--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Marxism in the Soviet Union had been…" description: "\"“Marxism in the Soviet Union had been boiled down to the understanding that people—Soviet citizens—were shaped entirely by their society and the materi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7a/masha-gessen-2322_inner-conflict_marxism-in-the-soviet-union-had-been-boi_1512165.png" --- # Marxism in the Soviet Union had been boiled down to the… ![“Marxism in the Soviet Union had been boiled down to the understanding that people—Soviet citizens—were shaped entirely by their society and the material conditions of their lives. If the work of shaping the person was done correctly—and it had to have been, since by now Soviet society claimed to…” quote by Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7a/masha-gessen-2322_inner-conflict_marxism-in-the-soviet-union-had-been-boi_1512165.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7a/masha-gessen-2322_inner-conflict_marxism-in-the-soviet-union-had-been-boi_1512165.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7a/masha-gessen-2322_inner-conflict_marxism-in-the-soviet-union-had-been-boi_1512165.png) > ““Marxism in the Soviet Union had been boiled down to the understanding that people—Soviet citizens—were shaped entirely by their society and the material conditions of their lives. If the work of shaping the person was done correctly—and it had to have been, since by now Soviet society claimed to have substantially fulfilled the Marxist project by building what was called “socialism functioning in reality”—then the person had to emerge with a set of goals that coincided perfectly with the needs of the society that had produced him. Anomalies were possible, and they could fall into one of two categories: criminality or mental illness. Soviet society had institutions to handle both. No other kind of disharmony was conceivable. Inner conflict was not an option. There was”” [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Marxist theory in the USSR claimed society fully shapes individuals, leaving no room for personal dissent; deviations were labeled criminal or ill. **In simple terms:** Soviet people were seen as products of their society, any conflict was denied. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of deterministic social theories. Themes politics ideology psychology social control Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - historical analysis - education - policy critique - mental health awareness - criminal justice Key Concepts Marxism determinism social engineering Questions to Reflect On - Can societies truly eliminate personal conflict? - How do we balance social influence with personal autonomy? A Different Perspective Such views ignore individual agency and complexity of human behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inner conflict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-conflict/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Marxism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxism/) [Marxist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxist/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [Soviet union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet-union/) ## Related quotes > [I wanted to show something that Americans don't usually think about when they think about Russia, which is the extreme stratification of Soviet society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-wanted-to-show-something-that-americans-don-t-usually-think-about/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Women are the most denigrated social group in the Soviet Union. 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Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-p-thompson/) > [KGB was inseparable part of the Soviet Union and the whole structure of the Soviet society. We believe that the achievements of the Soviet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-semichastny/kgb-was-inseparable-part-of-the-soviet-union-and-the-whole-structure/) Vladimir Semichastny > [Some liberation theologians maintain that they are not influenced by Marxist philosophy at all. In this case it is necessary to discern whether they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernesto-cardenal/some-liberation-theologians-maintain-that-they-are-not-influenced-by/) [Ernesto Cardenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernesto-cardenal/) > [There are people, of course, who profess to be libertarian Marxists. I believe they mean very well, and I even write in their periodicals;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/there-are-people-of-course-who-profess-to-be-libertarian-marxists-i/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [The religious quality of Marxism also explains a characteristic attitude of the orthodox Marxist toward opponents. To him, as to any believer in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-a-schumpeter/the-religious-quality-of-marxism-also-explains-a-characteristic/) [Joseph A. 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P. Nettl > [Marxism is the opium of the Marxists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marxism-is-the-opium-of-the-marxists/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [Liberalism makes this mistake in regard to private property and Marxism makes it in regard to socialized property... The Marxist illusion is partly derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/liberalism-makes-this-mistake-in-regard-to-private-property-and/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [“I should say that it was only for me that Marxism seemed over. Surely, I would tell G. at least once a week, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katha-pollitt/i-should-say-that-it-was-only-for-me-that-marxism-seemed-over-surely/) [Katha Pollitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katha-pollitt/) ## More by Masha Gessen > [There's this American pretense, which is the pretense of the journalist with the view from nowhere - which has somehow morphed into the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-this-american-pretense-which-is-the-pretense-of-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Where incompetence is prized, it is ever-present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/where-incompetence-is-prized-it-is-ever-present/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. 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They maintain that sense of mobilization that's essential for totalitarian societies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/poverty-and-scarcity-are-actually-very-good-for-totalitarian/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I think that Putin's strategy has been throwing a lot of money, fairly haphazardly, at a lot of projects aimed at disrupting Western relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-that-putin-s-strategy-has-been-throwing-a-lot-of-money-fairly/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Both Trump and Putin use language primarily to communicate not facts or opinions but power: it's not what the words mean that matters but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/both-trump-and-putin-use-language-primarily-to-communicate-not-facts/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I worked both as a Russian journalist and an American journalist and ran a bunch of magazines in Moscow over the course of about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-worked-both-as-a-russian-journalist-and-an-american-journalist-and/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. They're troublemaking efforts. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-have-no-doubt-that-there-are-russian-efforts-to-disturb-the-fabric/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [For years I was the only publicly out gay person who was not a full-time gay activist: my position as a quasi-foreigner gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/for-years-i-was-the-only-publicly-out-gay-person-who-was-not-a-full/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) [Explore all 171 Masha Gessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## More Inner conflict quotes > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dave/more-than-one-thing-is-never-true-people-love-to-say-the-opposite/) [Laura Dave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dave/) [Browse all 66 Inner conflict quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-conflict/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Marxism in the Soviet Union had been boiled down to the understanding that people—Soviet citizens—were shaped entirely by their society and the material conditions of their lives. If the work of shaping the person was done correctly—and it had to have been, since by now Soviet society claimed to have substantially fulfilled the Marxist project by building what was called “socialism functioning in reality”—then the person had to emerge with a set of goals that coincided perfectly with the needs of the society that had produced him. Anomalies were possible, and they could fall into one of two categories: criminality or mental illness. 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