My dear comrades, despite the fact the I am just limited in the matter of language (as I am not a native English speaker, as you will be aware of), I will try to make my point within this debate clear again: The first point is that Stalinism is used as a slogan, without any direct realation to Stalin and the politics of the Central Commitee of the CPSU at that time. It is used to seperate one group of communists (to which, in regard of this use of the word, I am belong as well) from the other. The other are those who declare themselves to be Trotzkyist. This second group is, as well as their selfmade enimies totally heterogen. (And it is not only a joke that two Trokyist make three factions). I am not a Stalinist if the word is used in direct reference to the policts of the comrades within the Central Committee at the time between 1930 and 1948/50. But ofcourse I am one in regards of the Great War against Fascism. So what? What is the meaning of the term? I can't see any. It is, was and remains a battle cry, used against what is thought to be the enemy within the own house. That makes it difficult to answer the attacts. I personally do not know any communists, who does not disagree with strange and of course murderous way to secure power, used by Stalin and the CC. But there are other points of view the decades where Stalin where head of the Communist Party in Soviet-Russian. My point is to use the common (at least I hope that it is common) tools of dialectics to messure decisions taken by the necessarities. We cannot escape Stalin, neither we can, which we are not Troskyist, nor they can. We cannot escape all others to which we either might feel hate or to which politics we cannot agree. The are part of our history. To try to get rid of them by putting them together with Fascists, Capitalists etc. is a try which only works, if we also deny our knowledge and leaving the way any Marxists should analyse history. This then ends up in having Stew instead of a clean view of history. Teddy Thälmann is not Stalin, it does not make him a bad communist that he stick to the decisions taken by the International. The same is valid for Ulbricht, Piek and others. It is not that easy... The process to bring theory and praxis together is a diffcult process. Looking at it from what is called in German the "Elfenbeinturm" (Iborytower) does not help. That does not mean that I do not see the problems occured with the socalled Stalin-Era. I clearly understand that, e.g., Gorbatshov would not have called it off all, if not the party where tailor-made to follow decisions from top to bottom. The "New Type of Party" might have been good at one particular point of history. At that very moment, where in the middle of the ongoing cold war Gorbartschow opened the gates, it where murderous. And maybe this, the downfall of socialism then, where the largest mistake (you may call it crime, if you whish) Stalin and the CC initiated. Martin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visit http://www.communards.de for information of struggles worldwide. Post your events at http://metaevents.com/Communards/calendrome.cgi Send information for mailings to [EMAIL PROTECTED] BOYKOTT GMX: http://www.netz-antifa.org _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international