From: slcathena-AT-pseud.pseud
Subject: Re: M-INTRO: marx and communism?
Date: Tue, 06 Nov 2001 19:58:17 +0000


I think that it is very important to distinguish the "brand" of communism 
that you are talking about (for lack of a better term).  For example, in the 
Soviet Union alone an incredibly diverse array of the manifestations of 
communism were present in a relatively short time period.  I think that 
there are a lot of over-generalizations occurring in this conversation.  To 
use the example submitted earlier about Marx-Leninist ideology the idea that 
Lenin's main adjustment to Marxism was the overthrow of the government 
through a violent revolution is flawed.  In fact, in terms of this 
conversation Lenin is quite possibly the best example of Marxism gone astray 
from its original ideological purpose.  Geo's original comment that 
capitalism is a necessary stepping stone to socialism is at the core of 
Marx's argument for socialism.  He is attempting to describe an inevitable 
evolution of political-economy.  Lenin actually eliminates this argument 
from Marx in order to justify the Bolshevik revolution.  The Bolshevik 
revolution created a lot of controversy in Russia because proponents of 
communism knew that they had eliminated a critical portion of Marx's 
argument by jumping from an agrarian society to a socialist one.  While 
Lenin's arguments are often contradictory, it is clear that a large portion 
of his writings are aimed at justifying the elimination of capitalism as a 
necessary step on the way to socialism.  It is equally important to remember 
that Leninism is not the same as Stalinism, or Tito's brand of socialism in 
Yugoslavia, etc.  In short lumping communist experiments into Marxism does a 
diservice to the analysis that Marx offers.  It is important to look at each 
manifestation of "communism" independently and notice key areas where they 
differ from classic Marxism.


>From: Betty-AT-pseud.pseud Reply-To: marxism-intro-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu 
>To: marxism-intro-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu Subject: M-INTRO: marx and 
>communism? Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2001 22:44:11 -0700
>
>It was my understanding that communists used many ideas of Marx but 
>distorted his true meaning and used these incorrect veiws to rally people 
>around the communist cause. Marx in fact disagreed with much of what the 
>communist party stands for and would never have supported them. Is this 
>true? If it is it shows how strong propaganda can be because many people 
>associate communism and Marx together...I don't know too much about 
>communism, but from what I know of Marx, he would have definitely 
>disapproved of the way communism has presented itself in the world.
>
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