Abstract: Like most western leftists of our generation, we became socialists despite the Soviet example of authoritarian Communism. We had little patience with an earlier generation given to be more apologetic for many of the events that amounted to a tragic and terrible aberration of socialist ideals. But while we celebrated the turn to political freedom in the USSR since Gorbachev, and the revolutions in Eastern Europe in 1989, we were at the same time disturbed that the trajectory of change appeared towards capitalism. Was a transition to democratic socialism at all on the agenda, if not in Eastern Europe, then at least in the USSR? The answer mattered in terms of the scope for socialist politics in the West. Having been hamstrung in our politics (among many other reasons) by the negative example afforded by authoritarian Communism in the East (See what socialist revolution leads to!), were we now to be hamstrung again by the collapse of authoritarian Communism (Even they have opted for capitalism!)? With these questions uppermost in mind, we undertook a visit to the Soviet Union in June 1990. In addition to the perspective afforded by meeting some of the intellectuals, journalists, academicians, political leaders and activists who compose Moscow's political class, we especially wanted to see what impact the process of political and economic change was having on workers, and what role they were playing in the process, as this might be revealed in terms of the activities of the party, the trade unions, the informal workers committees and the relation between managers and workers in the enterprises. What makes what we saw of continuing relevance is especially this: among the many different struggles that are transforming the Soviet Union today, not the least important is the class struggle. And it inspired us to see, whatever else we saw that pointed in very different directions, that the capacity for struggle on the part of workers still renews itself, as so often in the past, by opening itself to and reaching for a democratic socialist vision and purpose.
Publication Year: 1991
Publication Date: 1991-03-18
Language: en
Type: article
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