tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9588906.post7438149116147528041..comments2023-10-14T03:21:21.802-07:00Comments on maximum red: THE MARXIST THEORY OF THE STATE AND THE COLLAPSE OF STALINISMDave Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12873621971212067467noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9588906.post-53485338712519468982009-08-20T19:03:06.105-07:002009-08-20T19:03:06.105-07:00This particular article, while being interesting a...This particular article, while being interesting and historically informative, has some defects with regard to its relation to Marxist theory, in particular to its concept of "bourgeoise", or "workers" states, and its concept of class.<br /> Karl Marx defined the class structure of a society on the basis of the production, appropriation, and distribution of surplus value. Socialism is an economic system i which those who produce surplus value colectively appropriate and distribute it. Therefore, according to Marx, whether the means of production were owned by the state or not is completely irrelevant to the debate between capitalism and socialism. What really matters is whether or not the workers directly run the factories/industries that they work in. If, as in the Soviet Union, industry and agriculture are run by a seperate class of bureacrats, it is not socialism, but rather capitalism.<br /> To talk of "workers states", or "socialist states" with regard to the Soviet Bloc countries is absurd, since the workers never controlled industry and agriculture, but were rather exploited by bureacrats, there was no socialism, and therefore no socialist states. To talk of a "restoration" of capitalism is also absurd, since capitalism was never abolished in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. An excellent book on the topic of the Soviet Union is Class Theory and History: Capitalism and Communism in the USSR by Stephen Resnick and Richard Wolff, both of whom are Marxists. According to them, what occurred was merely an "occilation from private to state and back to private capitalism".<br /> Why is this point important? Because the Soviet Union has given socialism a terrible name. If we Marxists can prove that it was never socialist, we will greatly help our cause of convincing people of the correctness of our theories. We will also allow ourselves to avoid repeating the mistakes of the USSR again. Thank you for allowing me to express my views on this important subject.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com