Revisionism is a word which has several meanings. One of its first (neutral) uses was the revision of Marx's doctrine by Eduard Bernstein and Karl Kautsky in the late 19th century. Historical revisionism is often viewed as a legitimate effort by historians to broaden the awareness of certain historical events by re-examining conventional wisdom. However, the term has also been used in a pejorative sense, indicating an attempt to rewrite history by downgrading or simply ignoring essential facts, as in for example Holocaust denial (see historical revisionism (negationism)). The term is also used neutrally in describing fiction which alters or comments on a previous fictional work or genre. Marx is a common German surname. ... Eduard Bernstein Eduard Bernstein (January 6, 1850 - December 18, 1932) was a German social democratic theoretician and politician, member of the SPD, and founder of evolutionary socialism or reformism. ... Karl Kautsky Karl Kautsky (October 18, 1854 - October 17, 1938) was a leading theoretician of social democracy. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... In Parson Weems Fable (1939) Grant Wood takes a sly poke at a traditional hagiographical account of George Washington Historical revisionism is the reexamination of historical facts, with an eye towards updating histories with newly discovered, more accurate, or less biased information. ... Conventional wisdom is a term coined by the economist John Kenneth Galbraith, used to describe certain ideas or explanations that are generally accepted as true by the public. ... Richard Harwoods Did Six Million Really Die? Holocaust denial is the claim that the mainstream historical version of the Holocaust is either highly exaggerated or completely falsified. ... Historical revisionism is the attempt to change commonly held ideas about the past. ...

Revisionism in the Socialist movement

Main article: Reformism

Chinese poster from the first stage of Cultural Revolution, reading: "Down with the Soviet revisionists" in large print, and "Crush the dog head of Leonid Brezhnev, and crush the dog head of Alexey Kosygin" at the bottom, 1967

Revisionism (particularly in the western socialist context) has most usually been applied to the reformulation, or for its detractors, the watering down, or abandonment, of cherished principles. For the more authoritarian currents within socialism, but not necessarily exclusively, the term has been used as a term of abuse. It has, however, been used in different ways at different times about different socialist trends. Reformism (also called revisionism or revisionist theory) is the belief that gradual changes in a society can ultimately change its fundamental structures. ... Image File history File links Destroy_soviet_revisionists. ... Image File history File links Destroy_soviet_revisionists. ... Soviet redirects here. ... Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (Russian: ; December 19 [O.S. January 1 1907] 1906 – November 10, 1982) was the effective ruler of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982, though at first in partnership with others. ... Alexey Nikolayevich Kosygin (Russian: ) (1904 - December 18, 1980) was a politician and administrator in the Soviet Union. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ...

• In the late 19th century revisionism was used to describe writers such as Eduard Bernstein and Karl Kautsky who sought to revise the teachings of Karl Marx by claiming that a violent revolution was not necessary to achieve socialism. In all further uses of this term, there was an initial intent to create "guilt by association" between the abused socialist, and the actions of Bernstein in opposing violent revolution. See reformism.

• In the 1940s and 1950s within the international Communist movement, revisionism was used to describe Communists who focused on consumer goods production instead of heavy industry, accepted national differences and encouraged democratic reforms. Revisionism was one of the charges leveled at Titoists in a series of purges beginning in 1949 in Eastern Europe. After Stalin's death revisionism became briefly acceptable in Hungary during Imre Nagy's government (1953-1955) and in Poland during Władysław Gomułka's government, although neither Nagy nor Gomułka described themselves as revisionists.

• Following the Soviet repression of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, many people, particularly intellectuals, resigned from western Communist parties in protest. They were sometimes accused of revisionism by "loyalist" Communists. E. P. Thompson's New Reasoner was an example of this revisionism. This movement eventually became known as the New Left.

• The views, so described, of Anthony Crosland, Hugh Gaitskell and their followers in the United Kingdom's Labour Party in the 1950s and subsequently, concerning the relevance of Public ownership in the party's objectives.

• In the early 1960s, Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China revived the term revisionism to attack Nikita Khrushchev and the Soviet Union over various ideological and political issues, as part of the Sino-Soviet split. The Chinese routinely described the Soviets as "modern revisionists" through the 1960s. This usage was copied by the various Maoist groups that split off from Communist parties around the world.

• Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser attacked John Lewis and Marxist humanists as "revisionists".

Eduard Bernstein Eduard Bernstein (January 6, 1850 - December 18, 1932) was a German social democratic theoretician and politician, member of the SPD, and founder of evolutionary socialism or reformism. ... Karl Kautsky Karl Kautsky (October 18, 1854 - October 17, 1938) was a leading theoretician of social democracy. ... Karl Heinrich Marx (May 5, 1818 – March 14, 1883) was an immensely influential German philosopher, political economist, and socialist revolutionary. ... Reformism (also called revisionism or revisionist theory) is the belief that gradual changes in a society can ultimately change its fundamental structures. ... // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... The 1950s were the decade that spanned the years 1950 through 1959, although some sources say from 1951 through 1960. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Josip Broz Tito (May 7, 1892 - May 4, 1980) was the ruler of Yugoslavia between the end of World War II and his death in 1980. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Current division of Europe into five (or more) regions: one definition of Eastern Europe is marked in orange Eastern Europe is an eastern region of Europe variably defined. ... Imre Nagy (born in Kaposvár, Hungary June 7, 1896, executed June 16, 1958) was Prime Minister of Hungary on two occasions. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Władysław Gomułka on the cover of Time Magazine Władysław Gomułka (February 6, 1905, Krosno – September 1, 1982) was a Polish Communist leader. ... Hungarians investigate a disabled Soviet tank in Budapest The 1956 Hungarian Revolution, also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a popular revolt against Soviet influence and control in Hungary. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Edward Palmer Thompson (February 3, 1924 - August 28, 1993), was a British historian, socialist and peace campaigner. ... During the crisis of the 1950s within the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), John Saville and Edward Palmer Thompson created a journal of dissident Communism named the Reasoner. ... The New Left is a term used in political discourse to refer to radical left-wing movements from the 1960s onwards. ... Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 1918 - 19 February 1977) was a British politician and Labour member of Parliament - as well as being a socialist theorist. ... Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (April 9, 1906 – January 18, 1963) was a British politician, leader of the Labour Party from 1955 until his death in 1963. ... The Labour Party has, since the early twentieth century, been the principal left wing political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics). ... Public ownership (also called government ownership or state ownership) is government ownership of any asset, industry, or corporation at any level, national, regional or local (municipal). ... The outrageously crowded Woodstock festival epitomized the popular antiwar movement of the 60s. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (official name) also known as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; Pinyin: Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng) is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China. ... (Russian: , Nikita Sergeevič Hruščëv; surname commonly romanized as Khrushchev, IPA: ; April 17, 1894 – September 11, 1971) was the leader of the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. ... The Sino-Soviet split was a major diplomatic conflict between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), beginning in the late 1950s, reaching a peak in 1969 and continuing in various ways until the late 1980s. ... The outrageously crowded Woodstock festival epitomized the popular antiwar movement of the 60s. ... Maoism or Mao Zedong Thought (Chinese: 毛泽东思想, pinyin: Máo Zédōng Sīxiǎng), is a variant of Marxism-Leninism derived from the teachings of the Chinese communist Mao Zedong. ... See also Marxian economics Marxist philosophy or Marxist theory designs work in philosophy which is strongly influenced by Karl Marxs materialist approach to theory or which is written by Marxists. ... Louis Pierre Althusser (October 16, 1918 - October 23, 1990) was a Marxist philosopher. ... John Lewis is the name of: an American labor leader: see John L. Lewis a philosopher: see John Lewis (philosopher) a jazz pianist: see John Lewis (pianist) an American civil rights activist and member of the U.S. House of Representatives: see John Lewis (politician) a British Singer who released... Marxist humanism is a branch of Marxism that primarily focuses on Marxs earlier writings, especially the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 in which Marx exposes his theory of alienation, as opposed to his later works, which are considered to be concerned more with his structural conception of capitalist...

Marxist definition of revisionism

According to marxists, theories, movements, leaders are revisionists when they are supposedly marxist but are opposed to the general analysis of Marx and Engels and, first, to the building of socialism and, secondly, to the establishment of communism.

The party that created the Soviet Union was built by Lenin and the bolsheviks on the basis of the analysis of Marx and Engels and on the struggle against revisionist analysis. Two questions were essential in Lenin's contribution to marxism: (1) the revolutionary way to socialism; (2) the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat.

Lenin attacked deviations and revisionist positions leading to the weakening the proletarian revolution envolving many aspects of the struggle of the working class to owerthrow the bourgeoisie and to build socialism and maintain power to the working class (i.e. the dictatorship of the proletariat), first step before communism (the establishment of a classless society with the withering of the State).

Marx's theories became gradually dominant in the workers' and socialist movement. The Marxists had to wage many struggles against revisionnists and opportunists of the Second International, and mainly two debates : against Bernstein (who accepted Marxism without its revolutionary aspect) and against Kautsky (who believed that capitalism led to socialism without struggle).

Lenin fought against revisionist positions of the Second International (on the peaceful transition to socialism, on narrow nationalism and separatist positions instead of internationalism, on the support by the social-democrat parties to "their" bourgeoisie during the First World War, etc.)

With the success of the October Revolution (1917) in Russia Marxism-Leninism was the logical continuation of Marxism, and revisionist theories were those which contradicted Marx, Engels and Lenin theories.

With the development of the Soviet Union, the theoretical struggle led to the struggle of Stalin against Trotsky, Bukharin and others.

With the development of the Third International, of the struggle of communists against fascism and the victory against the Third Reich, Marxism-Leninism incorporated other theoretical concepts: the United Front against Fascism and War (1935), which led to the Popular Front and differents sorts of United Fronts (Revolution in China). The alliance of communists with progressive forces were victorious.

In 1944, based on the unity against fascism (Teheran Conference), Browder declared that capitalism and communism could peacefully co-exist (a concept that was different than that of Lenin's peaceful coexistence). In 1945, Jacques Duclos, a leader of the French Communist Party denounced Browder's policy ("Duclos letter") and Browderism was considered a new form of revisionism.

In 1948, Yugoslavia accepted US aid, separated from the socialist bloc of countries and was accused of revisionism.

In 1963, after the death of Stalin (1953), Khrushchov, at the 20th Congres of the CPSU, attacked Stalin and presented a new analysis of contradictions within the International Communist. The CP of China started a debate with the CPSU ("Proposal concerning the general line of the International Communist Movement" among other letters and comments) which led to a struggle, by the CP of China against "modern revisionism".

Historical revisionism

Main articles: Historical revisionism and Historical revisionism (negationism)

The term historical revisionism has a respectable meaning among historians and journalists as, illustrated in the Washington Post article "History In The Remaking: Reagan's Story Doesn't End Here" ^[1]. Historical revisionism also has a more specific meaning when it is used as a label to describe the views of historians who publish articles that deliberately misrepresent and manipulate historical evidence. An example of this secondary usage is reported in another Washington Post article, "Conservatives Celebrate Winning One for the Gipper" ^[2]: In Parson Weems Fable (1939) Grant Wood takes a sly poke at a traditional hagiographical account of George Washington Historical revisionism is the reexamination of historical facts, with an eye towards updating histories with newly discovered, more accurate, or less biased information. ... Historical revisionism is the attempt to change commonly held ideas about the past. ... The Washington Post is the largest and oldest newspaper in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ...

People for the American Way saw it in a different light [...] Our primary concern is continued right-wing intimidation against the expressions of opposing points of view, whether attacks on dissent, intimidation of scientific researchers, or a demand for historical revisionism – or historical cleansing – regarding Ronald Reagan. (emphasis added).

This second common usage has occurred because some authors who publish articles that deliberately misrepresent and manipulate historical evidence (such as David Irving, a proponent of Holocaust denial), have called themselves "historical revisionists"^[3], and this label has been used by others as a pejorative to describe them when criticising their work. David Irving, 2003 David John Cawdell Irving (born March 24, 1938) is the British author of several best-selling books about the military history of World War II. He is widely known as a Holocaust denier, although he has at times appeared to change his position, saying that the Nazis... Richard Harwoods Did Six Million Really Die? Holocaust denial is the claim that the mainstream historical version of the Holocaust is either highly exaggerated or completely falsified. ... Look up pejorative in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Another example of historical revisionism is as a result of political intent. In particular, one can examine the aggressive efforts of some governments to censor school textbooks and online sources. By intentionally omitting or censoring some information, such governments can pursue a nationalistic agenda. Even delays of public information can misconstrue the orginal events. Current examples would include:

• The Chinese government for censoring criticism of how the CPC dealt with the civil protests such as Tiananmen Square Protests.
• Japanese school textbooks tend to whitewash acts of aggression and atrocities by Japan during WWII Japanese war crimes.

CPC may be an acronym for: Canada Post Corporation Choroid plexus cyst Clinical-Pathological Conference College Preparatory Center Communist Party of China Communist Party of Czechoslovakia Communist Party of Canada Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) Computer Process Controls Conservative Party of Canada Community Patent Convention Cost Per Click Custom... The Unknown Rebel - This famous photo, taken by Associated Press photographer Jeff Widener, depicts a lone protester, whose actions halted the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour. ... The term Japanese war crimes refers to events which occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism from the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. ...

Territorial revisionism

• Territorial revisionism is sometimes used as an euphemism for revanchism or irredentism. The term has some usage in European post-Cold War debate, where many ethnic minorities hope to change the state borders drawn up after World War II.

• Revisionist Zionism was a movement founded by Vladimir Jabotinsky, who argued that the terms of the British Mandate in Palestine should be revised to make explicit the objective of creating a Jewish state there. Today's Likud party is a direct descendant of the Revisionists.

A euphemism is an expression intended by the speaker to be less offensive, disturbing, or troubling to the listener than the word or phrase it replaces, or in the case of doublespeak to make it less troublesome for the speaker. ... Revanchism (from French revanche, revenge) is a term used since the 1870s to describe political campaigns to reverse territorial losses incurred by a country during previous wars and strifes, sometimes quite distant in time. ... Irredentism is an international relations term that involves advocating annexation of territories administered by another state on the grounds of common ethnicity and/or prior historical possession, actual or alleged. ... The Cold War was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their military alliance partners. ... Combatants Allies: United Kingdom, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, Canada, China, India, Australia, Poland, New Zealand, South Africa, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million... Revisionist Zionism is a right wing tendency within the Zionist movement. ... Zeev Jabotinsky in military uniform Zeev Vladimir (Evgenevich) Jabotinsky (or Zhabotinski) (October 18, 1880 - August 4, 1940) was a Zionist leader, author, orator, and founder of the Jewish Legion in World War I. During World War II a similar and larger unit known as the Jewish Brigade would follow. ... Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means consolidation) is a right-wing political party in Israel. ...

Fictional revisionism

• In fiction, revisionism is the retelling of a story or type of story with substantial alterations in character or environment, to "revise" the view shown in the original work. For example, the film Dances With Wolves is a revisionist Western because it portrays the Native Americans sympathetically instead of as the savages of traditional Westerns, which have been criticized as racist. Similarly, the novel Wicked by Gregory Maguire is a revisionist account of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which portrays The Wicked Witch of the West being on the right side and the Wizard being evil. This usage is not generally considered pejorative.

Dances with Wolves is a 1990 epic film which tells the story of a United States cavalry officer in the 1860s who befriends a band of Lakota Indians, sacrificing his career and ties to his own people. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is the current U.S. Collaboration of the Week. ... // The word barbarian generally refers to an uncivilized, uncultured person, either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos perceived as having an inferior level of civilization, or in an individual reference to a brutal, cruel, insensitive person of behavior inacceptable in a civilized society. ... An African-American man drinks out of the colored only water cooler at a racially segregated street car terminal in the United States in 1939. ... Wicked book cover Wicked (ISBN 0060987103), or Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a novel by Gregory Maguire. ... Gregory Maguire received his Ph. ... The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a childrens book written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow. ... The Wicked Witch of the West (or simply The Wicked Witch) is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his childrens books. ... The Wizard of Oz (or simply The Wizard) is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and further popularized by the classic 1939 movie. ... Look up pejorative in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ Lewis L. Gould History In the Remaking Reagan's Story Doesn't End Here in the Washington Post, June 13, 2004, Page B01.
2. ^ Lisa de Moraes Conservatives Celebrate Winning One for the Gipper in the Washington Post, November 6, 2003, Page C07
3. ^ Page 145. Richard J. Evans "Lying About Hitler: History, Holocaust, and the David Irving Trial", (2001), ISBN 0465021530.