Title | What has become of the Russian Revolution |
Creator (LCNAF) |
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Contributor (Local) |
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Publisher | International Review |
Place of Creation (TGN) |
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Date | 1937 |
Subject.Topical (LCSH) |
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Subject.Topical (Local) |
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Subject.Geographic (TGN) |
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Genre (AAT) |
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Language | English |
Type (DCMI) |
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Original Item Extent | 63 pages; 22 cm |
Original Item Location | HN523.Y8613 1937 |
Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b8304536~S11 |
Original Collection | Socialist and Communist Pamphlets |
Digital Collection | Socialist and Communist Pamphlets |
Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/scpamp |
Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
Repository URL | http://libraries.uh.edu/branches/special-collections |
Use and Reproduction | In Copyright: This item is protected by copyright. Copyright to this resource is held by the creator or current rights holder, and the resource is provided here for educational purposes. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without permission of the copyright owner. Users assume full responsibility for any infringement of copyright or related rights. |
File Name | index.cpd |
Title | Image 51 |
Format (IMT) |
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File Name | uhlib_2209396_050.jpg |
Transcript | "brains" of the Plan, who live on the worker's labor, think for him all the time, in all situations. The disappearance of what we usually recognize as capitalism does not, therefore, necessarily bring emancipation to the worker. The Russian example shows the possibility of a regime that we did not foresee: the rule of the economic and social "technician" succeeding the rule of the traditional capitalist. Part Three THE STATE AND CLASSES As elsewhere, the State in Russia pretends to be what it is not. All governments find it convenient to inscribe on public monuments, prisons, banks and lodging houses fine formulae like "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity." Such good intentions are condensed in constitutional texts to form the false front of State power. They are the insignia of the official or fictitious power. In the traditional capitalist society, such official, political simulacra disguise the real power of the large financial and industrial corporations. Similarly in the USSR the advertised demagogic devises of the Soviets are used to hide a totally different apparatus, which is the real holder of State power. But "State power" connotes the existence of classes. Are there classes in contemporary Russia? We shall examine, in this part, the following points: 1. The official or fictitious power. 2. The real State power. 3. Classes. I The Official or Fictitious Power The Soviets In 1871, during the Paris Commune, the world saw an attempt at social organization by the workers themselves. Neighborhood organizations, committees composed of workers in arms, elected their representatives and undertook the creation of a worker militia. Such spontaneous popular organizations were seen again in Russia, in 1905, and then in 1917, when they actually took power. In 1917, the Russian Soviets included all worker tendencies, from social-democrats to anarchists. But the Soviets of the revolutionary period soon disappeared. The organisms that bear the name "Soviets" today and are officially said to be the sources of State power in Russia, really have less power than the French municipal councils. They are no more than organs employed by the central power to execute its orders in the limits of the municipalities. The power of the present Soviets is a farce of power, and the elections to the Soviets are a comical take-off on elections. The last Soviet elections took place at the end of 1934. As in preceding elections, the following happened: 49 |