Review article
Philosophy of Communism (1944) by Vendelin Vasilj
Ivan Kordić
; Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
Franciscan Vendelin Vasilj (Međugorje, 1909 – Chicago, 1971) defended his doctoral dissertation in sociology, L’atheisme bolcheviste, in 1936 at the Faculty of the Political, Economic and Social Sciences of the Catholic University in Paris, and under the title Filozofija komunizma [Philosophy of Communism] published it in Croatian in Mostar, in 1944. That same year he also published the second part of his conceived trilogy on communism, Komunizam i vjera [Communism and Religion]. The third part, Komunizam i obitelj [Communism and Family], he planned to publish in 1945, yet never did. Having escaped from partisan imprisonment, from 1946 until his death Vasilj spent in the United States of America and Canada.
According to Vasilj, communism possesses its own “philosophy of life and the world,” which, leaning on Berdiaev’s testimony, in Soviet practice develops the features of pragmatic ideology, which hampers any attempt at genuine philosophy.
The Franciscan also interprets the development of philosophical thought from Hegel across Feuerbach to Marx. Considering that the teachers of communism drew upon Greek philosophers, Vasilj shortly discusses the philosophy of Democritus, Protagora, and Epicurus, yet in doing so, he cannot avoid simplification and exaggeration, as he projects modern controversies onto the world of the antiquity.
Vasilj places his elaboration on communism within a broader context. “Materialistic world view” is the main feature of liberalism, capitalism and communism: “three names, though the same error,” aimed against “human person, family, human society and religion.” While the German philosophy of the nineteenth century wavered between materialism and idealism, Vasilj offered a third option, “traditional Christian spiritualism.” When the materialists proclaim the “consciousness of the proletariat” as the truth criterion, they, Vasilj interprets, “refute their own materialistic system and step among the idealists by accident.”
Vasilj confronts the fundamental thesis of historical materialism by stating that a decisive role in the historical development of a society “is not played by economic production, but conversely, by various spiritual movements.” He adopts Berdiaev’s criticism of the Marxist thesis by which all ideologies are a reflection of economic relationships. Vasilj agrees with Marx’s observation on the negative effect of capitalism, yet criticises him because he is looking forward to “that fatal process,” hoping for the workers’ revolution.
Vasilj also agrees with Berdiaev’s thesis that the power of communist philosophy rests “on Christian betrayal of Christianity.” In order to confront communism successfully, “Christian doctrines ought to be applied to life and work.” Despite his critical attitude towards communism, Vasilj makes no attempt at disqualifying communists.
By contrast, he comes forward with the principle: “To refute the errors of communism, and love communists, who besides all that remain our strayed brothers.”
Keywords
Vendelin Vasilj; communism; dialectical materialism; historical materialism; idealism; Christian spiritual realism; , social doctrine of the Catholic Church; Karl Marx; Lenin; Anatoly Lunacharsky; Nikolai Berdiaev; Jacques Maritain
Hrčak ID:
196173
URI
Publication date:
26.3.2018.
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