cher@ihlpm.UUCP (cherepov) (04/05/85)
> have little or no respect for the USSR. I assume the same is true in > the democratic countries. The USSR is a capitalist state, with the sole > capitalist being the state, the sole beneficiaries are the (higher) members > of the Communist Party, and the exploited are still the working classes. I disagree. USSR system looks much more like slavery, with only slave-owner being the state. > The failure was when Lenin instituted his NEP in the early twenties to start > to build Russia's industries, and Stalin used that as a basis for totalitarian > rule. > James C. Armstrong, Jnr. ihnp4!abnji!nyssa What did he used as basis? He wiped out all NEP structures and killed off their proponents. Dead. NEP was the only way for communists to resuscitate dying production. Whole thing was temporary concession and was doomed from the start. Then again, maybe that's what you meant. Thanks for those soccer results. Mike Cherepov
nyssa@abnji.UUCP (nyssa of traken) (04/08/85)
>> The USSR is a capitalist state, with the sole >> capitalist being the state, the sole beneficiaries are the (higher) members >> of the Communist Party, and the exploited are still the working classes. > >I disagree. USSR system looks much more like slavery, with only >slave-owner being the state. Slavery is a very emotive term, I shy away from using it, however it is apt for the living conditions for the workers in the USSR. What exactly is capitalism? What exactly is socialism? From a dictionairy, the basic difference would appear to be that in capitalism, a single person or small collective of people control the means of production and distribution. (It goes on to talk about re-investment of profits, etc.) Socialism is where the producers have that control. That is the reason why I call the USSR a capitalist state. Another good way of describing it would be "Feudal," where the workers are tied to their masters. Interesting side question (ought to be in theory): Does the limiting case of capitalism, where there is one and only one capitalist (and no chance for any others), lead into slavery/feudalism? >> The failure was when Lenin instituted his NEP in the early twenties to start >> to build Russia's industries, and Stalin used that as a basis for totalitarian >> rule. > >What did he used as basis? He wiped out all NEP structures >and killed off their proponents. Dead. NEP was the only way >for communists to resuscitate dying production. >Whole thing was temporary concession and was doomed from >the start. > >Then again, maybe that's what you meant. What was meant was that Stalin used the basic ideas behind the NEP (State Capitalism) to build himself into the single capitalist using state resources. The proponents were (probably) killed off because they were the ones most likely to recognize how Stalin was perverting their goals. >Thanks for those soccer results. No problem. More coming shortly. --- James C Armstrong, Jnr. ihnp4!abnji!nyssa -- James C. Armstrong, Jnr. ihnp4!abnji!nyssa Your system is wrong! We sell ourselves cheaply, for nothing, to such as Sil. I see my words mean nothing, you want this system of Varos to continue. So be it.