[lbo-talk] World War as Class War

[Chris Doss]

The thing about this whole Trotsky-derived idea of "Stalinism" is that, well, I'm amazed it still exists, out of inertia I suppose, in the light of current historical knowledge. Trotsky was basically a kind of Berezovsky-in-exile of the 30s, saying things that he thought would gain him foreign support in his struggle (which is probably why he morphed into a libertarian socialist. He sure as hell wasn't when he was in the USSR.). Hence the emphasis on the person of Stalin, his rival. We know now however that Stalin, far from being some kind of omnipresent Big Brother, barely controlled a damn thing. Corruption in the provinces during Stalin was unbelievable, which is one reason why he resorted to terror. Note also the emphasis on "the bureaucracy," which was a dodge to avoid dealing with Stalin's enormous popularity in both the Party and the masses, as well as the support for Stalin and the Terror among young Komsomol activists, who were pissed off

 because they were too young for the Revolution and Civil War, as well as disillusioned with Communism because the humdrum existence in the USSR in the 20s and 30s was a far cry from the promised utopia ("where is my robot car?!?!?!?"), and so wanted to push things forward and have a Revolution of their own.