Said I: >Stagism refers to the old idea (associated with some in the 2nd & 3rd Internationals) that history goes through mechanical stages, sort of like a train on a track: feudal stage --> capitalist stage --> socialist stage --> communist stage. The "train" can be sped up or slowed down (or maybe put in reverse), but you can't "skip" stages. <
CB: >But surely the 2nd and 3rd Internationals discussed history going through _dialectical_, not mechanical, stages.< Right. Some were more "dialectical" than others, though (as usual) there were debates about exactly what "dialectical" means. Sometimes this term was abused. � JD
