Soviet Propaganda in English

[BAMslam15]

I've always wondered why there is hardly any Soviet-style propaganda. Is social realism just concerned with the USSR or are there examples of this kind of art in English speaking countries? Thanks! :)

[Sea]

I've always wondered why there is hardly any Soviet-style propaganda. Is social realism just concerned with the USSR or are there examples of this kind of art in English speaking countries? Thanks! :)Please, please, please don't confuse social realism with socialist realism. There has been quite a bit of social-realist works (at least in literature) written from a socialist outlook, but socialist realism often has very little to do with the ambitions of the working class. I know it's confusing; the people who came up with socialist realism probably meant it to be that way.

In terms of poster-style propaganda, there's been plenty in English. However, in English-speaking countries there has never been a large-scale attempt to build socialism. Capitalism is still holding strong. The purpose of propaganda over here should be rather obvious, to increase class consciousness. You really have to ask yourself why propaganda of this sort would even be needed in the post-revolution USSR. During the civil war it's fairly obvious, but what about after the Bolsheviks won? I'm speaking mostly of during and after Stalin's rule, when most of the counter-revolution had already been eliminated. They desperately needed people to believe that, despite the forced labor camps and mass starvation, they were living in the glorious age of socialism.

I certainly hope that we never need such posters. There's a world of difference between propaganda that demonstrates the evils of capitalism and how there is no such thing as a free country, and propaganda encouraging even apolitical workers to join the "glorious party" (something Lenin would've scoffed at) and to work harder.