*The evaluation of Stalin’s merits and demerits would at first seem to be a matter of measuring a historical figure, a question with a definitive conclusion, but in reality, it is deeply linked to a series of ongoing issues in today’s struggle.
In the final analysis, it’s a question of life and death between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie – between socialism and capitalism – where one side must triumph over the other, and this must not be minimised.
First, the complete negation of Stalin is in essence the ideological assault of western hostile forces aiming to subvert the socialist regime. The vigorous development of the Soviet Union and the world’s socialist movement at large caused fear and anxiety in the capitalist world; capitalists feared that the Marxist doctrine of “>scientific socialism was everywhere materialising.
The demonisation of Stalin was a covert means to undermine the success of scientific socialism, and an important means for the west to succeed in the ‘battle for hearts and minds’. After the second world war, US-led western hostile forces attempted to gain a competitive advantage over socialism through rapid technological, economic and social development, inaugurating the cold war between capitalism and socialism.
The anti-Stalinist movement catered to the needs of US-led western hostile forces, disrupting socialism in the midst of turmoil, and opening a big gap in the ideological field of the already-consolidated socialist camp, the inevitable outcome of which was the growing ideological and political chaos in socialist countries, with various contradictions and conflicts growing in prominence.
Second, the complete negation of Stalin in essence substitutes the class interests of the bourgeoisie for the class interests of the proletariat and the masses of the people. In the present era, the masses of people, led by the proletariat, are the real force of social and historical development – the masters and subjects of history, the creators of all material and spiritual wealth in society, and the agents of social change.
Post too long. Click here to view the full text.