[lbo-talk] TV series on Stalin divides Russian audience

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

On 4/1/07, Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> wrote:
> > > Stalin's admirers insist that his achievements
> > > outweigh his faults. Among them is David
> > > Giorgobiani, the Georgian actor who plays Stalin in
> > > the series.
>
> Note how close this is to arguments about how progressive capitalism
> was/is. Of course from the beginning capitalism was capable of a
> destructiveness Stalin could only dream of.

Ah, but there's no equivalence between capitalism and socialism, is there?

What are the ideals of capitalism, if there are any (there are none,
in the minds of some, whether they are for or against capitalism)?
The best slogan of bourgeois revolution is an American one: "Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."  The slogan testifies to the
genius of Thomas Jefferson, who didn't promise "Life, Liberty, and
Happiness."  Yes, everyone is indeed _free_ to _pursue_ happiness, no
matter how wretched a life she lives.  There is truth in advertising
here.

Revolutions against capital -- from the French Revolution to the
Iranian Revolution -- have been inspired by a finer set of ideals than
that of the bourgeois revolution led by slave owners: Liberté,
Egalité, Fraternité.  In Persian:
ازادي، برابري، برادري
(Azadi, Barabari, Baradari, which means liberty, equality, and fraternity).
That is a very difficult set of ideals to put into practice in any
nation, especially since liberty is often at odds with equality and
fraternity in the capitalist world system.
-- 
Yoshie