[Barry the Sprout]

Stalin wasn't a communist, first off. He was a brutal dictator, and communism is essentially a democratic form of government, which gradually becomes complete lack of government over time. Nothing Stalin did would be condoned by the philosophy of Marx, Engels, or even Lenin. The only thing that would make you think Stalin was a communist is that he said he was, and bearing in mind he murdered millions he's the last person who's word I'd trust on the subject.

Also socialism does not equal more state control. As I've said above, Socialism would eventually mean no state whatsoever. As Marx said: "The emancipation of the working class must be the act of the workers themselves.". In other words you can't get socialism frmo above - the state can't do it for you. It has to come from below, from mass grass roots movements. It is the ultimate in free choice, and Stalin's brand of dictatorship represents the most bloody repression of it.

Shamrock - I really don't think Galloway can be considered a unionist or picket-line politician. I'd have a lot of time for him if he was, despite his political meanderings. For a socialist, in fact, thats the key question to ask when assesing someone's political worth - their relationship to the working class. Take Tony Benn for example; he's been all over the place recently in political terms. He took money from the Pakistani military dictatorship to publish a newspaper over here promoting them, but that comes on the end of a long political life defending workers in times of class struggle. His recent fall from grace represents exactly that - a fall. Galloway has not fallen, as he has been at the bottom for a while. When he was still a labour MP he was not distinguished by a left wing voting record, and at the Respect launch meeting (which I attended, for my sins...) he boasted at how he'd so often been on the other side of the debate from everyone else in the room. The only issue he's "left-wing" on is the war, and its for the wrong reasons. He promotes a working class brawler image, but he drives a Merc, wears expensive suits, and smokes Cuban cigars. He explicitly rejected the idea of taking a workers wage, as almost all socialist candidates pledge to do when they stand for election, as he said he couldn't live on three workers wages...

God, I hate how that man represents the left to so many people...

[ 05-16-2005, 09:03 AM: Message edited by: Barry the Sprout ]