The New Man in Soviet Psychology

This lucidly written book shows that the Stalinist Revolution—the violent change in direction that took place after 1928—involved a major change in the conception of personality. The Soviet citizen of the twenties had been held to be the creature of his environment—and hence susceptible to molding by Marxist society. The new Soviet man of today is the lonely master of his own fate, personally responsible for his thoughts and actions—and therefore for his mental, social, and political adherence to the party line. Raymond Bauer describes why and how this change in policy took place and how it has revolutionized the theory and practice of psychology in Russia.