Re: On condolences as a socialist principle..(SWP subthread)

[Adam Levenstein <cleon42@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- Lou Paulsen <wwchi@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I don't know, Louis, I guess it's a matter of opinion.

No, Lou, it's a matter of facts. And the SWP classifying Fidel as a
"Stalinist dictator" doesn't make a "fact." It makes something else
entirely.

> Of course you
> are
> right about the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, but what was the
> assessment of
> Cuba internally?  At what point did the SWP conclude that a socialist
> revolution had actually happened there, and what was their analysis
> of the
> Cuban state at that point?  Did they believe a "political revolution"
> would
> be necessary in Cuba?

This is actually kind of a thorny issue. For a long time, and the
written record reflects this, the SWP didn't know what to make of Cuba.
They of course immediately took the line of defending it against
imperialism, and I think it's fair to say from the outset there was a
strong pro-Cuba element in the SWP, which certainly contributed to the
RT's leaving in 64. Which is far from saying that the SWP immediately
classified it as a "socialist revolution." There was much internal
debate, but they certainly never classified it as "Stalinist."

If memory serves, it was probably the late 60s/early 70s that the SWP
actively began calling Cuba "socialist." Of course, it wasn't until the
late 70s/early 80s that the Barnes leadership decided to make "Cuba
solidarity work" (translation: "selling books on Cuba"*) a central
focal point of SWP activities.

(* This jibe, meant in jest, isn't really fair. The SWP for a good
while made an active campaign out of sending as many people to Cuba as
possible to see the Revolution for themselves. They didn't really stop
until 3-4 years ago. I was lucky enough to have been part of one of
their last mass efforts. They still send people and encourage people to
go, but not nearly on as massive a scale.)

In any case, the accusation that the SWP considered Fidel to be a
"Stalinist dictator" is absolutely false. I think, actually, that the
SWP of the 60s deserves credit for not immediately jumping to a
conclusion of "Cuba is Stalinist" (or, for that matter, socialist). Did
they take too long in making up their mind? Possibly. But IMO that
point is moot.

Adam


=====
Adam Levenstein                          cleon42@xxxxxxxxx
ICQ: 17125158

Svoboda Misli - Svoboda Coda

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