What is "revisionism"

1903, from revision + -ism. Originally in Marxist jargon, "rejection of gradual introduction of socialism." Revisionist is from 1850 (adj.); 1854 (n.); in the historical sense from 1934, originally with reference to the causes of World War I.

n. 1 the advocacy of a revision of some accepted theory, doctrine or a view of historical events 2 (context derogatory English) an evolutionary form of Marxism, abandoning some of its original principles

1. n. any dangerous departure from the teachings of Marx

2. a moderate evolutionary form of Marxism

Revisionism may refer to:

• Historical revisionism, the critical re-examination of presumed historical facts and existing historiography
  • The "revisionists" school of thought in Soviet and Communist studies, as opposed to the Cold War "traditionalists" school.
• Historical revisionism (negationism), a particular form of historical revisionism concerned with the denial of claims accepted by mainstream historians
• Revisionist Zionism, a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement
• Marxist revisionism, a pejorative term used by some Marxists to describe ideas based on a revision of fundamental Marxist premises
• Fictional revisionism, the retelling of a story with substantial alterations in character or environment, to "revise" the view shown in the original work
• Territorial revisionism, a euphemism for revanchism or irredentism
• Revisionism Theory, another word for Reformism
• The reevaluation of one's experiences with a hindsight bias.

In analysis of works of fiction, revisionism denotes the retelling of a conventional or established narrative with significant variations which deliberately "revise" the view shown in the original work. For example, the film Dances with Wolves may be regarded as a revisionist western because it portrays Native Americans sympathetically instead of as the savages of traditional westerns. Many original works of fantasy appear to retell fairy tales in a revisionist manner. The genre of "Arthurian literature" includes innumerable variations from themes of the classic tales of King Arthur. It is debatable whether any particular examples set out to create a revised view.

Within the Marxist movement, the word revisionism is used to refer to various ideas, principles and theories that are based on a significant revision of fundamental Marxist premises. The term is most often used by those Marxists who believe that such revisions are unwarranted and represent a "watering down" or abandonment of Marxism. As such, revisionism often carries pejorative connotations and the term has been used by many different factions. It is typically applied to others and rarely as a self-description.