Date: Fri, 01 Nov 1996 04:46:44 +0100
From: Jorn Andersen <jorn.andersen-AT-vip.cybercity.dk>
Subject: Re: M-TH: Stalin and industry


At 15:37 30-10-96 +1030, Ian Hunt wrote:
>A well argued post. This is not necessarily a vote for a continuing
>discussion, but if you have shown that the former USSR is neither
>capitalist nor socialist (I think BTW that ISO_SWP may be worried about the
>implications of this for Marx's summary of history and worried that the
>advent of socialism/communism might not be inevitable) what is it?
>(Presumably what Kornai says it is, but how does that fit in to schemes of
>society and history, if that matters?)
>

I don't think the ISO/SWP(UK) would argue that socialism/communism is
inevitable. We would argue that it is a possibility, which we have to fight
for. And also that the consequences would be fatal if we don't succeed.

But it is true that for Trotsky an argument along these lines was important
in relation to (one of the interpretations of) the theory of bureaucratic
collectivism.

This theory - or group of theories - says that the USSR is neither
socialist nor capitalist. Proponents of the theory have drawn different
conclusions to whether it was historically advanced or the opposite in
relation to capitalism. Trotsky worried that if it was considered
progressive, we might expect similar societies develop - and this would
mean that we would have to wait another historical period before socialism
could be put on the agenda. So that fighting for socialism today would be
like fighting for socialism in the 17th century.

We would have to abandon a lot of basic Marxism if that were the case.

Of course you can't argue from a base saying that Marxism is true, and then
conclude that reality has to fit theory. But it is important to realize
that theoretical positions on a subject like the class nature of stalinist
Russia does have implications also for other parts of how you look at Marxism.

Indeed many proponents of the theory of bureaucratic collectivism took the
road of abandoning not only important chunks, but Marxism as such.


Yours

Jorn



--
Jorn Andersen

Internationale Socialister
Copenhagen, Denmark
IS-WWW: http://www2.dk-online.dk/users/is-dk/



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