Stalinism
Stalinism is a term for a brand of political theory and the political and economic system implemented by Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. Leon Trotsky described the system as totalitarian and this description has become widely used by critics of Stalinism.
Stalinism as political theory
The term "Stalinism" is sometimes used to denote a brand of communist theory, dominating the Soviet Union and other countries in the Soviet sphere during and after the leadership of Stalin. The term used in the Soviet Union and by most of those who uphold its legacy, however, is "Marxism-Leninism". This reflects the fact that Stalin himself was not a theoretician, but was a communicator who wrote numerous books in language easily understood, and, in contrast to Marx and Lenin, made few new theoretical contributions. Rather, Stalinism is more in the order of an interpretation of their ideas and a certain political system which claims to apply those ideas in a way that fits the changing needs of society, as with the transition from "socialism at a snail's pace" in the mid-20s to the forced industrialization of the 5-year-plans. Sometimes, however, the compound terms Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism, or teachings of Marx/Engels/Lenin/Stalin, are used to show the alleged heritage and succession. At the same time, however, many people who profess Marxism or Leninism view Stalinism as a perversion of their ideas; Trotskyists in particular are virulently anti-Stalinist, considering Stalinism a counter-revolutionary policy using Marxism as an excuse.
For their part, the followers of Stalin believed that the death of Lenin in 1924 left Stalin with the job of defending Lenin's theories where they differed with Trotsky's. In particular, since Trotsky did not join Lenin's party till 1917, many believed that Trotsky did not really believe in Lenin's contributions regarding the need for a vanguard party. From 1917 to 1924, Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin often appeared united but in fact differences never disappeared.
Also underlying many disputes was the nature of what Lenin called imperialism. Trotskyist, Nazi and other writers characterized this difference as between a Western outlook and an Eastern one, between advanced capitalism and its liberal outlook on the one hand and the East and its despotism on the other. Whereas for Trotsky revolutionary potential concentrated itself in the advanced Western workers, for Lenin in his last years and for Stalin thereafter the emphasis fell more on the workers and peasants in the colonies.
Trotsky complained bitterly when Stalin allowed circulation of Comintern theses that considered the U.S. working class as a bourgeoisified labor aristocracy in its entirety while Stalin simultaneously polemicized against Trotsky on the role of peasants, as in China, where Trotsky wanted urban insurrection and not peasant-based guerrilla warfare. Crucially, Trotsky continued to hold that advanced capitalist countries had a progressive influence on colonies while Stalin stressed uneven development and the break between early capitalism and imperialism as the final, decadent and parasitic stage of capitalism as Lenin put it.
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 claim that repression of political opponents is necessary.
Economical and political Stalinism
The term "Stalinism" was first used by Trotskyists opposed to the regime in the Soviet Union, particularly to attempt to separate the policies of the Soviet government from those they regard as more true to Marxism. 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, while it did not own the means of production and was not a social class in its own right, accrued benefits and privileges at the expense of the working class. Stalinism could not have existed without the prior overturning of capitalism by the October revolution, but it is notable that Stalin himself played no active part in the October revolution, advocating a policy of collaboration with the Provisional Government rather than seizing power.
Building on and transforming Lenin's legacy, Stalin expanded the centralized administrative system of the Soviet Union during the 1920s and 1930s. A series of two five-year plans led to a massive expansion of the Soviet economy. Large increases were seen in many sectors, especially coal and iron production. Society was brought from a position decades behind the West to one of near economic and scientific equality within thirty years, according to some statistical measurements. Some economic historians now believe it to be the fastest economic growth ever achieved.
Because of the prestige and influence of the successful revolution in Russia, many countries throughout the 20th century that looked for an alternative to the market system followed the model developed in the USSR, both politically and economically. This included both revolutionary regimes and a number of post-colonial states in the developing world. After Stalin's death in 1953, Stalin's successor Nikita Khrushchev repudiated his policies, condemned Stalin's cult of personality in his Secret Speech at the Twentieth Party Congress in 1956, and instituted a process of destalinization and liberalisation (within the same political framework). Consequently, most of the world's communist parties that had previously adhered to Stalinism abandoned it and adopted the moderately reformist positions of Khruschchev to a greater or lesser degree. The most notable exception was the People's Republic of China, which under Mao Zedong grew antagonistic towards the new Soviet leadership's "revisionism", resulting in the Sino-Soviet Split in 1960. China subsequently pursued the ideology of Maoism independently; Albania took the Chinese party's side in the Sino-Soviet Split and remained committed to Stalinism for decades thereafter under the leadership of Enver Hoxha.
Some historians draw parallels between Stalinism and the economic policy of Tsar Peter the Great. Both men desperately wanted Russia to catch up to the western European states. Both succeeded to an extent, turning Russia temporarily into Europe's leading power. Others compare Stalin with Ivan IV of Russia, with his policies of oprichnina and restriction of the liberties of common people.
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