Red Flags: A Reckoning with Communism for the Future of the Left

Description

Increasingly, people are responding to the contemporary crises underwritten by capitalism by exploring the politics of communism. Some have taken a sympathetic, even nostalgic, view of “actually existing socialist” (AES) societies past and present, including the USSR, China, and Cuba, and the Marxist-Leninist political tradition associated with them. They see these states as a powerful alternative to capitalism, governed by parties genuinely committed to socialism and staunchly resisting Western imperialism. But were these societies really in transition towards a classless, stateless society of freedom ― the original communist goal? Is Marxism-Leninism the political approach that should orient people on the left now? Red Flags traces the path from the 1917 Russian Revolution to the construction of the world’s first AES society: the USSR. It also looks at the post-revolution societies created along the same lines in China and Cuba. Using the intellectual tools of historical materialism, Red Flags argues that they were not in fact moving towards communism because the social relations remained fixed in class exploitation. The workers were never liberated. At a time of burgeoning anti-communism from both conservatives and liberals, this book is an accessible, vibrant synthesis of the history of communism that draws on the latest research to develop a rigorous analysis of the contradictions and uneasy truths the left needs to confront if it is to build a genuinely liberatory alternative to capitalism. Acknowledgements A Note on Terminology and Format Some Acronyms and Abbreviations 1. Thinking about “Actually Existing Socialism” in a World on Fire Anti-Communism Questioning Anti-Communism The Approach of This Book 2. The Russian Revolution: From 1917 to the “Great Break” From the Fall of the Empire to Working-Class Rule From Working-Class Rule to Bolshevik Leadership Rule From Communist Leadership Rule to a New Ruling Class 3. The USSR 1928–91 How the Great Break Was Made What Was Built The Costs of Class Society The USSR and Global Struggles What Kind of Society? 4. China 1949–Present The Path to AES and How AES Went to Market Achievements of AES in China The Costs of Class Society China and Global Struggles What Kind of Society? 5. Cuba 1959–Present The Cuban Road to AES Achievements of AES in Cuba The Costs of Class Society Cuba and Global Struggles What Kind of Society? 6 So, What Kind of Societies Were They? Objections and Responses “That’s Anti-Communist” or “Purity Fetishism” The Productive Forces Objection Distorted But Still in Transition The State Property Objection “At Least It Was Better Than Capitalism” What Mode of Production? The Historical Significance of Stalinism 7. Why Does It Matter Today? Stalinism versus Human Emancipation Marxism-Leninism: A Ruling-Class Ideology Strategy for Revolution? Fighting for Reforms To the Left of the Marxist-Leninist Mainstream Campism and Credulity Democracy in Movements 8. An Alternative Tradition Swimming against Strong Currents Three Ancestors: Marx, Engels, Morris Luxemburg’s Liberatory Politics Pro-Bolshevik Anti-Stalinists James, Dunayevskaya, and Castoriadis Anti-Bolshevik Anti-Stalinists Anarchist Communism Resources for a New Communism 9. What Can We Hope For? Current Conditions for Communists Is There Any Hope for Communism? From Possibility to Politics Further Reading Endnotes Index