3 Krzywicki and friends
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Gavin Rae
Abstract
The work of the Polish Marxist Ludwik Krzywicki exerted huge influence over Tadeusz Kowalik. He first read Krzywicki during the Second World War, before writing his PhD dissertation on Krzywicki in the 1950s, under the supervision of Oskar Lange. Kowalik chose to analyse Krzywicki’s work as a way to challenge some of the ideological dogmas of the time and delve deeper into some of the theoretical issues that arose within the Polish School over capitalism and socialism. Krzywicki’s work was situated in the conditions of the significant although limited industrialisation that the Congress Kingdom of Poland underwent during the second half of the nineteenth century. Kowalik’s writings on Krzywicki can be divided into two main phases. Kowalik first concentrated on Krzywicki’s economic opinions in the 1950s and then later returned to Krzywicki, in the 1960s and 1970s, writing more general and rounded analyses of his work, as he became absorbed by sociological questions. Krzywicki influenced the work of Kalecki and Lange and Kowalik was one of the few intellectuals in post-war Poland to fully appreciate the contributions that Krzywicki had made to early Polish Marxism (alongside Stanisław Krusiński) and to critically evaluate his writings from a Marxist standpoint. For example, Kowalik uniquely recognised how Krzywicki had been one of the first people to understand the monopolistic tendencies inherent within capitalism and postulate that capitalism may evolve into a form of industrial feudalism.
Abstract
The work of the Polish Marxist Ludwik Krzywicki exerted huge influence over Tadeusz Kowalik. He first read Krzywicki during the Second World War, before writing his PhD dissertation on Krzywicki in the 1950s, under the supervision of Oskar Lange. Kowalik chose to analyse Krzywicki’s work as a way to challenge some of the ideological dogmas of the time and delve deeper into some of the theoretical issues that arose within the Polish School over capitalism and socialism. Krzywicki’s work was situated in the conditions of the significant although limited industrialisation that the Congress Kingdom of Poland underwent during the second half of the nineteenth century. Kowalik’s writings on Krzywicki can be divided into two main phases. Kowalik first concentrated on Krzywicki’s economic opinions in the 1950s and then later returned to Krzywicki, in the 1960s and 1970s, writing more general and rounded analyses of his work, as he became absorbed by sociological questions. Krzywicki influenced the work of Kalecki and Lange and Kowalik was one of the few intellectuals in post-war Poland to fully appreciate the contributions that Krzywicki had made to early Polish Marxism (alongside Stanisław Krusiński) and to critically evaluate his writings from a Marxist standpoint. For example, Kowalik uniquely recognised how Krzywicki had been one of the first people to understand the monopolistic tendencies inherent within capitalism and postulate that capitalism may evolve into a form of industrial feudalism.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- Preface viii
- Acknowledgements xi
- List of abbreviations xii
- Introduction 1
- 1 A tragic advance 18
- 2 Socialist pluralism 33
- 3 Krzywicki and friends 60
- 4 The political and intellectual ferment after 1956 76
- 5 Luxemburg, Kalecki and the crucial reform of capitalism 92
- 6 Flying to Gdańsk 107
- 7 Converging from socialism 129
- 8 The shock of betrayal 146
- 9 Varieties of capitalism 165
- 10 No left turn 180
- 11 Back to the future 196
- Afterword 214
- Index 218
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- Preface viii
- Acknowledgements xi
- List of abbreviations xii
- Introduction 1
- 1 A tragic advance 18
- 2 Socialist pluralism 33
- 3 Krzywicki and friends 60
- 4 The political and intellectual ferment after 1956 76
- 5 Luxemburg, Kalecki and the crucial reform of capitalism 92
- 6 Flying to Gdańsk 107
- 7 Converging from socialism 129
- 8 The shock of betrayal 146
- 9 Varieties of capitalism 165
- 10 No left turn 180
- 11 Back to the future 196
- Afterword 214
- Index 218
