Study on the Two Debates of Marx and Engels with Russian Populists and the Inspiration
Marx and Engels had attached great importance to the study of the path of Russian social development in their later years.In this process,they engaged in two significant debates with Russian populists:one was the debate between Engels and Tkachev,the representative of the Russian revolutionary populists,in 1875,and the other was the debate between Marx and Mikhailovsky,the Russian liberal populist thinker,in 1877.The theoretical viewpoints elaborated by Marx and Engels in these debates provide us with important insights:Firstly,historical materialism is the fundamental standpoint and methodology employed by the founders of Marxism to observe and analyze issues,which we must also consistently uphold.Secondly,there is a close symbiotic relationship between rural communes and autocratic systems,and it is contradictory to safeguard the rural commune system while trying to overthrow the autocratic regime.Thirdly,there is no"universally applicable"historical philosophy theory in the world,and dogmatism must be resolutely opposed at all times.