[lbo-talk] The Soviet Anthem Unplugged

[wrobert at uci.edu]

And here I thought that these reforms were due to the large popular
countersystemic movements within the United States.  If anything, the
subservience of the CPUSA to the USSR was more of a hindrance to popular
movements, rather than a benefit, leading the organization to make
decisions that were not in the interests of pushing forwards a radical
agenda within the U.S.

                           robert wood


> [WS:] I am overposting, sorry, but I do not want that stand unanswered.
> Yes, I AM unapologetically nostalgic for Really Existing Socialism (RES) -
> its leaders, government figures, and numerous faults notwithstanding.
> Fist,
> it made Eastern Europe - the former backwater of Europe - great and
> respected in the world.  Second, and perhaps more importantly to those
> born
> in the US - it scared shitless the US oligarchy, forcing it to concessions
> -
> from the New Deal, to the civil rights, and to Great Society programs.
> Without the Soviet "threat" the US would have looked as it does now - as a
> neoliberal playing ground for the rich.  I think US lefties should thank
> the
> x-USSR at least for that.
>
> I am pretty sure many people around the world are nostalgic as well.
> Despite its flaws, the RES demonstrated that there is an alternative to
> capitalism, after all.  It may have been purely symbolic, but it did keep
> capitalists and their lackeys in line.
>
> Wojtek
>
>
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