Beyond Betrayal MARXISM ‒ The Cutting Edge Volume I Beyond Betrayal Andy Blunden Intervention Press, 1991 Published in Australia by Intervention Press. © 1991 Andy Blunden. All rights reserved. Printed in Australia by Fast Books, a division of Wild & Woolley Pty. Ltd., Glebe. ISBN 0 646 06367 7 CONTENTS Preface ........................................................................................................ viii Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 ............................................................................................................ 9 1) Historical Materialism .................................................................. 11 Part I ‒ 2) Political Economy ........................................................................ 28 3) Dialectical Materialism ................................................................ 58 Part II ‒ ......................................................................................................... 78 4) Democratic Centralism ................................................................. 80 5) The Transitional Program ............................................................. 97 6) Imperialism and Permanent Revolution ..................................... 118 7) Stalinism ..................................................................................... 132 Part III ‒ ...................................................................................................... 159 8) The Rise & Fall of ‘People’s Democracy’ ................................. 161 9) The Collapse of Stalinism .......................................................... 186 10) The Marginalisation of Revolutionary Politics ........................ 204 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................... 233 Preface The object of this book is tooffer the reader an introduction to the whole range of Marxist theory. It is addressed to the serious student who is prepared to work quite hard in coming to grips with new concepts and to follow up this book with a systematic reading of the Marxist classics and relevant historical, philosophical and other material. It is not intended as an academic work, in the sense that emphasis is given to explaining the points being made, rather than proving them, and other works are cited for the purpose of guiding the reader in their further study rather than in order to give authority. Thus works cited are limited to a definite range of books, the study of which can be guaranteed to be rewarding to the reader. Further, it is assumed that the reader is either already active in the class struggle in some way, or wishes to be, and is reading this book in order to enhance the practice to which they are already committed. It is not the intention of the wider to convince the reader that they should be fighting against capitalism. The material is organised into three parts. Part one is classical Marxism, the Marxism of Marx and Engels, and covers the main principles of historical analysis, political economy and philosophy. Part two is modern Marxism, the contributions of Lenin and Trotsky in the course of the Russian Revolution, including its preparation and later defence against Stalinism. Part three is the Marxism of the present period after the second world war and deals with the crisis of the revolutionary movement in the post-World War II period. I his work is the first of three volumes which together present an outline of the Marxism of the present period. Volume II, Beyond Sexism, by Lynn Beaton, is an analysis of women and Marxism. It will examine what Marxism has to tell us about the organisation of women’s lives in capitalism. It will present an analysis of the development of the womens’ liberation struggle and its interweaving with the Marxist movement. Volume III, Beyond Capitalism,written collaboratively by members of Communist Intervention, is an analysis of the world political and economic crisis and its impact in Australia. Andy Blunden 5th May 1991 Introduction Marxism is the theory and practice of the struggle for socialism. Like the various branches of science, Marxism is a body of knowledge built up over time by the creative criticism of people applying the theory in practice. However, Marxism differs from any branch of science, natural or social, for the following reason. Human consciousness is constructed from concepts implicit in social relations. The people of different epochs have differing attitudes towards the nature of truth and the means by which it is arrived at. The concepts with which they think are in general ‘inherited’ and uncritically applied to each new situation. Since the object of revolutionary theory is to bring about a new society, Marxism is obliged to ground itself in a criticism of prevailing ways of thinking at the most fundamental level. Consequently, propositions about philosophy and the theory of knowledge are an integral part of Marxist theory. For instance, in feudal society everyone accepted that knowledge was gained from Scripture and the insights of priests who ‘werecloser to God’. Obviously, there was no room in such an outlook for ideas of individualism or natural science. The fight against feudalism was prepared with an assault on feudalist thinking. On the one hand this was carried out by Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther (1483-1546), who agitated for the idea of every person having access to God, and in particular, to the ‘word of God’ in the form of the Bible written in their own language, and on the other hand by materialist 1 philosophers such as Francis Bacon 1626),(1561- who popularised the idea of seeking knowledge through observation of nature. (Neither Luther nor Bacon ocoursef saw themselves as fighting against feudalism or in favour of capitalism. This is an insight which has only become possible later). Without such a fundamental criticism of feudalist ideology, it would not ha ve been possible for Cromwell to execute Charles I or for the French Revolutionaries to guillotine the nobility of France. 1 By ‘materialist’ I refer to those philosophers who regard nature as the source of knowledge, and who recognise that nature exists independently of the mind, which is in turn a product and reflection of the material world. This is in contrast to ‘idealist’, by which I refer to those philosophers who either deny the existence of a world beyond thought, or who see the material world is merely a product of or illusion created by mind. 1 Beyond Betrayal Bourgeois ideas of individualism‒ that social position is the outcome of individual ‘endowment’ or ‘enterprise’ as well as more sophisticated versions of the same ‒ are likewise indispensable supports for the rule of capital. Thus, Marxism is not just the science of revolution, but a wholeworld outlook, and in every branch of science, or culture generally, there is a Marxist view opposing that of the bourgeoisie. The world cannot be changed, however, by preaching better ideas so that people will behave better. That idea, typical of ‘utopian’ pre-Marx socialism, reformism, and ‘propagandism’, Marxists call idealism. It is called idealism because it is premised on the proposition that thought, or ‘spirit’, is primary to matter, i.e. material conditions outside of thinking ‒ ‘In the beginning was the Word’. Marxists refer to themselves as materialists because we recognise that ideas are secondary to material conditions, which reflectedare in thought. Bourgeois ideology originates not in peoples ’heads, but in the conditions of life under capitalism. Thus Marxists recognise that in order to overthrow capitalism we have to understand how the thinking of the different strata of society is shaped by their material life and changes in the political and economic relations between them. Our practical activity is directed not so much to propagate our ideas, but to change these material relations in a way which will raise the consciousness and level of activity of the working class and the masses. Propaganda2 and agitation3 are an essential part of Marxist practice, but are activities directed towards the achievement of quite specific materialjectives. ob Also, by continually subjecting our activity and that of others to criticism we Marxists seek not to prove that we are right, but to renew the body of Marxist theory with new knowledge. Marxism differs from the various branches of science in anot her way, too; for as long as people live in capitalist society, relating to each other via market relations, for so long as the profit motive prevails and the owners of capital remain the most influential pillars of society, the science of the overthrow of . capitalism, Marxism, will be partisan. Those engaged in the practical activity 2 Propaganda means the presentation of the whole program of the organisation with the specific purpose of expanding and extending the influence of the Party, as part of the long-term project of building an organisation capable of taking revolutionary initiatives and combating the hegemony of the conservative leaders of the working class. 3 Agitation means campaigning around a specific slogan or demand with the aim of achieving a specific short-term goal, as part of a strategic or tactical plan. 2 Marxism – The Cutting Edge of overthrowing capitalism will continually have to defend their theory against open criticism and inner decay. Professionals like Robert Conquest have huge “resources to disseminate their