Stalinism on trial

Who was Joseph Stalin and what is the legacy of his leadership? In this episode of the Spectre of Communism, we weigh the evidence, based on historical fact and the principles of Marxist theory, to give Stalinism a fair trial.

The USSR achieved great things thanks to the superiority of the planned economy. It defeated the Nazis, expropriated capitalism on a sixth of the earth’s surface and built a superpower in just a few decades. Genuine Marxists celebrate all of these accomplishments.

However, we must also acknowledge that there were many mistakes, and many crimes. A line of blood separates Stalinism, by which we mean the bureaucratic counterrevolutionary dictatorship at the head of the workers’ state, from the real principles of Bolshevism and Marxism.

Virtually the entire leadership of Lenin’s party that won power for the Russian workers and peasants in 1917 were killed in the frame-ups of the 1930s, along with countless others. Meanwhile, the leaders of the USSR actively wrecked revolutionary struggles abroad and sought alliances with imperialism to secure their positions.

How do we explain this? Jorge Martin, a leading member of the Revolutionary Communist International, makes the case that Stalin and the clique around him were not guided by Marxist theory, but by the narrow interests of defending their privileges and positions. Their outlook was one of empiricism and cynical ‘pragmatism’, which was entirely contrary to the way Lenin built the Bolshevik Party.

But in the end, we are only presenting the evidence: you can be the jury! Let us know what you think in the comments. Is Stalinism ‘guilty’ of betraying the world revolution?