Suchergebnisse

Democracy & socialism are not separate concepts; socialism is a development of democratic relations. However, it has long been common to identify Stalinism with socialism. Stalinism can be defined in terms of state ownership, merging party & state power & suspending social power, suspension of democracy within the party, & limitations on individual liberty. These policies are essentially counterrevolutionary. Stalinism was not the inevitable result of the October Revolution, nor was it due to the underdevelopment of Russia; rather, it derived from the inner limitations of Bolshevism, including vanguardism, a one-party system, & growing detachment from the international workers' movement. The Stalinist system continues to exist as a bureaucratized political society whose primary end is not emancipation of the Wc but consolidation & maintenance of power. Rejection of this system of existing socialism opens a possibility of its rehabilitation. W. H. Stoddard.

The objective of this article is to situate the political regime in Addis Ababa within the Stalinist framework with a view to focussing its salient peculiarities and the way these impact upon its "socialist" strategy. The description and analysis revolves essentially around three major elements: the power structure, the major political goals and the instruments of action. (DÜI-Hns)

This article examines the early transition from Stalinism to post-Stalinism, to expose the hesitations & difficulties that attended the Soviet leadership's initial attempts to deal with the Stalinist past. 'De-Stalinization' began almost immediately after Stalin's death, as the post-Stalinist regime attempted to reduce Stalin's charismatic power & to increase its own legitimacy, through undermining Stalinist thinking (which had dominated every policy domain) & through reducing the influence of the Stalin cult on Soviet public life. However, efforts to dismantle the mythologies surrounding Stalin did not begin in earnest until 1956. The initial attempts at radical de-Stalinization (Khrushchev's 'Secret Speech') are shown as unsuccessful, since they generated significant resistance & provoked an unprecedented diversity of public response. To achieve greater consensus & control over the 'Stalin question,' the Soviet authorities instead had to propagate a more moderate & ambiguous image of Stalin & Stalinism, which necessitated a hesitant approach to the symbols of the cult. The paradoxes of Stalin's public image during de-Stalinization in 1956 are exemplified through case studies of Soviet education & political symbolism. This article is based on doctoral research carried out in a number of state & Party archives at the central (Moscow) & local (Volgograd, Moscow) levels, using materials declassified as late as the latter half of the 1990s. Adapted from the source document.

A fragment of an unfinished essay by Piccone that explores the nature of Stalinism in the post-Cold War context to shed light on the institutional legacy seen to carry on in Western liberal democracies, presents Stalinism as understood by Stalinists.

A comment on Vincent Barnett's "Understanding Stalinism -- The 'Orwellian Discrepancy' and the Rational Choice Dictator" (2006) addresses Barnett's specific criticisms of what he labels the "Harrison-Davies" school of thought & his misrepresentation of Davies's work. Attention is given to his illegitimate transfer of the author's comment on E. H. Carr's world outlook to an assessment of the nature of Stalinism, Barnett's sweeping conclusions regarding Stalin's views on economics, & Barnett's charge that Harrison & Davies have neglected the nature of the socialist economy. References. D. Edelman

IN THIS ARTICLE THE AUTHOR RECONSTRUCTS THE POLITICAL AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF GEORG LUKACS FROM THE MIDTWENTIES ONWARDS. HE ARGUES THAT THE VIETNAMESE WAR, THE MAY REVOLT IN FRANCE, AND THE YOUTH REBELLIONS IN THE WEST LED LUKACS TO A PARTIAL READOPTION OF THE REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS OF COMMUNIST MILITANTS. HE EMPHASIZES THE UNITY IN LUKACS' POLITICAL, AESTHETIC, AND PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGS.