1984_rumjanzew_A Dictionary of Scientific Communism - Énergies, Temps & Cosmotechniques

A Dictionary of Scientific Communism === > [!tldr] Tags > #Marxism-Leninism #type/book > [!info] Meta Data >**FirstEditor**:: [[Rumjanzew, Alexei Matwejewitsch]] **FirstSerieseditor**:: [[Geintse, Alexander]] > **Title**:: A Dictionary of Scientific Communism > **Year**:: 1984 > **Citekey**:: [[1984_rumjanzew]] > **itemType**:: book > **Publisher**:: Progress Publishers Moscow > **ISBN**:: 978-0-8285-2983-9 > **ISSN**:: > > [!Cite] > Rumjanzew Alexei Matwejewitsch (ed.), _A Dictionary of Scientific Communism_, Université du Michigan., s.l., Progress Publishers Moscow, 1984, 288 p. > > %%[@1984_rumjanzew]%% > **URL**:: http://archive.org/details/dictionaryofscientificcommunism . > > **Related**:: . > > **Attachment**::[PDF](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/48KQJS9Z). --- > [!important] Synthesis > **Contribution**:: > > [!Abstract] > > A 1984 Soviet work. Scanned by Ismail, sent to him by Nathan O'Connor. >> --- # Note. --- # Annotations%% begin annotations %% ### Imported: 2026-09-23 6:22 pm Quote > Futurology Quote > is a field of knowledge deal ing with the prospects for social processes. Quote > O. Flechtheim, a German sociologist, offer ed the term F. in 1943 to denote a “philosophy of the future” independent of any class and contrasted with the terms “ideology” (teachings apologetic of bour geois realities) and “utopia” (teachings, rejecting bourgeois realities) Quote > It was circulated in the West in the early 1960s Quote > with the attempts to pro vide a theoretical basis for modern fore casting practices. Quote > This time the term denoted a “science of the future” or “history of the future” and called for a monopoly of the prognostic (forecasting) functions of sciences. Quote > So, from the late 1960s onwards the term was replaced by the concept of study of the future, which encompasses the entire complex of theo ries and practices involved in making forecasts, including prognostics, the science of forecasting and the laws governing it. Quote > the term F. is used in the socialist and capitalist countries mostly in publicistic writings as a figurative synonym for prognostication and prognos tics and denotes all “future-oriented literature” combined. Quote > Marxism-Leninism made a rev olution in these notions and started the history of scientific prevision proper. Quote > The number of such writings grew in the I920s-early 1930s in connection with the long-term plans for economic and cultural development in the USSR, which triggered a discussion in the West on the possibility of scientific foresight > which triggered a discussion in the West on the possibility of scientific foresight Quote > Three basic schools of bourgeois F. took shape in the 1960s Quote > openly apologetic school, riding on conceptions of the viability of state monopoly capitalism, the feasibility of its modernisation, sticking to the banner of the “post-industrial society”, in contrast to scientific communism Quote > a much weaker reformist school preaching “convergence” of socialism and capitalism Quote > and finally an even weaker “apocalyptic” school resting on the philosophy of existentialism, Teilhardism, neo-positivism Quote > Since the end of the 1960s the first two schools have come un der sharp criticism not only from Marxists, as before, but also from bourgeois ideo logists, as well as from leftist radical quarters Quote > since the optimistic forecasts in the light of the social consequences of the scientific and technological revolu tion had proved invalid for capitalism. Bourgeois F. found itself in a state of profound crisis. Quote > In this situation, the leading role in bourgeois F. was taken over by the Club of Rome Quote > Beyond the Age of Waste, directed by D. Gabor (Great Britain) Quote > Since then, bourgeois F. has con tinued to focus on discussion of the pro bability and ways of getting over future crises. Quote > During this discussion, Western futurologists have split into two new groups: Quote > “ecological pessimists” of a neoMalthusian bent Quote > and “technological opti mists” Quote > The prolonged crisis of F. in the West is a token of the general crisis of capita lism (q. v.) which includes bourgeois ideo logy. Quote > Marxist-Leninist scientific foresight relies on the tenets of dialectical and historical materialism, is closely linked with the theory of scientific communism, with all Marxist-Leninist teaching. Quote > The methods and techniques of forecasting under so cialism and capitalism have some features in common, but the methodology and nature of forecasts made from the stand point of bourgeois F. or of Marxism-Len inism differ in principle. Quote > Scientific Communism Quote > the science dealing with gene ral socio-political laws and patterns, ways, forms and methods of changing society along the communist lines Quote > S. C. is the science about the proletarian class struggle and the socialist revolution (see Revolution, Socialist), about the socio-political laws behind the building of socialism (q. v.) and communism (q.v.), and about the world revolutionary process (q. v.) as a whole Quote > the emergence of S. C. be came possible solely owing to the two great est discoveries made by Marxism: the ma terialist interpretation of history and the theory of surplus value. Quote > As distinct from histori cal materialism, S. C. does not study the general-sociological laws operating under all or many socio-economic systems, but only the specific laws inherent in the com munist system, its emergence, consolidation and development. Quote > As distinct from political economy, S.C. concentrates on the politi cal, rather than the economic, relation ships characteristic of socialism and com munism, and on the patterns inherent in their development. Quote > These laws are neither gene ral-sociological nor economic by na ture, but precisely socio-political ones, expressing the essence of S.C. in the most graphical way. Quote > S.C. is a science about the guidance of the proletarian class struggle and about the major principles according to which the policies of the working class, Marxist-Len inist parties and the socialist countries are implemented Quote > The founders of S. C. characterised it as the theoretical expres sion of the proletarian movement, as its theory and programme. Quote > As distinct from historical sciences, which analyse the specific course of social de velopment, S. C. expresses it in a theore tically generalised form. Quote > S.C. is a profoundly partisan science, directly expressing the socialist interests and communist ideals of the work ing class. Quote > S.C. in a creative way implies an active onslaught against the ideology of anti-communism (q.v.), against the ideas of revisionism (q. v.), which is in fact con temporary reformism (q.v.). Quote > Social Forecasting Quote > is a form of scien tific foresight, one of the fields of microsociological studies, Centred on the prospects for social processes. Quote > In the narrow sense, S.F. is usually identified with sociolog ical forecasts, i. e. studies of the prospects for the social relations proper Quote > In the social sciences, where the object of a forecast can change fundamentally as a result of decision-based action taking forecasts into account (which brings about “self-implementation” or “destruction” of forecasts), the latter must not come down to the attempts to make unconditional fore casts of the future state of an object; they must take the form of (1) search and (2) normative R.&D. Quote > In the general form S.F. comes down to the following operations: Quote > Pre-forecast orientation Quote > Building of the primary (base) model Quote > Building of the forecasting background Quote > Building of the search model Quote > Building of the normative model Quote > Verification Quote > Drafting of recommendations Quote > Scientists have suggested many (150 or 200) S.F. methods, but in practice not more than 15 or 20 methods are used, including the direct and indirect, indi vidual and collective polling of experts, ex trapolation of dynamic series and forecast modelling (in a broad sense, including scenarios and matrices). Several methods are grouped into a methodology, with several expert pollings and the use of various models. Quote > S.F. is carried out in special scientif ic institutions by special research groups, including computer-equipped specialists. Quote > The appearance of Marxism marked a revolution in notions of the future and the beginning of scientific foresight proper, in the course of which Marxism-Leninism took its stand against idealist conceptions and also posi tivism, which rejected the possibility of scientific foresight. Quote > The victory of so cialism in the USSR and the Soviet Govern ment’s decision to draft a long-term plan for the country’s development added a new dimension to the discussion on the possibili ty of scientific foresight and were respon sible for the appearance of a vast literature of the future in the 20s and early 30s. Quote > The invention in the late 50s and early 60s of search tech niques and normatives made it possible to obtain great profit from optimising deci sion-making, with account being taken of the results of forecast R.i&D. and led, in the West, to a “forecasting boom”, i. e. the appearance of hundreds of specialist scientific institutions engaged in S.F. Quote > Ideo logically, this resulted in the appearance of bourgeois futurology, which, since the late 60s and early 70s, has been in a cons tant state of crisis because of the untenability of optimistic socio-economic and pol itical forecasts and the extremely grave global problems that cannot be solved under capitalism. Quote > The development of S.F. is instrumental in enhancing the level of the scientific ma nagement of society %% end annotations %% %% Import Date: 2026-09-23T18:22:30.001+02:00 %%