Greetings from a US state

[Vogel]

Hello.
I am a bit new to communism. Started learning about it at the end of the summer, still not sure what it would look like; though I have heard some really good things from a fellow named Richard Wolff. Basically all I know about Marxian economics comes from this guy. Luckily he has several degrees in history and economics from 3 ivy league schools, so good free education me thinks. rdwolff.com / classes (Brilliant radio program on the main page too).

What else I've heard comes from this essay: nyu.edu/projects/ollman/docs/marxs_vision.php


The east part of my state, where I live, is conservative and the western liberal. I am a senior in High School, and to my joy there is one freshman I know of who says he likes socialism better than capitalism, but he's a freshman so he still has a lot to learn.

[Q]

Welcome :)

If you have political questions, you can ask them in the Learning forum. That's why it's there after all!

If you have questions about your account, don't hesitate to send me a PM or ask here.

[Vogel]

I have trouble understanding why people like the economic practices of Mao and Stalin. Do Stalinistas know that the USSR was state capitalist? They do know that Stalin solidified power of a state, which happened to be the largest of the Russian capitalist class?

I don't know much about Mao, except that he too established a mostly undemocratic state capitalism. So I assume they must know this? Or do they view it differently?
If they do know, then why do they support?

[Sewer Socialist]

They (Stalinists / Maoists) typically refer to the states that those two presided over as "socialism". Trotskyists refer to them as degenerated workers' states.

The nature of the USSR / Maoist China is actually one of the biggest arguments amongst self-identified communists. Using the search function, you can find many on this board.

I don't think Wolff is an actual Marxist, but he probably has a good introduction to the basic concepts.

[Vogel]

Well, Wolff has been a Marxian economist for over 40 years. Plus he gives in depth, detailed explanations to his college classes, which he records for free on his website.

[Sewer Socialist]

I think the reason that he is referred to as a "Marxian" rather than a "Marxist" is that while he agrees with some of Marx's analysis, he favors what is referred to as "market socialism," which most socialists see as an impossibility.