Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 20:44:03 -0500 From: neil <74742.1651-AT-CompuServe.COM> Subject: AUT: Reply by Mauro, Jr to Commie 00 I went thru my VI Lenin CW , PP Moscow, English Edition 3rd print ,1977 -vol 24, pg 294 and I found the quote, Andrew's words quoted are close to Lenin but Andrew has kind of torn these out of historical and political context. Its from April 1918. If you go thru the section Lenin is actually COMPARING the tasks of what revolutionaries would face in Germany if they had siezed power there first (State-cap like monopolist economy) vs. Russia (smaller scale capitalism , production units, trading - with mass petty bourg layers and is making the point that he thinks that the German's transition to socialism would be much easier because of economic coordination and centralization achieved by German (state) capitalism. Lenin especially is inveighing here against the Russian petty bourg sectors who 'support' the smashing of the bigger capitalist's power and expropriating THEM-- but that the petty bourg just want s to then halt the Rev. process so the petty bourg. can enhance their own capitalist-exploiter activities. OK-The thinking seem somewhat economistic and the Germany- Russia analogy simplistic , but look at the conditions in Europe in April 1918! But Lenin CW -Vol 27, pg340. The Andrew quote is accurate. Lenin is comparing the situation to Russia and Germany in Apr, 1918. It is clear he thinks big things are about to happen in the German workers /soldiers revolutionary thrusts to take power. But it seems that Lenin is enamoured with the dictatorial- centralization of German state caps power because though capitalism and socialism are inherently antagonistic modes of production to each other -- Lenin here points to the commonality (pg341) of both systems having---.. national accounting and control. Lenin here does seem to fetishize the centralizing side of state cap developement as a real definitive " step" toward socialism . He also thinks -pg.342 -- that incorporation fo the 'socialist' state into the dictatorshp of the proletariat in the Soviets" - will disarm the dangers in state-cap. He attacks the 'Left -communists' inside the Bolshevik Party too for exposing this danger-- which would soon came to pass a few years later. And this does point out the lessons/dangers of an alienating Party-state-- bogarting the power away from the revolutionary forces massed in the soviets/councils-- The usurpatory acts of the Bolsheviks at this point vis a vis the Rev. soviets -councils of workers soldiers, etc (mid-1918) ,at the beginnings of Civil War to the knife-- would become part of a real catastrophe for the workers in Russia and Worldwide as history teaches us. The ohter quote of Andrew , Lenin's CW , Vol 24, pg 259 , I could not find there however. Maybe the wrong vol. or page? Neil communist-left www.ibrp.org --- from list aut-op-sy-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005