state socialism
Articles about forms of statist socialism, such as social democracy, Trotskyism, Marxism Leninism, Maoism and Stalinism.
Leninism or Marxism - Rosa Luxemburg
Leninism or Marxism was published as an article in 1904 under the title "Organisational Questions of the Russian Social Democracy" in Iskra and Neue Zeit, and later reprinted in pamphlet form titled Marxism vs. Leninism in 1935 by the Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation.
Rosa Luxemburg's critique of Lenin's concept of revolutionary organisation, show the disagreements within the Marxist movements in Europe in the years preceding 1917; her comparisons with Blanquism and chillingly accurate predictions of the consequences of such organisation in a successful revolution are incredibly important to an understanding of the differing interpretations of Marx at that tim
The Mass Strike - Rosa Luxemburg
The Mass Strike, the Political Party and the Trade Unions by Rosa Luxemburg, written and first published: 1906
Publisher: Marxist Educational Society of Detroit, 1925
Translated: Patrick Lavin
Online Version: Rosa Luxemburg Internet Archive (marxists.org) 1999
Transcription/Markup: AL
What was the USSR (Part IV)? Towards a Theory of the Deformation of Value
The fourth and final article in Aufheben's series on the USSR, dealing with the Trotskyist analysis of the USSR as a "degenerated workers' state".
So our saga on the nature of the USSR draws to a close.
What was the USSR? Part III
In the previous articles we examined various Trotskyist and neo-Trotskyist positions on the nature of the USSR.
We now turn to the theories of the less well known but more interesting Communist Left, who were among the first revolutionary Marxists to distance themselves from the Russian model by deeming it state capitalist or simply capitalist.The Russian Left Communists' critique remained at the level of an immediate response to how capitalist measures were affecting the class, whereas in both the German/D
What was the USSR? Part II: Russia as a Non-mode of Production
Having disposed of the theory of the USSR as a 'degenerated workers' state', Ticktin's theory presents itself as the most persuasive alternative to the understanding of the USSR as capitalist
Its strength is its attention to the empirical reality of the USSR and its consideration of the specific forms of class struggle it was subject to. However, while we acknowledge that the USSR must be understood as a malfunctioning system, we argue that, because Ticktin doesn't relate his categories of 'political economy' to the class struggle, he fails to grasp the capitalist nature of the USSR.
What was the USSR? Part 1: Trotsky and State Capitalism
The Russian Revolution and the subsequent establishment of the USSR as a 'workers' state', has dominated political thinking for more than three generations.
In the past, it seemed enough for communist revolutionaries to define their radical separation with much of the 'left' by denouncing the Soviet Union as state capitalist. This is no longer sufficient, if it ever was. Many Trotskyists, for example, now feel vindicated by the 'restoration of capitalism' in Russia.
Marxism, Freedom and the State
This collection of extracts from the works of Mikhail Bakunin are taken from his writings touching on his controversy with Marx over the nature of the state and its role in the liberation of the international working class.
Written between 1867 and 1872, many of Bakunin's predictions about the outcome of following the authoritarian communist road have been proven valid by the actions of Leninist tyrants across the world.
Marxism, Freedom and the State
Translated and Edited with a Foreword and Biographical Sketch by K. J. Kenafick
Scanned in and put in HTML format by Greg Alt 1996
Top ten Trot chat-up lines
libcom.org presents the top ten best Trotskyist pick-up lines to use on the cute Marxist-Leninist at your local paper-sale.
10 "Hey sweet thang, wanna dictate my proletariat?"
9 "My revolutionary Party has a huge, militant membership - wanna lesson in Entryism?"
Hungary '56 - Andy Anderson
Andy Anderson's pamphlet, written in 1964 and published by Solidarity is invaluable as a guide to the events of the Hungarian uprising of 1956.
The demands for economic and political self-management were common to many revolutions of the past, but were unique in that they occurred in the context of the 'Communist' USSR, and after Stalin's regime had ended.
Re-published by AK Press 2002
ISBN: 0 934868 01 8
"We shall drag the blood-soaked Hungarian mud on to the carpets of your drawing rooms.
Jelinek, Wilhelm 'Willi', 1889-1952
Biographical information about Willi Jelinek, and information about the anarchist movement in post-war East Germany under Russian occupation.
The dark night of Willi Jelinek
Wilhelm Jelinek, or Willi as he was known, was born in Germany on Christmas day in 1889.
He lived in Zwickau, an industrial town in Saxony, in the former East Germany, not far from Chemnitz and the Czech border.
