Re: Stalinism And Standards of Intellectual Discourse

[Chegitz Guevara <mluziett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 20 Dec 1995, Scott Marshall wrote:

> Marc:
>
> I would also place the "offical"
> >Communist Parties in this catagory, since they uphold the bureaucratic
> >anti-worker system that Stalin is identified with.
>
> What does this mean?

Perhaps I should have wrote, "upheld." In any event, I meant that they not
only pointed to the FSU and EE as models to be emulated, they actively
supported these systems, even against workers' upsurges, like Hungary in
1956.

> >Groups which uphold
> >"Stalinist" ideology, such as the "theory" of socialism in one country may
> >be considered Stalinist.
>
> Does this "socialism in one country debate" have any, besides historical,
> significance in todays world?

Yes and no. By and large it is a moot point, since the vast majority of
these regimes have collapsed. Probably the only way it is relavant today
is in analyzing Cuba. Cuba, I believe, is a genuine revolutionary workers'
state, albeit, a degenerated one. Because they are attempting to build
socialism in Cuba alone, as opposed to building international revolution,
they are doomed to ultimately fail. It is a lesson we need to keep in
mind, in case we are in the position to lead a revolution (how ever
unlikely that may seem).

> >This, however, is probably an un-Marxist way of
> >analyizing Stalinism, since it relies on ideology, rather that the role
> >that the group plays, although the two are often linked.
>
> I'm really not trying to be combative, but in what specific ways are they
> often linked. I'm curious as to your perceptions of the linkage.
>
> Scott

Don't worry about being combative, comrade. Good, reasoned debate is only
good for our movement. Flames and unprincipled personal attacks are what
we need to watch for, and I don't ever recall you engaging in either.
Groups which uphold "Stalinist" ideology, very often act in a sectarian,
bureaucratic manner. Furthermore, they tend to try undermine struggles
which are not oriented towards their vision of socialism, like the Shining
Path waging war on MRTA or the CPUSA's going after the SWP(USA) during
WWII.

I would, however, also say that it is not limited to openly "Stalinist"
groups, nor are all openly "Stalinist"  groups bureaucratic. I am
thinking, in reference to the later, of the Gauche Socialist (I think) in
France, a non-hierarchical Maoist organization. On the other hand, many of
the Troskyist cults, operate in thoroughly sectarian, bureaucratic manner,
undermining anything that does not fit into their vision of socialism
(oddly this often coincides with whether or not the control they group).
Generally, I use the term in one of two ways, either to describe the
ideology, i.e., an upholder of Socialism in One Country or to describe a
bureaucratic organization. Basicaly, most of the left.

The fact is Stalinism, like Fascism, is bandied about carelessly far too
often (I am quite guilty of this). It serves as a way to avoid an honest
critique of ones rivals and dismiss them. The truth is, I am not exactly
sure anymore, which catagories have value, and which do not. In my
previous post, I wrote what I was taught, when I joined the movement. The
point I ended with was intended to demonstrate that I don't think that
what I was taught was accurate. It is amazing how much one's mind frees up
after you leave one of those nasty little sects, and you can honestly
appraise what you've been indoctrinated with.

I think that what I was taught, however, might serve as a useful starting
point, in analyzing the decay of the revolutionary socialist movement;
Stalinist, Trotskyist, and Maoist alike.

Marc, "the Chegitz," Luzietti
personal homepage: http://shrike.depaul.edu/~mluziett
political homepage: http://shrike.depaul.edu/~mluziett/chegitz.html

A curse on the judges, the coppers and screws | Who tortured the
innocent, the wrongly accused, | For the price of promotion | And justice
to sell | May the judged be their judges when they rot down in hell

The Pogues, "Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six"



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