I agree with much of what Artesian says. However: 1. Class struggle is ongoing, but it varies in intensity, reaching its peak in revolutionary periods and its low point in periods of reaction such as at present.
2. The collapse of the Soviet Union surprised many historical materialists as it would have Trotsky who anticipated a political revolution which would displace the bureaucracy but would retain state ownership of the planned economy and develop it further under workers control. He and Lenin and the other Old Bolsheviks were quite aware of the risk in taking power in a less developed economy than in the West but they saw this as a temporary condition pending the imminent outbreak of the world revolution. Trotsky clung to this belief until his death. So did those of us who came later and belonged to the various Leninist tendencies. In retrospect, it wasn't difficult to identify why the USSR collapsed and China and other state-owned regimes on the periphery of the global capitalist economy turned to the market. Artesian, it seems, was among the very few who had the foresight we all lacked. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#32931): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/32931 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/109032615/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
