AUT: Reply by Mauro, jr to CommieOO

[neil <74742.1651@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sections of bolsheviks at that time 1917-21 use the the term
state-capitalism
rather loosely , Lenin used it to describe the economic of  Russia after
the civil-war
but Lenin was not ADVOCATING THIS AS SOCIALISM -- it was just the fact of
what Russia
had inherited , the objective situation-- not the goal achieved -or to be
achieved!

Bukharin-Preobrezensky had used "state-capitalism"  already I think in
Imperialism and World Economy,
(1915)  mainly to describe trends already developing in Imperialism in the
biggest powers,
esp. in  Kaiserdoms Germany where concentration of banks and industries in
to big
trusts, conglomerates, etc and the end of the period of socalled "freer
markets" to a new
state of monopolies control and imperialism and world war  as  endemic to
the SYSTEM.

So they were not discussing what the results of workers rule and plannned
economy and
workers councils, building state cap as a goal.

Lenin , did kind of describe the post 1920 Russa as "State capitalism under
workers (state?)
control" but he was also pointing out the dangers  (contradictions)of this
situation, that it could not remain this
way for long , either the struggle (external and interanl)  would tear down
capitalist relations in transition or  that state capitalism would
soldify-- counterattack and the workers would lose control-power-- we know
of course
the result in early 20s sadly was the latter scenario in Russia-USSR.

The The Bolsheviks tactics were hardly alone in the mix , there was also
the counterattack of
capitalist reaction internally and externally, and the  western soviets
being crushed in anumber
of countires-- the attacks came from the unity of the right , center and
left of capital.

I don't know if CommieOO 's belittling of the physical size of western
soviets is the real crux of these soviets problems, I mean in Germany, and
Italy, Austria, Finland, etc we were talking about  a least hundreds of
thousands of armed workers and soldiers in them. But this shows there is no
Magic Wand soviets, even in them there were  differnet  pol-econ trends
from  bourg. democrats to bolsheviks,  councilists, SDs and syndicalists,
and just rad. trade union types.  I mean just the KAPD of
H.Gorter/councilism   with all its probelms  initially had 38,000  active
soviet  workers in it in 1920 after breaking from the KPD. (see our
web-Back RP articles  for more info-- www.ibrp-org ). I mean don't
militias, even the workers best have
to become a  disciplined  real army  to beat the  massed bosses forces??

So the point is we need to get to the meat of the problems  from a
scientific, materialist way-method
and not fly off half-cocked attributing one factor -- Nasty party
saviors/plotters ,  psychological stress,
moodswings,(maybe shortages of expropriated Bayer Aspirin!), this periods
Rev.  lessons go much deeper than that and we need to study it from a
number of sides,.  -- it is rich with key lessons for us even now!

Neil
www.ibrp.org


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