Stalinist dictatorship is not inevitable
I BOUGHT a copy of Socialism Today (No.157, April
201) for the first time in some years and was so pleased to see Peter
Taaffe’s article reviewing Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate. This book is
surely a classic of the 20th century for both its literary quality and
its insight into the horrors of war, Nazism and Stalinism. It deserves a
much wider audience and I would encourage readers not to be deterred by
its epic length as it is well worth the effort! I hope that following
Radio Four’s serialisation more will be encouraged to seek it out.
The media has generally equated socialism with
Stalinism and all the inhumanity associated with it and particularly
since the fall of the Berlin Wall pointed to the ‘failed experiment’ of
‘socialism’.
I believe that although economics and political
structures are obviously closely related it is worth considering the two
separately in countering this argument. It is self-evident that the
economic system of capitalism can exist in many different political
structures from liberal democracy through regimes riddled with
corruption and bribery to military dictatorships and out and out
fascism. Indeed capitalism relies on adopting different political
structures to persevere in different social conditions. In general it is
the advanced capitalist countries which have the greatest degree of
liberal democratic structures due to the advancement of the working
class. However we are encouraged to believe that a planned and largely
nationalised economy can only be run on the basis of Stalinism.
Although Marx and Engels foresaw the socialist
revolution taking place in the most advanced capitalist countries this
has not been the case. The rule of the Tsar in the Russian empire and
the Emperors in China were features of mainly peasant countries closer
to feudalism in many respects than advanced capitalism and with little
tradition of mass participatory democracy. In these circumstances and in
a situation of isolation Stalin, Mao, etc were able to establish
authority through exercising bureaucratic manipulation and outright
terror. It is important to refute that Stalinism is the only way to
operate and run a planned economy, just as there are many variations of
the capitalist model. That the one party state and the centralising of
power in a clique or individual are not an inevitable outcome and that
democratic socialism is a viable alternative to both capitalism and
Stalinism.
Because of the traditions of democracy and
participation in advanced capitalist countries it would be much harder
to impose Stalinism and the cult of the personality in such countries
which in future succeed in establishing socialism.
We should not be at all complacent though. In the
current circumstances where democracy is under attack at all levels
across the globe it is important for socialists, trade unionists and
community activists to promote and protect democracy both within their
organisations and in wider society. Active participation and involvement
is the best antidote to all forms of autocracy and dictatorship and we
should beware calls to dilute these elements.
Malcolm Emmerson, Coventry
