his solid knowledge of European history, a fluid writing style, and his incisive judgement about the subjects under discussion. In the the first half of this volume, Kolakowski shows the interesting diversity of the Marxist tradition during this period. This includes both a variety of interpretations of Marx and also the interaction of Marxism with other philosophical traditions, such as the Kantian revival of the late 19th century. Kolakowski covers some figures not thought of usually as part of the Marxist mainstream, such as Soral and Jean Jaures, as well as illuminating discussions of the Revisionist and Austro-Marxist movements. The second half of this volume is devoted to the pregnant subject of Russian Marxism. Kolakowski provides a very nice overview of the relevant Russian intellectual history leading up to a detailed discussion of various Russian Marxists. This concludes with an intensive examination of the work and career of Lenin, who is presented as a mediocre thinker but an extremely successful founder of the cult that founded the Soviet state. This is gripping scholarship.

The second volume of "Main Currents of Marxism" examines the doctrine of the leading Marxists, and the controversies between them, in the era of the Second International. At this time there were many interesting varieties of Marxism, and the leading contributors to the debate are all discussed -- Kautsky, Rose Luxembourg, Plekhanov, Lenin and Georges Sorel among them.