Stalin was a committed Marxist-Leninist, and oversaw the world’s first socialist state for the overwhelming majority of its most tumultuous period. He was no saint, but at the same time was no monster either. He is remembered by liberal historians as far worse than comtemporaries like Churchill who in actuality were far worse than Stalin.
As Nia Frome says, we can either distance ourselves from Stalin, and by extension the USSR and actually existing socialism, or we can fight back against bourgeois narratives about Stalin and the USSR, acknowledging their faults while being able to uphold their tremendous successes as examples of the possibilities of socialism in power. Historical nihilism, and throwing Stalin and by extension much of the early soviet union under the bus, was ultimately what allowed for liberalization within the USSR and partially contributed to the death of socialism in eastern Europe.
Demystifying Stalin
I know that after my death a pile of rubbish will be heaped on my grave, but the wind of History will sooner or later sweep it away without mercy.
Stalin's Major Theoretical Contributions to Marxism
I have come to communism because of daddy Stalin and nobody must come and tell me that I mustn’t read Stalin. I read him when it was very bad to read him. That was another time. And because I’m not very bright, and a hard-headed person, I keep on reading him. Especially in this new period, now that it is worse to read him. Then, as well as now, I still find a Seri of things that are very good.
As for the DPRK, it isn’t a utopia, but it’s also a democratically controlled country. It has 3 major parties in power, the WPK has the broad majority of control while a social democratic party and a religious party also hold minor aspects of control. They have worker councils that allow for democratic decision making, and people for the most part have their needs taken care of by the socialist system they have. The DPRK is poor, but despite that achieve far greater metrics than peer countries at similar levels of wealth and development thanks to their socialist system.
I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion. The famine was their own fault for breeding like rabbits.
Lovely.
The 1930s famine, on the other hand, wasn’t forced, though. It was a combination of adverse weather conditions leading to lower crop yields, wealthy farmers called kulaks killing their livestock and burning their crops to “resist collectivization,” and some degree of mismanagement. It’s important to recognize that pre-1930s, Eastern Europe had regular famines as well, and that following collectivization the 1930s famine was the last famine outside of World War II (when the Nazis took Ukraine, the USSR’s breadbasket). To pin that on Stalin alone is a serious mistake.
My opinions are absolutely sane. My views are shared by orgs like PSL, FRSO, the Black Panther Party, and every major communist party in power throughout the world. Contrary to your pessimism, socialism is succeeding throughout the world, and we are progressing despite your protestations. I don’t “idealize failure” or “worship dictators,” I’m a practicing communist that organizes in real life and studies theory, even making my own intro Marxist-Leninist reading list. The “true” communism is the work of communists in real life building it, not the magic utopia free from sin that exists in your head.
I suggest you actually join an org and start reading theory.
wealthy farmers you say? doesn’t sound like communism to me. And I knew you would try to say “oh it wasn’t stalins fault” so I held off on him murdering thousands of his political opposition.
You worship a dictator and try to cover up the past, pretending like he did not do horrible things. Please point to where socialism is succeeding because I’m pretty sure it is in places that don’t worship a mass-murderer.
I suggest you start reading history.
The kulaks were a form of bourgeois-farmers that existed in Tsarist Russia. The 1930s was when the soviet union began collectivizing agriculture and creating cooperative farms. You’re correct in saying that kulaks don’t sound very communist, and you’re right, that’s why they fought against the communists who were trying to socialize farming, therefore making the famine far worse.
As for the Great Purge, the exact number of deaths is unknown, but the purge itself was necessary. The soviet union was infiltrated by huge numbers of fascists and former white army members, corrupt officials, and in many cases criminals. They weren’t simply “political opponents,” the socialist system was in an extremely dangerous position. The majority of those found guilty were simply expelled from the party, with some being sentenced to prison, and some of those being sentenced to death.
I don’t “worship a dictator,” nor do I cover up the past. I investigate the past, especially now that the soviet archives are (relatively) open. Stalin did do terrible things, like criminalizing homosexuality, and excess deaths absolutely occured because of his actions. At the same time, he wasn’t a dictator, nor was the soviet system capable of such a position. I already linked a bunch of resources, but if you want a genuine critical look at Stalin, you should read Losurdo’s Stalin: The History and Critique of a Black Legend. Losurdo only uses western sources for this, and it does an excellent job showcasing Stalin’s genuine merits and failures.
Socialism is doing wonderfully right now. The PRC is the world’s most advanced socialist state right now, soon to be the world’s most developed country. Vietnam and Laos are also rising rapidly. The DPRK is doing surprisingly well now after decades of recovering from the Arduous March. Cuba is struggling with energy production, but solidarity from Vietnam and the PRC in the form of large solar panel construction has helped alleviate that. Nicaragua is doing okay, and Venezuela is in a tough position due to the US Empire’s aggression, but even then good news still comes out.
I do read history, that’s a part of my theory reading. I do my best to understand what did and did not work in historical socialism, and read history to better understand the context of the present day. Given that you didn’t even know about Churchill’s genocide of Bengal (or worse, didn’t care), nor about the DPRK’s ties to parties like the Black Panthers, nor the role of the kulaks, etc, I think you should take your own advice here as well. Theory, history, and joining an org should all be priorities for you.
Stalin was a committed Marxist-Leninist, and oversaw the world’s first socialist state for the overwhelming majority of its most tumultuous period. He was no saint, but at the same time was no monster either. He is remembered by liberal historians as far worse than comtemporaries like Churchill who in actuality were far worse than Stalin.
As Nia Frome says, we can either distance ourselves from Stalin, and by extension the USSR and actually existing socialism, or we can fight back against bourgeois narratives about Stalin and the USSR, acknowledging their faults while being able to uphold their tremendous successes as examples of the possibilities of socialism in power. Historical nihilism, and throwing Stalin and by extension much of the early soviet union under the bus, was ultimately what allowed for liberalization within the USSR and partially contributed to the death of socialism in eastern Europe.
Demystifying Stalin
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Stalin's Major Theoretical Contributions to Marxism
Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR
Dialectical and Historical Materialism
History of the CPSU (B)
The Foundations of Leninism
Marxism and the National Question
As for the DPRK, it isn’t a utopia, but it’s also a democratically controlled country. It has 3 major parties in power, the WPK has the broad majority of control while a social democratic party and a religious party also hold minor aspects of control. They have worker councils that allow for democratic decision making, and people for the most part have their needs taken care of by the socialist system they have. The DPRK is poor, but despite that achieve far greater metrics than peer countries at similar levels of wealth and development thanks to their socialist system.
Removed by mod
He starved all of india, that’s, like 1000 million people.
Sounds like you need to learn more about Churchill, because he was responsible for starving millions of people in Bengal. He had this to say:
Lovely.
The 1930s famine, on the other hand, wasn’t forced, though. It was a combination of adverse weather conditions leading to lower crop yields, wealthy farmers called kulaks killing their livestock and burning their crops to “resist collectivization,” and some degree of mismanagement. It’s important to recognize that pre-1930s, Eastern Europe had regular famines as well, and that following collectivization the 1930s famine was the last famine outside of World War II (when the Nazis took Ukraine, the USSR’s breadbasket). To pin that on Stalin alone is a serious mistake.
As for the DPRK, they have approval-based voting, and 3 political parties. There are also factory councils for direct worker management. On top of this, they have been strong allies to Palestine, Cuba, South Africa, and had close ties to the Black Panther Party.
My opinions are absolutely sane. My views are shared by orgs like PSL, FRSO, the Black Panther Party, and every major communist party in power throughout the world. Contrary to your pessimism, socialism is succeeding throughout the world, and we are progressing despite your protestations. I don’t “idealize failure” or “worship dictators,” I’m a practicing communist that organizes in real life and studies theory, even making my own intro Marxist-Leninist reading list. The “true” communism is the work of communists in real life building it, not the magic utopia free from sin that exists in your head.
I suggest you actually join an org and start reading theory.
wealthy farmers you say? doesn’t sound like communism to me. And I knew you would try to say “oh it wasn’t stalins fault” so I held off on him murdering thousands of his political opposition.
You worship a dictator and try to cover up the past, pretending like he did not do horrible things. Please point to where socialism is succeeding because I’m pretty sure it is in places that don’t worship a mass-murderer. I suggest you start reading history.
The kulaks were a form of bourgeois-farmers that existed in Tsarist Russia. The 1930s was when the soviet union began collectivizing agriculture and creating cooperative farms. You’re correct in saying that kulaks don’t sound very communist, and you’re right, that’s why they fought against the communists who were trying to socialize farming, therefore making the famine far worse.
As for the Great Purge, the exact number of deaths is unknown, but the purge itself was necessary. The soviet union was infiltrated by huge numbers of fascists and former white army members, corrupt officials, and in many cases criminals. They weren’t simply “political opponents,” the socialist system was in an extremely dangerous position. The majority of those found guilty were simply expelled from the party, with some being sentenced to prison, and some of those being sentenced to death.
I don’t “worship a dictator,” nor do I cover up the past. I investigate the past, especially now that the soviet archives are (relatively) open. Stalin did do terrible things, like criminalizing homosexuality, and excess deaths absolutely occured because of his actions. At the same time, he wasn’t a dictator, nor was the soviet system capable of such a position. I already linked a bunch of resources, but if you want a genuine critical look at Stalin, you should read Losurdo’s Stalin: The History and Critique of a Black Legend. Losurdo only uses western sources for this, and it does an excellent job showcasing Stalin’s genuine merits and failures.
Socialism is doing wonderfully right now. The PRC is the world’s most advanced socialist state right now, soon to be the world’s most developed country. Vietnam and Laos are also rising rapidly. The DPRK is doing surprisingly well now after decades of recovering from the Arduous March. Cuba is struggling with energy production, but solidarity from Vietnam and the PRC in the form of large solar panel construction has helped alleviate that. Nicaragua is doing okay, and Venezuela is in a tough position due to the US Empire’s aggression, but even then good news still comes out.
I do read history, that’s a part of my theory reading. I do my best to understand what did and did not work in historical socialism, and read history to better understand the context of the present day. Given that you didn’t even know about Churchill’s genocide of Bengal (or worse, didn’t care), nor about the DPRK’s ties to parties like the Black Panthers, nor the role of the kulaks, etc, I think you should take your own advice here as well. Theory, history, and joining an org should all be priorities for you.
Thank you for sharing these resources, bless you
No problem comrade! 🫡