Stalin - to be idolized or cast down?

[Che Jexster]

I'd like to ask everyone's opinion on Stalin. Most communists and leftists i know hate him for ruining a possibly great communist society, however there are a few who idolize him. Opinions welcome.

[red head]

first off, i don't think the ussr was anywhere near the greatest socialist country. as noam chomsky has said, lenin started dismantling social programs right when he got in power. i know lenin did a lot of good though, but stalin was pure evil. i think my dad best summed it up when he said it was the equivelant of david duke taking over the US. sure the majority were fairly well taken care of, but at what cost to the minority? any positive contribution stalin made was simply a byproduct of any personal gain he could achieve. he was a racist, xenophobic bastard on par with hitler. the only thing he deserves credit for was winning world war 2. other than that, all he did was exploit the emotions of a struggling, developing nation, and stiring up feelings of nationalism, racism, and xenophobia while taking care of as few people as he could. he belongs in the annals of history with all other fascists.

[Kez]

I would agree with you red head, although i dont know who the fuck david duke is.
anyway,
pros of stalin
death of hitler
3 glorious 5 year plans
cons of stalin
purges
work camps (these work capms were for prisoners anyway yeah?)

comrade kamo

[RedCeltic]

David Duke is the Gand wizard of the Klu Klux Klan. I'm sure you've heard of them Kamo... Although I don't really see the comparison.

As for Stalin, there is really no reason to make excuses for him. Either your pro Stalin or your not. If you where truly a Trotskyite you wouldn't be trying to find reasons that Uncle Joe was good.

[red head]

my reference to david duke was that if he were in charge, things would be a lot better for a few people. but he's a racist bastard and anyone who didn't agree with him would be killed. same with stalin. the people he favored were well taken care of, but those with a different opinion or ethnicity were killed.