Re: Stalinism and Standards of Intellectual Discourse

[Jeffrey Booth <booth2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

        Oh, where to begin... .  It's crucial to identify and discuss
Stalinism in order to avoid making the same mistakes that were made in
the class war in the past.  Unless you believe the Bourgois are
omnipotent, its worth analyzing why certain battles in the class war were
lost.
        The Stalinist bureacracy in Russia from the mid-twenties on,
killed-off what little was left of the workers councils, created a
monstrous, repressive bureacracy and turned the Comintern into a border
guard for socialism in one country i.e the Soviet Union.  Did pressure
from the bourgeois contribute to this degeneration of Bolshevism?
Absolutely.  Could the revolution have been spread and Stalinism
defeated?  Absolutely.  But the Left Opposition was defeated by Stalinism
and the Bourgeois and its ideas left somewhat isolated.
        Now, these ideas and new opportunities for democratic marxism are
emerging and the next battles in the class war can be won but only if
Stalinism is decisively defeated.  Thankfully, the CPUSA is a small sect
living off of the suitcases of money the bureacrats from the former S.U.
fed it for so many years.  Though I see on a daily basis the damage done
to socialism by the remnants of the CP, most working people won't give
them the time of day.
        From the leaders of the SACP to the so-called communists that
just got elected in Russia, Stalinists are doing the same dirty work that
the Social Democrats do:  namely, implementing capitalist austerity
measures in the name of socialism and still confusing some working
people.  But more and more of us are seeing through this bullshit and
looking for real, fighting marxism.
        
        Worst of luck in your Stalinist revisionism,
                                                        
                                                    -- Jeff Booth

On Thu, 21 Dec 1995 CKates@xxxxxxx wrote:

> I would just like to say about charges of "Stalinism" thrown at the so-called
> "official" Communist Party from many who consider themselves "on the left":
> We spend more time talking about Stalin than we do about how to struggle for
> justice here and around the world, now,as opposed to approx.1927-1953.
> Throughout its history, the Communist Parties of the USA and around the world
> have been staunch, resolute, fighters for the working class, for peace, for
> justice and for socialism. Charges of "Stalinism" (which, as should be noted,
> are fostered by such capitalist, anti-people publications as the New York
> Times, the Washington Times and Time) are often attempts on the part of the
> ruling class to justify their system, and should not be adopted by those who
> see themselves as part of the peoples' struggles for liberation and
> socialism. Do not cave in to the diversionary tactics. Do not be afraid to be
> seen as an "official" Communist. Stalin is long dead, but the Communist
> Parties USA and around the world are alive and growing, a vibrant,
> progressive force for all kinds of democracy. Do not reject these proud
> fighters, the workingclass leaders, in the name of a dead Soviet leader. With
> warmest solidarity to all, Charlotte Kates
>
>
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>


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