Stalin's consistent rightist course during 1926-27 led him to capitulate to the kulaks (rich peasants) at home, to the trade-union bureaucrats during the British general strike, to Chiang Kai-shek in China. He backed up this policy by a bloc in the Politburo with Bukharin, who had called on the peasants...
2. Socialism in One Country
The story of the origins of the Stalinist doctrine of "socialism in one country" is one of the usurpation of power by a bureaucratic stratum at the head of the first workers state in history. This privileged caste consolidated itself in the Soviet state apparatus which was formed as a...
1. The Permanent Revolution
In their tireless efforts to betray the struggles of the workers and peasants, the Stalinists must continue to maintain a pretense of revolutionism. Yet their doctrines stand counterposed to the line of Marxism. This presents them with a dilemma, which they can only resolve by resorting to systematic lies about...
The Revolution Overthrown
“The October revolution has been betrayed by the ruling stratum, but not yet overthrown.” —Leon Trotsky, The Revolution Betrayed, 1937 “The aborted Moscow coup of 19-21 August was so ill-conceived and executed that it almost didn’t happen. Yet it will be remembered as one of the decisive events in the history...
South African Menshevism
In every capitalist society on the planet the Moscow-loyal Communist parties parrot the same line: ‘‘now is not the time for socialism, first we need unity with the progressive capitalists.’’ South Africa is no exception. This class-collaborationist theory of a ‘‘two-stage’’ road to socialism is borrowed directly from the arsenal...