>>> Jim Devine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 07/23/99 11:55AM >>> Stalin and the like might be damned for pursuing a top-down approach _from the start_, which in some way implied (given the conjunction of historical forces) despotism. However, the top-down approach is shared by the vast majority (99 and 44/100 percent?) of professional politicos, including Democratic Party operatives, Labor Union officials, and of course all of those on the right (including corporate leaders). The _general_ attitude is one of "support me and I'll set you free" (or win you the reforms you want, deeply compromised of course) rather than "I can only help you if you are involved in the process as a group." Stalin can thus be criticized for sharing an attitude that is shared by all of the usually-defined political tendencies. (Was he also a bank-robber? well, we should look at the background of a lot of those Israeli prime ministers.) (((((((((((((( Charles: Militarization of Soviet society was in part forced on it by the constant threat of war by imperialism. The Soviet fear of this threat was not paranoia but well founded , as confirmed by the greatest war ever perpetrated on a country in history in the Nazi invasion in which 20 million Soviets were killed. This was a crime against peace the worse crime recognized in international law. Charles Brown
