[lbo-talk] Edmund Wilson on Stalin

[Wojtek S]

Carrol: "No matter who ruled in Russia, or how good their
intentions or how "correct" their Marxism, the casualties would still have
run into the millions. This is not a defense of Stalin."

[WS:]  This is probably true, the cost would have been high no matter
who was in power. Let's call it "necessary violence" for analytic
purposes.  However, it seems that Stalin added a fair amount of
discretionary violence to the mix (cf. the Moscow trials), raising it
well above what was necessary.  Ditto for Mao (cf. the Cultural
revolution).  We should not sweep that discretionary violence
introduced by particular leaders under the rug of the violence that
was necessary to move the revolutionary project ahead.

Wojtek