File spoon-archives/marxism2.archive/marxism2_1996/96-08-08.172, message 99


From: glevy-AT-pratt.edu
Date: Mon, 5 Aug 1996 18:31:54 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Stalin explained


Barkley wrote:

>      IN retrospect, the NEP does not look so bad.

At the time of the introduction of the NEP, the NEP was advocate by Lenin
and Trotsky (and the majority of the rest of the Bolshevik leadership)
as a *temporary retreat* away from socialism -- this retreat,
unfortunately after the failure of War Communism, the growing opposition to
Soviet power among large sections of the peasantry, and the failure of
international revolutions in Europe, esp. Hungary and Bavaria.

Before Stalin consolidated power he was a member of the "Right
Opposition", lead theoretically by Bukharin, which sought not only to
extend the NEP temporarily, but to institutionalize the NEP (perhaps
best captured by Bukharin's expression of "riding into socialism on a
peasant hag"). So, Stalin had *only* been an advocate of the NEP during
the early part of the NEP ... *just* like the majority of the rest of the
Bolshevik leadership. Of course, later-on, Stalin was to "zig-zag"
(Trotsky's description) and change his policy again ... this time *away*
>from the NEP in the sense that the collectivization drive exacerbated the
opposition to Soviet power among large segments of the peasantry.

 > Maybe there would not have been several million dead
> peasants, not to mention all those killed in the purges
> in the late 1930s, including the cream of the Red Army
> officer corps.

Perhaps not. We'll never know for sure. In any event, if the NEP was
extended indefinitely it would not have prevented Stalin from doing any or
all of the above.

Jerry



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