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Roman Osipovich Rosdolsky (Ukrainian:Роман Осипович Роздольський,romanized: Roman Osypovych Rozdolskyy; July 19, 1898 – October 20, 1967) was a prominent UkrainianMarxian scholar, historian and political theorist. Rodolsky's book of 1968 entitledZur Entstehungsgeschichte des Marxschen 'Kapital' : Der Rohentwurf des Kapital 1857–1858 (On the history of the creation of Marx's 'Kapital': The rough draft of Capital 1857–1858; English translation of 1977:The Making of Marx's Capital), became a foundational text in the rediscovery of Marxcritique of political economy,[1] as well as influenced later scholars such asMoishe Postone.
Roman Rosdolsky was born in Lemberg (Lviv) inGalicia, at that time in theAustro-Hungarian Empire, now inUkraine. Rosdolsky's father Osyp Rosdolsky was a Ukrainian theologian, philologist, ethnographer, and translator of some repute. Roman's uncle was Ukrainian composer Danylo Rosdolsky. Both Roman's grandparents were priests of theGreek Catholic Church and well-known supporters of the independence of the Ukrainian nation.Ivan Franko was a family friend.
As a youth, Rosdolsky was a member of the Ukrainian socialistDrahomanov Circles. He was drafted in the imperial army in 1915, and edited with Roman Turiansky the journalKlyči in 1917. He was a founder of the International Revolutionary Social Democracy (IRSD) and studied law in Prague. DuringWorld War I he founded the antimilitaristic "Internationale Revolutionäre Sozialistische Jugend Galiziens" (International Revolutionary Socialist Youth of Galizia). He became a member of the Central Committee of theCommunist Party of Eastern Galicia, representing its émigré organization 1921-1924 and a leading publicist of theVasylkivtsi faction of the Ukrainian Communists. In 1925, he refused to condemnTrotsky and hisLeft Opposition, and was later, at the end of the 1920s, expelled from the Communist Party.
In 1926-1931, he was correspondent in Vienna of theMarx-Engels Institute in Moscow, searching for archival materials. At that time, in 1927, he met his wife Emily. When the labour movement inAustria suffered repression, he emigrated in 1934 back to L'viv, where he worked at the university as lecturer and he published theTrotskyist periodicalŽittja i slovo 1934-1938. He was arrested by theGestapo in 1942, but survived internment for three years in the concentration camps ofAuschwitz,Ravensbrück andOranienburg. While he was in prison, his son Hans Georg was born in January 1943. The family emigrated to the U.S. in 1947. Rosdolsky worked there as an independent scholar, doing thorough research in the Detroit library. He published also under pseudonyms such as "Roman Prokopovycz", "P.Suk.", "Tenet" and "W.S.".
Rosdolsky is mainly known in the English-speaking world for his careful scholarly exegesis on Marx'sGrundrisse,The Making of Marx's Capital. The collection of essays overturned many previous interpretations ofDas Kapital. Yet he published much more, especially on historical topics. During his life, he corresponded with numerous well known Marxist writers includingIsaac Deutscher,Ernest Mandel,Paul Mattick, andKarl Korsch. Mandel called Rosdolsky's work on the National Question the only Marxist criticism of Marx himself.
Rosdolsky died in 1967 inDetroit.
