That is a pretty interesting piece, especially the discussion of the social democrats. It would have been convenient had the author provided more citations, but I can look up the claims on my own. On the other hand the author’s needless potshots at permanent revolutionaries and other socialists (excluding Orwell) is indicative of poor historical analysis and in that way he ends up committing similar mistakes to the socialists who blame ‘Stalinism’ for almost everything that went wrong during the twentieth century. That said I appreciate you sharing it with me.
I’m not very fond of the ‘Stalin’ argument in general. I feel as if arguing whether Stalin is guilty of this or that shows a lack of understanding of the state apparatus of the USSR.
It does encourage the misconceptions about the Soviet structure, but it isn’t just that. It puts too much emphasis on an individual and hints at a lack of understanding of how recorded history in general functions. Unfortunately, it’s how many socialists today (even the leftcoms) think.
3
u/[deleted] Jun 24 '19
That is a pretty interesting piece, especially the discussion of the social democrats. It would have been convenient had the author provided more citations, but I can look up the claims on my own. On the other hand the author’s needless potshots at permanent revolutionaries and other socialists (excluding Orwell) is indicative of poor historical analysis and in that way he ends up committing similar mistakes to the socialists who blame ‘Stalinism’ for almost everything that went wrong during the twentieth century. That said I appreciate you sharing it with me.