[Marxism] Stalinism

[David Walters <dwalters@xxxxxxx>]

Nestor wrote:
"May I advance some general definition that what many people understand
as "Stalinism" dumps into same box an extremely diversified assortment
of traits, as J. says, but also has an
essential red thread. Which is abandonment of world revolution as the
basic strategy for
the socialist state. This is what Cuba has _not_ abandoned."

I think it is more complicated than that. On the last statement, if you
define this by the role Cuba played in the 1960s I couldn't agree with
you more. If you define this since the 1980s, I couldn't disagree with
you more. Not just on their actions (or lack there of) but on their
whole theoretical perspective toward world revolution...which they
seemed to have indeed abandoned, preferring diplomatic and
state-to-state aid/trade/political support as a substitute for
international revolution.

This stems from their concept of Socialism, which, IMO, is not that
much different from the Stalinist conception of "Socialism in One
Country", which they clearly never differentiated from in terms of the
USSR, etc. However, in the other direction, they clearly are not trying
to 'sell out' any revolutions, per se, nor have they copied the
bureaucratic repressive rule of their former Warsaw Pact allies.

I think Cuba is more of a jumble or mish-mash of ideas, combing a
sincere defense of their revolutionary gains, trying to extend the
revolution in the 1960s and 70s, abandoning this approach,
socialism-in-one-country, mass mobilizations of the Cuban people in
their own defense, internationalist in fighting for national liberation
in Africa, single-party "gov't equals Party", etc.

"Stalinism" to the degree this is a 'negative' connotation is in my
mind a completely useless term as applied to Cuba, it's Party, and it's
State.


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