Social psychology elaborated by psychologists and historians in relation to the past is a gigantic laboratory to study and check ideas which we need in our contemporary practice. Moulding communist relations and bringing up the new man require not only current observations and recommendations, but also fundamental investigation. Our interest in the fundamentals is also prompted by the complex subjective element in the social struggle in the capitalist countries and the young national states. Those who want a truly Marxist social psychology should bear in mind that the deeper the foundation is laid, the more enduring is the edifice.
It remains for the author to add that he has by-passed the chief trends in contemporary Western social psychology. They are numerous, their ideas and methods are varied. Their common trait is that they are not social in the full sense of the word. Their subject matter is not human societies and communities, but aggregates of individuals.
This book is an exposition of ideas about the author’s attempts to find an altogether different approach.
Translated from the Russian by Ivan Savin
Edited by Vic Schneierson
Designed by M. Shlusberg
Many thanks to Daniel Baker for the original scans.
Note: Some pages are warped.
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Mir Books 