Re: Why socialism failed...human nature or social/political/economicrela

WSN, 

I have submitted numerous posts to this list on the relative merits of
state socialism versus state capitalism, so I won't revive those arguments
here and now (you can read the archives if you like). Michael Parenti sums
up my feelings on this matter: "To say that 'socialism doesn't work' is to
overlook the fact that it did. In Eastern Europe, Russia, China, Mongolia,
North Korea, and Cuba, revolutionary communism created a life for the mass
of people that was far better than the wretched existence they had endured
under feudal lords, military bosses, foreign colonizers, and Western
capitalists. The end result was a dramatic improvement in living
conditions for hundreds of millions of people on a scale never before or
since witnessed in history" (Blackshirts and Reds).

Were there problems and failings with the state socialist system? Yes, of
course. What historical system has been perfect (or even close to
perfect)? But these are comparative matters, and when comparing capitalism
with any other historical system the WHOLE capitalist system must be
reckoned, and particular attention must be paid to the misery capitalism
heaps on the masses of the world. The last thing we should do is argue
from the ideal, whether capitalist or communist--all systems fail to meet
their ideal constructions. Rightly so; the ideal is not the real.

One of the contributors said that what was special about WSN is that we
pay attention to history. But where is any measure of historical attention
in the claim "socialism doesn't work"? The first order of business in this
discussion should be to find a way around ideological proclamations and on
to reasonable historical accounts. Alan Spector and Steve Rosenthal are
good role models in this regard.

Sincerely,
Andrew Austin