"Liberalism is extremely harmful in a revolutionary collective. It is a corrosive which eats away unity, undermines cohesion, causes apathy and creates dissension. It robs the revolutionary ranks of compact organization and strict discipline, prevents policies from being carried through and alienates the Party organizations from the masses which the Party leads. It is an extremely bad tendency.
Liberalism stems from petty-bourgeois selfishness, it places personal interests first and the interests of the revolution second, and this gives rise to ideological, political and organizational liberalism."

- Mao, Combat liberalism.

Michael Parenti is an American political scientist, historian, and author known for his critical analysis of capitalism and imperialism.

In "Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism," Parenti explores the rise of fascism and the fall of communism, arguing that capitalist interests have distorted the history of socialism. The book defends the achievements of socialist states, particularly under Stalin, and critiques the forces that contributed to the dismantling of socialism in the 20th century. Parenti's work provides a counter-narrative to conventional histories of the Cold War and remains a key text for those interested in Marxist analysis.

Published in 1997, it explores topics such as fascism, capitalism, communism, revolution, democracy, and ecology. Parenti examines how fascism serves the interests of capitalism, how corporate power undermines democracy, and how revolutions empower the masses against exploitative privileges.

#PDF #Book #MichaelParenti

@Communism

Title: The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky
Author: Vladimir Lenin
Written: October 10, 1918
First Published: October 11, 1918
Publisher: Pravda (initial publication), later included in Lenin’s Collected Works by Progress Publishers, Moscow
Pages: 128
Language: English

"The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky" is Lenin's critical response to Karl Kautsky, a prominent Marxist who opposed the Bolshevik Revolution. In this work, Lenin defends the October Revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat, accusing Kautsky of betraying Marxism by supporting a reformist approach. Lenin argues that Kautsky's views are counter-revolutionary and that true Marxists must support the overthrow of the capitalist state through revolutionary means.

This book is a powerful defense of Leninism and offers valuable insights into the ideological struggles within the socialist movement during the early 20th century.

#Books #Book #PDF #Communist #Lenin #Leninism #Kautsky #Bolshevik

@Communism

Stalin: A great servant of mankind who belongs to the ages | The Communists
https://thecommunists.org/2023/03/06/news/history/stalin-great-servant-mankind-belongs-ages-andrew-rothstein/

Cuba, in the dark but not defeated : Peoples Dispatch
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/10/21/cuba-in-the-dark-but-not-defeated/

Anti-aircraft gunners in #Moscow. The statue of Worker and Kolkhoz Woman is visible in the background, September 1943

@Communism

"The Civil War in France" by #KarlMarx is a significant work written in 1871, shortly after the fall of the #ParisCommune. The book is a detailed account and analysis of the events surrounding the Paris Commune, which was a radical socialist and revolutionary government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871.

In this text, Marx celebrates the Commune as the first real attempt by the working class to overthrow the bourgeois state and establish a government of their own. He examines the causes of the Commune’s rise, its achievements, and the brutal repression that followed its downfall. Marx also discusses the lessons that future proletarian movements can learn from the experience of the Commune.

The #book is considered a foundational text for understanding Marxist perspectives on revolution, the state, and class struggle. It has been highly influential in shaping socialist and communist thought, particularly regarding the role of the working class in leading revolutionary change.

@Communism

My reading for today.

“These countries are not underdeveloped. They’re overexploited.” — Watch socialist historian Michael Parenti perfectly get to the point of the myth of “underdevelopment” in the Global South. The wealth and so-called “development” of the Global North was only made possible by the continued exploitation of some of the richest countries in the world, be it India, the Congo, or the riches of Latin America.

#MichaelParenti #Socialist #Congo #Overexploited #Development #Exploitation #India

Last Chance to Save The Soviet Union

On August 19, 1991, the creation of the State Committee on the State of Emergency (GKChP) was announced in the Soviet Union.

By 1991, the USSR was in a state of crisis: the destruction of the national economy had begun, crime rate increased, a number of republics declared independence, and counterrevolutionary political forces gained popularity. All this was a consequence of Mikhail Gorbachev's Perestroika. Many leaders of the party and the state understood that under such conditions the collapse of the Union became inevitable. This scenario was seen as the worst possible outcome, which was also understood by the population who voted in the referendum on March 17, 1991 for the preservation of the Union.

Liberal forces, expressing the interests of Western capital and the emerging class of domestic entrepreneurs, sought to destroy the Soviet Union and the conquests of October, to commit a counterrevolution. Yeltsin, Novodvorskaya and other "democrats" and separatists were led by Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. The current situation required decisive action in response to the counterrevolution, which was carried out «top-down».

From August 7 to 15, KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov held meetings with future members of the State Emergency Committee, which included: Vice President Gennady Yanaev, KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov, Prime Minister Valentin Pavlov, Interior Minister Boris Pugo, Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov and others.

On August 19, the "Statement of the Soviet Leadership", "Statement of the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR A. Lukyanov" and "Appeal to the Soviet people" were read on radio and Central Television. They stated that «Perestroika» had reached an impasse and «extremist forces had emerged that took a course towards the liquidation of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the state and the seizure of power at any cost», about the creation of the State Emergency Committee and its determination to lead the country out of the crisis, about an appeal to all Soviet people «to restore labour discipline and order as soon as possible» and «to provide full support to the efforts to bring the country out of the crisis». Parties and public organizations that impede the normalisation of the situation were banned, censorship and a ban on demonstrations, rallies and strikes were introduced. Troops were brought into Moscow. This was the beginning of the GKChP's attempt to preserve the Soviet Union.

However, poorly planned, inconsistent and indecisive actions by members of the GKChP, betrayal of individual leaders of the Communist Party, Komsomol, Army and KGB, passivity of Soviet citizens eventually led to the failure of the GKCHP and open counterrevolution, which ended with the ban of the CPSU and the CP of the RSFSR and the destruction of the Soviet Union in December 1991.

Source

@BeornAndTheShieldmaiden

The August, 1991, events surrounding the SCSE (the State Committee on the State of Emergency) coup d'état are confusing even to those Russians who lived through them. There were tanks in Moscow, and president Gorbachev was supposedly arrested at his vacation home in the settlement of Foros on the Crimean Peninsula. Vast majority of people had no idea what was happening, as the regular state TV broadcast was switched to “Swan Lake” ballet on repeat. Many people still associate Tchaikovsky's famous creation with those dark days.

General Alexander Rutskoy flew to Crimea to bring Gorbachev back to Moscow.

Here’s General Rutskoy’s account on what really went on in Foros and on Gorbachev’s role in the August events.

This is a fairly concise “standard” summary of the participants and chronological events of those days written from the “Gorby good, SCSE bad” point of view. Use the autotranslate feature of your browser.

Ugly truth about Ukraine’s national hero

Today Stepan Bandera is Ukraine’s national hero. Ukrainian authorities name streets after him and organize processions in his honor. However, this individual is far from a decent role model. As a young man, Bandera trained his will and ruthlessness through sadistic acts towards defenceless animals. In his early youth he joined the Ukrainian nationalists' underground terrorist organisation, the OUN, and ended up controlling the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

Together with his followers, Bandera collaborated with Nazi Germany and was responsible for the genocide of Polish and Jewish civilians during the Second World War.

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