Was it safer to be a Communist in America than the USSR?

[Broletariat]

I mean, in the USSR you had people like Rubin who got purged for writing a book about Marx's theory of value. In America you got blacklisted and all but you weren't purged at least.

[CommunityBeliever]

Have you ever heard of the "red scare"?

[Broletariat]

Have you ever heard of the "red scare"?

Yea

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Yes,it was much safer....though maybe not if you were a Trotskyist...

[Broletariat]

Yes,it was much safer....though maybe not if you were a Trotskyist...

Or a Marxist like Rubin.

Or you were Bukharin and said that Communism is stateless.

Or if you liked to read Lenin.

[Aspiring Humanist]

depends what time period we're talking about, and what you define as communist

[Ismail]

This is a pretty lackluster thread for the History forum.

Rubin and Bukharin weren't executed for writing texts. They were executed on charges of espionage. I've never heard that Rubin's works were attacked, they were just censored after he died, like anyone elses' texts who died during the purges.

After the 1960's you weren't executed for being a "dissident communist" (Trotskyist, etc.) and in fact there was a substantial faction within the CPSU calling for the rehabilitation of Bukharin, since he represented the right-wing of the CPSU.

Moved to Chit Chat.

[Savage]

Rubin and Bukharin weren't executed for writing texts. They were executed on charges of espionage. I've never heard that Rubin's works were attacked, they were just censored after he died, like anyone elses' texts who died during the purges.

I remember reading that some of Bukharin's writings in the late 20's that emphasized the statelessness of communist society got him into trouble, but obviously not killed. As for Rubin, I have heard before that his texts per se were controversial, not only on the topic of the theory of value but also on morality in communism. I don't know any of the specifics of this so I'm not interested in arguing on this topic, but if the regime was disproving of Rubin's writings (and they obviously were as Stalin believed value relations to be existent in socialism) then it wouldn't have been surprising that they liquidate him for 'espionage'.


After the 1960's you weren't executed for being a "dissident communist" (Trotskyist, etc.) and in fact there was a substantial faction within the CPSU calling for the rehabilitation of Bukharin, since he represented the right-wing of the CPSU.I didn't think you guys liked the USSR after Stalin's death

[Ismail]

I didn't think you guys liked the USSR after Stalin's deathWe don't, unless this is some sort of joke that we're "right-wing."

[Savage]

We don't, unless this is some sort of joke that we're "right-wing."

no I was just wondering why you would bother defending their policy

[Ismail]

no I was just wondering why you would bother defending their policyI'm not. In Albania so-called "dissident communists" were shot. Richard F. Starr in his book Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe (1988 Ed.) noted that Albania was the only country in the Eastern Bloc where party officials still risked execution rather than forced retirement or rebukes.

[Broletariat]

Can a mod please change the title to include the option of revleft?

[Rafiq]

It depends on what kind of communist.

[Agent Ducky]

Can a mod please change the title to include the option of revleft?

xfd

[Savage]

Can a mod please change the title to include the option of revleft?

hahaha