Preface to Ida Mett’s “The Kronstadt Commune” by Maurice Brinton
The fiftieth anniversary of the Russian Revolution will be assessed, analyzed, celebrated or bemoaned in a variety of ways.
To the peddlers of religious mysticism and to the advocates of “freedom of enterprise,” Svetlana Stalin’s sensational (and well-timed) defection will “prove” the resilience of their respective doctrines, now shown as capable of sprouting on what at first sight would appear rather barren soil.
To incorrigible liberals, the recent, cautious reintroduction of the profit motive into certain sectors of the Russian economy will “prove” that laissez-faire economics is synonymous wit... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
Note from Marxists Internet Archive
Between 1961 and 1965 Socialisme ou Barbarie published (in its issues 36–40) an important article by Paul Cardan entitled Marxisme et Théorie Révolutionnaire. Part I dealt with ‘the historical fate of marxism and the notion of orthodoxy’ and this pamphlet is based on that section. Part II went on to discuss ‘the marxist theory of history’. We published it under the title History and Revolution in August 1971. Further sections, not yet translated, deal with ‘the marxist philosophy of history’, ‘the two elements in marxism and what historically became of them’, ‘the balance sheet’, and ‘the nature of revolutionary t... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
A Note from Solidarity
We are pleased to bring our readers a further installment, in English, of Marxisme et Théorie Révolutionnaire by Cornelius Castoriadis (Paul Cardan). The original French text appeared (between 1961 and 1964) in issues 36–40 of the now defunct journal Sociallsme ou Barbarie. The first chapter of Marxisme et Théorie Revolutionnaire (‘La situation historique du marxisme et la question d’orthodoxie’) was first published in English by Solidarity (London) in 1966 (vol. IV, no. 3) under the title The Fate of Marxism. It was later reprinted as a pamphlet. We published the second chapter (’La théorie Marxiste de l’histoire’) in 1971, calling it &lsquo... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
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The downfall of the Roman Empire lasted three centuries. Two years have sufficed, without the aid of foreign barbarians, to dislocate irreparably the worldwide network of power directed from Moscow, its ambitions for world hegemony, and the economic, political and social relationships which held it together. Search as one might, it is impossible to find a historical analogy to this pulverization of what seemed just yesterday a steel fortress. The granite monolith has suddenly shown itself to be held together with its saliva, while the horrors, monstrosities, lies and absurdities being revealed day after day have proved to be even more incredible than anything the most acerbic critics among us had been able to affirm.
At the same time... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
Note from Marxists Internet Archive
This article was first published as an introduction to Alexandra Kollontai’s The Workers Opposition, but it can stand alone as a refutation of the standard Leninist/Trotskyist claim that the Soviet Union only degenerated post 1924, i.e. after Lenin’s death, and as such has been published in pamphlet form by a number of groups.
[1. The Significance of the Russian Revolution]
We are happy to present to our readers the first translation into French of Alexandra Kollontai’s pamphlet The Workers’ Opposition in Russia. This pamphlet was published in Moscow at the beginning of 1921, during the violent controversy that preceded the Tenth Congress of the Bolshevik party. Th... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
6. The Content of Workers’ Management at Factory Level
It will help us to discuss this problem if we, rather schematically, differentiate between the static and the dynamic aspects of workers’ management, between what will be immediately possible, at the very onset of socialist production, and what will become possible after a relatively short interval, as socialist production develops and as human domination over all stages of the productive process rapidly increases.
For the sake of clarity, we will first describe workers’ management at factory level in a static way. We will then consider how it will develop, and how this development, itself, will constantly expand the areas of local freedom.
a. Immediat... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
Notes:
[1] The analysis of this question has occupied a central place in the work of Socialisme ou Barbarie. We can only summarize our conclusions here. See “Socialism or Barbarism,” “The Relations of Production in Russia,” “ On the Content of Socialism I,” etc.
[2] Attempts have been made for a long time to reduce the factors that brought about the degeneration of the Russian revolution to the international isolation of the revolution and to the backward state of Russia. This “explanation” explains nothing: International isolation and the backwardness of the country could just as well have led (purely and simply) to the defeat of the revolution and to the restoration of capitalism. Su... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)