On forming a Marxist Party - Discussion ForumThe Need for a Marxist PartyAuthor. Hillel Ticktin PART FOUR. The Need to dissociate ourselves from Stalinism and hence the USSR and other such countries The credibility of the left before was largely dependent on the Soviet Union, which meant that it had no credibility. This was a society in which (as you may know I actually lived there for 5 years) atomisation was total and in which it had as much inequality as capitalism and in which at least 20 million people were executed. This society was a society only comparable to Nazi Germany, which, horrible as it is to say, was in some respects not as bad - for example the number of people killed internally in nazi Germany was actually less. It was an horrific society from which, above all, we have to see to it that we are dissociated. Clearly in the past in so far as the left identified itself with the Soviet Union or other Stalinist states it was condemning itself. Too often there were individuals or groups on the left who announced that they were critical of the Soviet Union but then still identified themselves with this or that society or state, calling it a "workers' state" and/or defining it as somehow better than capitalism. Too often they would declare, with little knowledge of those countries, that this or that Stalinist country, whatever else was wrong with it, had this or that correct institution or policy, by comparison with capitalism. We have to see to it that we utterly condemn those societies. We have to see to it that our organisations, as a point of departure from Stalinism, are as democratic as possible -- with control from below. Doubt about the desirability of socialism is not the main objection that we encounter, if we go out to speak to people today and we ask them if they want socialism. It is not the nature of socialism itself which repels people, because we can explain to people what socialism is, or they already know it. Abstractly, I think 99 per cent might actually want it. People might remember the opinion survey in the USA in which school kids were asked where the slogan 'From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs' came from. Something like 70 per cent replied that it came from the US constitution. Again that was no accident. Of course it is easy enough to convince people that a socialist society would be better. Of course that is true for most of the population. What they are not convinced about is that an attempt to get to such a society would not turn into the Soviet Union or they would not have to go through a long period in which there are millions of deaths. That is why it is so important that we distance ourselves from what exists or what has existed, and that is now much easier now that the USSR no longer exists and now that China is clearly moving towards capitalism. It is absolutely essential that we have a truly democratic party governed from below where the leaders are changed every so often and which is reflective of the members of the party, and in principle of the population, in order to distinguish ourselves from what exists and from what has existed. I am sure everyone agrees with that. The question is -- how we get there. I think with sufficient goodwill we can actually get there. Return to top |