Socialism in one country

With the prospect of world revolution so close at hand in the early part of the 20th Century, communists, socialists and workers' movements in general were dominated by a feeling of overwhelming optimism, which in the end proved to be quite premature. The European revolutions were crushed one by one, until eventually the Russian revolutionaries found themselves to be the only survivors. Since they had been relying on the idea that an underdeveloped and agrarian country like Russia would be able to build socialism with help from successful revolutionary governments in the more industrialized parts of Europe, they found themselves in a crisis once it became clear that no such help would arrive. Thus was born the theory of Socialism in one country, a thesis put forth by Stalin in 1924 and further supported by Bukharin.

Related Topics:
World revolution - 20th Century - Communists - Socialists - Workers - Russian revolutionaries - Stalin - Bukharin

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In his 1915 article "On the Slogan for a United States of Europe", Lenin stated the following: "...Uneven economic and political development is an absolute law of capitalism. Hence, the victory of socialism is possible first in several or even in one capitalist country taken separately. ...". After Lenin's death, Stalin used this quote to argue that Lenin shared his view of Socialism in one country -- though Lenin's statement as seen above is rather vague. Stalin's position gained an apparent confirmation from failed attempts of proletarian revolutions in other countries, such as Germany and Hungary, and might also have justified changing the focus of Stalin's external policy from the Third International to tradeoffs with capitalist states.

Related Topics:
Lenin - Stalin - Proletarian revolutions - Germany - Hungary - Third International - Capitalist

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In the first edition of the book Osnovy Leninizma (Foundations of Leninism, 1924), Stalin put it that Leninism is Marxism of the era of imperialism and the proletarian revolution. Stalin was still a follower of Lenin's idea that revolution in one country is insufficient. However, by the end of the same year, in the second edition of the book, his position started to turn into the opposite direction: "...proletariat can and must build the socialist society in one country". In April 1925 Bukharin elaborated the issue in his brochure Can We Build Socialism in One Country in the Absence of the Victory of the West-European Proletariat? The position was finalized as the state policy after Stalin's January 1926 article On the Issues of Leninism (? ???????? ?????????).

Related Topics:
1924 - Imperialism - Proletarian revolution - Proletariat - Socialist - Bukharin

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Stalin later characterized Trotsky's position of Permanent Revolution as asking the world to "wait" for Western workers and "simultaneous" global revolution, a position still carried by anti-revisionists and other communists who oppose Trotskyism today. On the other hand, Stalin did provide aid to sympathising communists in other countries, most notably in the Spanish Civil War.

Related Topics:
Trotsky - Permanent Revolution - Western - Global revolution - Anti-revisionists - Communists - Trotskyism - Spanish Civil War

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Accounts of that civil war, particularly of George Orwell in his book Homage to Catalonia, depict Stalin's sympathisers as aligning with counterrevolutionary forces and repressing any opposition from the "true" left, Trotskyists assert that Stalin's support for the Spanish Civil War was conditional on suppression of any revolutionary activity which may have delegitimized what they characterize as his dictatorship.

Related Topics:
George Orwell - Homage to Catalonia - Counterrevolutionary - Left - Revolutionary - Dictatorship

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Stalin established several "communist states" in Eastern Europe after World War II, although some do argue that this action was motivated more by the desire to create Russian "satellite states" than to spread the workers' revolution. In any case, neither the supporters of Stalin nor those of Trotsky succeeded in starting a revolution in the West.

Related Topics:
Communist state - Eastern Europe - World War II - Satellite state - Workers' revolution - The West

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