Well, that’s where I have to disagree with Stalin’s official narrative. I don’t think he was a communist, I think he was an opportunist with no ideology beyond personal empowerment. I think he’d have said he believed in anything if it gave him more power.
Marx said after the workers seize the state, it should become unnecessary and wither away. Stalin was the primary person in charge of overseeing this process. He should have been encouraging the development of community governance. Helping set up neighbourhood watches so he could defund the police. Granting power over workplaces to the trade unions. Encouraging the gift economy to grow to the point that the ruble could be cancelled. These were always the steps in the plan to get from the USSR to a communist system.
Stalin didn’t want to do that, because it would have made him less powerful. Instead of defunding the police, he expanded their powers. Instead of empowering the trade unions, he put down workers’ revolts. This is the opposite of communism.
Well, that’s where I have to disagree with Stalin’s official narrative. I don’t think he was a communist, I think he was an opportunist with no ideology beyond personal empowerment. I think he’d have said he believed in anything if it gave him more power.
Sounds a lot like trump
To elaborate on the evidence for this:
Marx said after the workers seize the state, it should become unnecessary and wither away. Stalin was the primary person in charge of overseeing this process. He should have been encouraging the development of community governance. Helping set up neighbourhood watches so he could defund the police. Granting power over workplaces to the trade unions. Encouraging the gift economy to grow to the point that the ruble could be cancelled. These were always the steps in the plan to get from the USSR to a communist system.
Stalin didn’t want to do that, because it would have made him less powerful. Instead of defunding the police, he expanded their powers. Instead of empowering the trade unions, he put down workers’ revolts. This is the opposite of communism.