G'day Hugh,
I see Robert Service's new biography of Lenin is, whilst much more generous
and sublte than, say, Pipes's hatchet job, also pretty damning of Lenin's
philosophying. Reckons he was nothing special as a theorist. That said,
when Lenin got to apply his book-learning to reality, reality was cruelly
unobliging. Service reckons he was very happy in that role - but as far as
I'm concerned, it would have taken a strange customer indeed to enjoy the
shape of things after 1919 ...
George: I have been reading Ulam's biography of Lenin. It confirms my view that Lenins
was quite the opportunist and inconsistent. It seems to me that he would stop at
nothing to get his way --whatever that happened to be at the time. For me, an
ex-Leninist Trotskyist, he was a left counter-revolutionary.
Bob you mention Kautsky. Do you where any of his writings can be obtained on the
internet. I am also interested in getting my hands on translations of Martov's
writings too.
Comradely regards
George
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