Stalinism - Stalinism as political theory, Stalinist economic policy, Points of view on Stalinism
A label used pejoratively outside the former USSR to refer to the nature of the Soviet regime when Stalin began to assume power during and after his struggle to succeed Lenin, following the latter's death in 1924; it continued until his own death in 1953. It refers to a monolithic system, tightly disciplined and bureaucratic, with the party hierarchy having a monopoly of political and economic power. It also encompasses the total subservience of society and culture to political ends, suppression of political opponents, terrorism, and the acceptance of dogmas in the communist movement of Stalin's time. The process of de-Stalinization began with Khrushchev's secret speech to the 20th Party Congress in 1956.
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Stalinism is the political and economic system named after Joseph Stalin, who implemented it in the Soviet Union.
The term "Stalinism" was coined by Lazar Kaganovich and was never used by Joseph Stalin who described himself as a Marxist-Leninist and a "pupil of Lenin" although he tolerated the use of the term by associates.
Like many other "-isms" it can be used as a pejorative term when referring to nation-states, political parties, or the ideological stance(s) of individuals, particularly those exhibiting bureaucratic collectivism.
Stalinism as political theory
"Stalinism", strictly speaking, refers to an interpretation of a style of government, rather than an ideology per se.
The term "Stalinism" is used by anti-communists, communists (left communists, trotskyists, luxemburgists, council communists), and even pro-Stalin Marxist-Leninists themselves to denote the brand of communist theory that dominated the Soviet Union, and the countries within the Soviet sphere of influence, during the leadership of Joseph Stalin. The term used in the Soviet Union and by most who uphold its legacy, however, is "Marxism-Leninism", reflecting that Stalin himself was not a theoretician, but a communicator who wrote several books in language easily understood, and, in contrast to Marx and Lenin, prided himself on maintaining the legacy of Lenin as a founding father for the Soviet Union and the future Socialist world.
From 1917 to 1924, Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin often appeared united, but, in fact, their ideological differences never disappeared.
In his dispute with Trotsky, Stalin de-emphasized the role of workers in advanced capitalist countries (for example, he postulated theses considering the U.S. working class as bourgeoisified labor aristocracy).
The main contributions of Stalin to communist theory were:
Socialism in One Country, The theory of aggravation of the class struggle along with the development of socialism, a theoretical base supporting the repression of political opponents as necessary.Stalinism has been described as being synonymous with totalitarianism, or a tyrannical regime.
Stalinist economic policy
At the end of the 1920's Stalin launched a wave of radical economic policies, which completely overhauled the industrial and agricultural face of the Soviet Union. The NEP had been implemented by Lenin in order to ensure the survival of the Communist state following seven years of war (1914-1921, WW1 from 1914 to 1917, and the subsequent Civil War) and had rebuilt Soviet production to its 1913 levels. However, Russia still lagged far behind the West, and the NEP was felt by Stalin and the majority of the Communist party, not only to be compromising Communist ideals, but also not delivering sufficient economic performance, as well as not creating the envisaged Socialist society.
Rapid industrialisation was necessary for a number of reasons, both practical and ideological, the overriding aim of which was to make Russia a force to be reckoned with on the world stage.
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3. Also, Stalin wanted to prove the Socialist system to be at least the equal of the capitalism, not just in terms of industrial output, but also in terms of living standards.
4. Personal Motivation: During the struggle over power that ensued following Lenin's death, Stalin had to prove himself as Lenin's equal and successor.
A series of three five-year plans massively expanded the Soviet economy.
Points of view on Stalinism
After Stalin's death in 1953, his successor Nikita Khrushchev repudiated his policies, condemned Stalin's cult of personality in his Secret Speech to the Twentieth Party Congress in 1956, and instituted destalinization and liberalisation (within the same political framework).
The notable exceptions were North Korea under Kim Il-sung and the People's Republic of China, under Mao Zedong.
Some historians draw parallels between Stalinism and the economic policy of Tsar Peter the Great.
Trotskyists argue that the "Stalinist USSR" was not socialist (and certainly not communist), but a bureaucratized degenerated workers' state—that is, a non-capitalist state in which exploitation is controlled by a ruling caste which, although not owning the means of production and not constituting a social class in its own right, accrued benefits and privileges at the expense of the working class.
Stalinism's relationship to Leninism
The relationship between Stalinism and Leninism is disputed.
Continuity theory
Supporters of the view that Stalinism emerged from Leninism point to a number of areas of alleged continuity. For example, Lenin put a ban on factions within the Communist Party and introduced the one-party state in 1921 - a move that enabled Stalin to get rid of his rivals easily after Lenin's death. Moreover, Lenin used to purge his party of “unfaithful” Communists, a method used extensively by Stalin during the 1930s.
Under Lenin’s rule terror was used to suppress opposition.
Another important step of Lenin was to appoint Stalin to the key position of general secretary.
The radical methods of Stalin’s modernisation program were also not entirely his invention, they were mainly the further development of Lenin’s war communism.
Finally, proponents of this view argue that the top-down, dictatorial government established by Lenin lacked essential checks and balances, and that this left the system open to abuse by ruthless politicians such as Stalin.
On the whole, according to this theory, Lenin’s policies developed a totalitarian regime, which was later on radicalised by Stalin.
Discontinuity theory
The historians who support Discontinuity theory claim that Leninism and Stalinism were two opposing ideologies. They point out that Leninism was a much more flexible style of politics, whereas Stalin introduced a totally “orthodox” regime. According to them Lenin was head of a revolutionary proletariat dictatorship and Stalin imposed his own totalitarian one. But Stalin enlarged the power of the state until it was dominating every aspect of Soviet life.
In addition, proponents of the discontinuity theory state that Lenin always wanted to keep a revolutionary form of democracy. In their view, Lenin saw the ban on factions and opposition parties only as a preliminary measure and a distortion of the Communist ideology, on the other hand, Stalin misused it to attack his personal and political enemies. However, in his authoritative biography of Lenin, Robert Service argues against the portrayal of the Bolshevik/communist party under Lenin as having been extremely democratic.
Proponents of the discontinuity approach emphasise that Lenin’s terror differed both in quantity and quality from Stalin’s terror.
Another very important shift of Lenin was the introduction of the NEP in place of the old war communism.
Besides, the appointment of Stalin to general secretary did not mean too much, because that post was unimportant at that time and no other party leader wanted it then. Later on Lenin even wanted to remove Stalin from that post when he realised the danger of a totalitarian dictatorship. He formulated his fears in his political testament:
“Comrade Stalin, having become General Secretary has immeasurable power concentrated in his hands, and I am not sure that he always knows how to use that power with sufficient control” (29 December 1922)
“Stalin is too rude, and this fault, entirely acceptable in relations between communists, becomes completely unacceptable in the office of General Secretary. Therefore I propose to the comrades that a way be found to remove Stalin from that post and replace him with someone else who differs from Stalin in all respects, someone more patient, more loyal, more polite, more considerate.” (postscript of 4 January 1923)
Between December 1922 and January 1923 Lenin looked for the support of Trotsky against Stalin and his associates.
Apart from that clear wish to dismiss Stalin from his post of general secretary Lenin envisaged an oligarchic rule of the party under the leadership of Trotsky after his death.
Stalinism today
As of 2006, several single-party communist or socialist states exist, including the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Republic of Turkmenistan, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Due to its political and economic repression, the cult of personality around dictator Kim Jong-il, its national ideology (Juche), and its practice of autarky, North Korea — officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea — is widely considered the world's only remaining Stalinist state.
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