Re: [OPE-L] Workers states

[Paul Cockshott <wpc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Why not Democracy - rule by the demos - the poor ordinary people

-----Original Message-----
From: OPE-L [mailto:OPE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of michael a.
lebowitz
Sent: 23 May 2005 16:13
To: OPE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [OPE-L] Workers states

At 10:10 23/05/2005, Paul C wrote:
>Only one of the above - the USSR ever claimed to have been
>a workers state, and effectively gave up this claim
>with the new constitution in the late 30s which extended
>the franchise to the population in general.
>Most of the rest claimed to be 'Peoples democracies'
>
>The exception was the Czecho Slovak Socialist Republic,
>which was the only one other than the USSR that claimed to
>be a socialist republic.
>
>The term 'Workers state' is part of western trotskyist
>discourse, and was not used in the countries in question.
>Cuba was thus nothing special in this respect
>----------------------

         All true. When talking about Marx's ideas, though, I think that
'workers' state' communicates the essence of his position better than
'Dictatorship of the Proletariat'./m


Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor Emeritus
Economics Department
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6

Currently based in Venezuela. Can be reached at
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Departamento 601
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(58-212) 573-4111
fax: (58-212) 573-7724