state socialism
Articles about forms of statist socialism, such as social democracy, Trotskyism, Marxism Leninism, Maoism and Stalinism.
1956: The Hungarian Revolution
The history of the Hungarian workers' revolution against the Communist dictatorship. A general strike was declared, and workers' councils sprung up across the country.
In cities the workers armed themselves and fraternised with the troops, but were eventually crushed by Soviet tanks.
It is not out of love for nostalgia that we are commemorating the 1956 Hungarian uprising: Hungary '56 was a prime example of the working class itself reaching for power. Doubly significant, it took place in one of the mythical 'workers' states'.
1933-1993: Cuba - socialist paradise or Castro's fiefdom?
A brief history of Cuba and the 1958 Revolution which examines the alleged "socialist" nature of the governing regime.
"..the major event of the twentieth century has been the abandonment of the values of liberty on the part of the revolutionary movement, the weakening of Libertarian Socialism, vis-a-vis Caesarist and militaristic Socialism. Since then, a great hope has disappeared from the world to be replaced by a deep sense of emptiness in the hearts of all who yearn for Freedom...."
Bolivian military take control of airports to break strike
Bolivian military and police forces have taken control of four main airports, aiming to break an airline workers' strike in major cities.
Employees from the country's main airline, Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB), are demanding its nationalisation.
But President Evo Morales has ruled out nationalisation, saying the partially private company is seriously corrupt.
The government said it took control of airports in an effort to avoid accidents and ensure passenger safety.
The Bolivian state already holds a 48% stake in the LAB.
Vietnam: Happy meals, unhappy workers - the wave of workers’ discontent
Aaron Glantz and Ngoc Nguyen report on the conditions and views of Vietnamese manufacturing workers who have been responsible for waves of wildcat strikes in recent months.
Ho Chi Minh City - It’s nearly five p.m. and factory workers at one of Vietnam’s largest industrial parks flood into the streets of Ho Chi Minh City’s sprawling outskirts. Some of the workers are clocking out, others signing in. Those who are done for the day cross the busy highway to buy groceries from vendors camped along the dusty street.
Bolivia - struggles continue under socialist Morales
Despite the election of Evo Morales from the Movement for Socialism as President of Bolivia, several strikes are in process and the persecution of the landless movement MST continues under the new regime.
This week has seen an ongoing strike by pilots at private LAB. The Pilot Association paralyzed work Thursday demanding the reinstatement of 15 fired workers, alongside the cessation of lawsuits against three others, and payment of $8 million instalments to retirement funds that were deducted by LAB.
Worlds apart: socialism in Marx and in early Bolshevism
Paresh Chattopadhyay's article on Marx and the divergence of the Bolsheviks from his conception of socialism.
A Provisional Overview
Comments on Pankhurst's "The Communist Party: Provisional Resolutions towards a Programme"
An analysis of Sylvia Pankhurst's role in the conflicts surrounding the emergence of the British Communist Party.
1920: The Communist Party - Provisional Resolutions towards a Programme
Pankhurst's programme for the new British Communist Party was expressive of the "ultra-left" tendency that criticised working within the existing bourgeois structures of trade union bureaucracies and parliamentary parties. Lenin, in his counter-revolutionary manual "Left Wing Communism - An Infantile Disorder", defended such reformist policies as he criticised Pankhurst and other "ultra-lefts".
The Russian Tragedy - Alex Berkman
Alex Berkman anaylses the failure of the Russian Revolution, written 1922.
Foreword
We live at a time when two civilisations are struggling for their existence. Present society is at death grips with the New Ideal. The Russian Revolution was but the first serious combat of the two forces, whose struggle must continue till the final triumph of the one or of the other.
Albania 1997: The Proletariat Confronts the Bourgeois State - ICG
From Communism #11
"The atmosphere in Gjirokaster is mad. Popular revolt transforms itself into total anarchy, there are no more police, no more State, no more rules. The city is exuding enthusiasm, blossoming, has become excited by rebellion."
(Le Monde - 11/3/1997)
