Shafarevich, I. R.

Sotsializm kak iavlenie mirovoi istorii [Socialism as a Phenomenon of World History]

Paris: YMCA-Press, 1977. Item #1420

392 pages. Original printed wrappers. 21 cm. Wrappers lightly soiled with minor creasing and foxing; faint vertical fold to front cover.

First edition of this major philosophical and historical critique of socialism by Igor Rostislavovich Shafarevich (1923–2017), a prominent Russian mathematician and dissident. This expansive essay examines socialism beyond the framework of 19th–20th-century ideology, interpreting it as a recurrent sociopolitical phenomenon throughout human history. The author distinguishes between three main types: ancient and chiliastic socialism, state socialism in early civilizations, and modern theoretical models. Notably, Shafarevich draws connections between heretical Christian sects and collectivist thought, while proposing a psychological and metaphysical critique of socialism’s underlying premises.

Price: $100.00