Stalinism is sadly real and mainly part of a religious mindset and social needs
to belong and not rejected among the "believing unquestioning faithful"
Excuses for silence and not challenging and questioning the leaders - a common
practice behavior among "religious cult thinking".
Of course those insecure and using violence and force to keep people "under
control". are attracted and supportive of stalinist practices.
Vladimir Putin and many right wing nationalists admire Stalin - and those
"strong male leaders".
Many Leftist should) consider why in those nations that were decades under the
Third International Rule, are among the most backward on
sexism, homophobia, racism, lack of respect
for other lives and with many people holding reactionary religious views - and
far right fascist affinity.
The "better stores, goods and housing" for the Communist Party members and
mansions and possessions for the party leaders -
so very opposite of Lenin's views and that he actually practiced himself.
Workers labored hard for the party bosses benefits!
The Cult of the individual leader to obey - so evident in the DPRK today - to
see how "the leader" lives and the masses who toil.
As for egos of insecure and those who believe they know so much - but want to
impress on this list and in general.
As a laborer myself, I advise reading and listening and considering what others
have to share in knowledge, awareness and views based on ideas and
not rhetoric,
I am much indebted for those on this list sharing knowledge of history and
economic views.
________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Michael Pugliese
<[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, January 19, 2024 6:39 PM
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [marxmail] "There is No Such Thing as Stalinism"
If John Reimann had been on lbo-talk back in its glory days in the early years
of this century, certain characters I interacted with there would have eaten
him for breakfast with pleasure. There were some every sharp minds on that
listserv.. A few there really went after me , consistently for my harping on
Stalinism, insinuating such a stance was a capitulation to US Imperialism,
which can be a eventual destination point as we all now , as witness the
neo-cons.
http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/2002/2002-December/027942.html
Carrol Cox (cbcox at
ilstu.edu<http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk>)>...Read
through the archives on this list...
Indeed http://www.google.com/search?q=Carrol+%22stalinist%22+lbo-talk ,Carrol
always put scare quotes around Stalinist.
http://nuance.dhs.org/lbo-talk/0011/1094.html Carrol>...tired old pejorative
like "stalinist." From one of the best ever lbo-talk threads, "Heart of a
Leftist, "http://squawk.ca/lbo-talk/0007/0262.html Carrol and Yoshie>...Yoshie
Furuhashi wrote:
> >>So, Yoshie, can Stalinist be criticized and excoriatedwithout
> >>commiting the horrible vice of red-baiting?
> >
> >Nope. Stalinism can't be criticized without it turning into
> >red-baiting.
It really is not hard to avoid red-baiting. Criticize/attack *positions*
without resorting to the lazy habit of replacing argument with labels. There is
even a label for this practice: it's called principled criticism...
If Yoshie, with her forwarding of French Trotskyist Daniel Bensaid a few days
ago is coming to her senses, hurray!
To Carrol, her is what Earl Browder said in 1938 about calling himself a
Stalinist w/o scare quotes. "The vigillence and unity of our members...is a
unity based upon understanding and science, the science of history, founded by
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels and, developed in the present era of imperialism
and the rise of socialism as a world power, by Vladimir Lenin and Joseph
Stalin...With the deepest pride we accept the name of our most beloved teacher
and guide. We are indeed Stalinists, and we hope to become ever more worthy of
such a glorious name...Truly it is a proud name, Stalinist, and we must bear it
with all modesty, for it carries with it a tremendous responsibility." Earl
Browder, "The Democratic Front, " Workers Library, 1938, g. 84, as cited in fn.
25, pg. 17 of Aileen Kraditor, "Jimmy Higgins: Inside the Mental World of the
American Rank-And-File Communist, 1930-1958. " Kraditor, as you might know
wrote several books on the abolitionists and suffragists. She was in the CPUSA
from the late 40's to the late 50's.
The above quote from Browder's written work can also be backed up with an
interview he conducted with NYC newspaper reporters, just after the Pact was
announced in '39 where he calls himself a proud Stalinist, again. as cited by
Harvey Klehr in his history of the CPUSA in the 30's blurbed by Hal Draper.
As for principled criticism, esp. when Charles Brown was here, others and I
brought up the histories of the Communist movement written by such as Fernando
Claudin of the Spanish PCE that was published by Monthly Review Pres in the
70's, to no avail. C.L.R. James, Agnes Heller, Ferenc Feher and Gyorgy Markus
on, "Dictatorship Over Needs, " Rudolf Bahro in, "The Alternative in Eastern
Europe." Many others. But, these communists are all just red-baiters, to some.
Michael Pugliese
More recently came across a similar quote , on the DSA DB , via an old post by
Jason Schulman.
“The<https://discussion.dsausa.org/t/the-working-class-is-not-interested-in-the-marxist-paradigm/29442/62>
social-democrat lackeys often call us stalinists and they think that in this
way they insult the communists. But we are proud of this honorary appellation
as we are proud of the appellation leninists. There is no greater honor for a
revolutionary than being a true leninist, a true stalinist, a devoted disciple
of Lenin and Stalin until the end. And there is no greater happiness for the
communists than fighting under the guidance of Stalin for the triumph of the
international proletariat’s just cause. Not everybody can be a stalinist. The
honorary appellation leninist-stalinist has to be won through bolshevik
struggle, persistence and unlimited devotion to the cause of the working
class." (G. Dimitrov, “Stalin and the international proletariat”, 1939).
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