--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bolshevik intellectuals did not confine…" description: "\"“Bolshevik intellectuals did not confine their reading to Marxist works. They knew Russian and European literature and philosophy and kept up with curr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal-2228_books_bolshevik-intellectuals-did-not-confine_2938899.jpg" --- # Bolshevik intellectuals did not confine their reading to… ![“Bolshevik intellectuals did not confine their reading to Marxist works. They knew Russian and European literature and philosophy and kept up with current trends in art and thoughts. Aspects of Nietzsche’s thought were either surprisingly compatible with Marxism or treated issues that Marx and…” quote by Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal-2228_books_bolshevik-intellectuals-did-not-confine_2938899.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal-2228_books_bolshevik-intellectuals-did-not-confine_2938899.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal-2228_books_bolshevik-intellectuals-did-not-confine_2938899.jpg) > ““Bolshevik intellectuals did not confine their reading to Marxist works. They knew Russian and European literature and philosophy and kept up with current trends in art and thoughts. Aspects of Nietzsche’s thought were either surprisingly compatible with Marxism or treated issues that Marx and Engels had neglected. Nietzsche sensitized Bolsheviks committed to reason and science to the importance of the nonrational aspects of the human psyche and to the psychpolitical utility of symbol, myth, and cult. His visions of “great politics” (grosse Politik) colored their imaginations. Politik, like the Russian word politika, means both “politics” and “policy”; grosse has also been translated as “grand” or “large scale.” The Soviet obsession with creating a new culture stemmed primarily from Nietzsche, Wagner, and their Russian popularizers. Marx and Engels never developed a detailed theory of culture because they considered it part of the superstructure that would change to follow changes in the economic base.”” Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The excerpt explains how Bolshevik thinkers incorporated Nietzsche’s ideas, showing cultural and philosophical synthesis. **In simple terms:** Bolsheviks blended Nietzsche’s ideas with Marxist theory. Key Takeaway Explore interdisciplinary ideas for richer understanding. Themes philosophy politics culture Mood intellectual thoughtful Type analysis exposition When to use this quote - academic research - political discourse - education Key Concepts marxism existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do irrational aspects influence politics? - What risks arise from cultural synthesis? A Different Perspective Nietzsche’s ideas may conflict with Marxist materialism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engels/) [Human psyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-psyche/) [Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nietzsche/) [Russia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russia/) ## Related quotes > [The enormous dynamic and creative, as well as destructive energy of capitalism... is written up with more praise and more respect by Marx and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-enormous-dynamic-and-creative-as-well-as-destructive-energy-of/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [This dilettantish inability to comprehend the essential issues of the conduct of production affairs is not only manifested in the writings of Marx and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/this-dilettantish-inability-to-comprehend-the-essential-issues-of-the/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [If anything qualifies as an irony of history it would be this: that Marx and Engels throughout the nineteenth century wrote about America the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/if-anything-qualifies-as-an-irony-of-history-it-would-be-this-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I want to get totally rid of class distinction. As someone put it one of the papers this morning: Marks and Spencer have triumphed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-want-to-get-totally-rid-of-class-distinction-as-someone-put-it-one/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Marx and Engels are arguably history's most famous couple. Such was the closeness of their collaboration that it is not always easy to recall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/marx-and-engels-are-arguably-history-s-most-famous-couple-such-was/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [In their day, Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin represented the aspirations and demands of the exploited working masses, and the cause of socialism was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-jong-il/in-their-day-marx-engels-lenin-and-stalin-represented-the-aspirations/) [Kim Jong Il](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-jong-il/) > [In all spheres of modern life the influence of Stalin reaches wide and deep. From his last simply written but vastly discerning and comprehensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-robeson/in-all-spheres-of-modern-life-the-influence-of-stalin-reaches-wide/) [Paul Robeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-robeson/) > [Marx and Engels openly declared that the progressive income tax and the death tax are 'economically untenable' and that they advocated them only because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/marx-and-engels-openly-declared-that-the-progressive-income-tax-and/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“When God “died” in the 19th century, “social-ism” took the form of materialist scientism (hence the philosopher Eric Voegelin’s observation that under Marxism, “Christ…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/when-god-died-in-the-19th-century-social-ism-took-the-form-of/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [Marx and Engels never talked about murdering the bourgeois. According to the old bourgeois concept, the judges were the ones who judged, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/marx-and-engels-never-talked-about-murdering-the-bourgeois-according/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [“A critical analysis of the present global constellation-one which offers no clear solution, no “practical” advice on what to do, and provides no light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/a-critical-analysis-of-the-present-global-constellation-one-which/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [I met Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Engels and Mao when I entered prison and they redeemed me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jackson/i-met-marx-lenin-trotsky-engels-and-mao-when-i-entered-prison-and/) [George Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jackson/) > [“After attempting to outline Engels' thesis on the development of the family the following is said: "we are possessed of the myth of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catalina-adrianzen/after-attempting-to-outline-engels-thesis-on-the-development-of-the/) Catalina Adrianzen > [They say that the Soviet delegates smile. That smile is genuine. It is not artificial. We wish to live in peace, tranquility. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/they-say-that-the-soviet-delegates-smile-that-smile-is-genuine-it-is/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [“As Engels memorably put it: “The overthrow of mother-right was the world historical defeat of the female sex. The man took command in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-engels-memorably-put-it-the-overthrow-of-mother-right-was-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Bolshevik intellectuals did not confine their reading to Marxist works. They knew Russian and European literature and philosophy and kept up with current trends in art and thoughts. Aspects of Nietzsche’s thought were either surprisingly compatible with Marxism or treated issues that Marx and Engels had neglected. Nietzsche sensitized Bolsheviks committed to reason and science to the importance of the nonrational aspects of the human psyche and to the psychpolitical utility of symbol, myth, and cult. His visions of “great politics” (grosse Politik) colored their imaginations. Politik, like the Russian word politika, means both “politics” and “policy”; grosse has also been translated as “grand” or “large scale.” The Soviet obsession with creating a new culture stemmed primarily from Nietzsche, Wagner, and their Russian popularizers. Marx and Engels never developed a detailed theory of culture because they considered it part of the superstructure that would change to follow changes in the economic base.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal/bolshevik-intellectuals-did-not-confine-their-reading-to-marxist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal/bolshevik-intellectuals-did-not-confine-their-reading-to-marxist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal-2228_books_bolshevik-intellectuals-did-not-confine_2938899.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal-2228_books_bolshevik-intellectuals-did-not-confine_2938899.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec4/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal-2228_books_bolshevik-intellectuals-did-not-confine_2938899.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bolshevik intellectuals did not confine their reading to Marxist works. They knew Russian and European…” — Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Bolshevik intellectuals did not confine their...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal/bolshevik-intellectuals-did-not-confine-their-reading-to-marxist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-glatzer-rosenthal/bolshevik-intellectuals-did-not-confine-their-reading-to-marxist/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```