Die Neue Zeit

in regards to Bernstein: yes, you are correct. I honestly didn't consider that when writing that down. To suggest that he was always an opportunist borders on the accusations on the part of anti-revisionists against Kautsky, Trotsky, and countless other of always being closet anti-Communists. It is incorrect, and borders on "Great Man" interpretations of history. Their views changed over time, and it corresponded entirely with material developments.

There certainly are, my title was kind of a joke. I have no particular interest in Plekhanov, as I believe he primarily concerned himself with things like dialectics, and you know my views on that subject. Some sources describe Georg Lukács as an "Orthodox Marxist", but I am skeptical that it is in the same sense that we think of. I will have to check it out at some point.

"And to think here I was thinking that Plekhanov was a poor man's Kautsky (yes, theoretically he was, hence why I have absolutely no respect for this "father of Russian Marxism" whatsoever, who was on the same level as "Comrade" Stalin or even Enver Hoxha), being merely a cozy-upper to the bourgeoisie."

How is Plekhanov similar to Stalin and Hoxha?

Apparently that Anarchist who was trolling your board was indeed a sock puppet of some banned ultra-leftist.. can't say I'm surprised.

What's your beef with Plekhanov? His contributions are primarily in the field of Marxist methodology and philosophy. Politically he was a hack, but that didn't stop the Soviets from continuing to promulgate his ideas.

Thanks! Pleased to be there

Didn't Marx state that the law of value may still operate in the lower phase of communism? I can then imagine that this might be a post-monetary society operating towards the mantra of "From each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution" as opposed to the communism slogan. It's clear that Lenin's "socialism" did not operate on the lines of either mantra.

The Soviet Union dumped central planning after Khruschev? How did they operate after that? Maoists and Hoxhaists often complain that Khruschev liberalized the economy, but never go into detail as to what exactly that entailed.

How exactly would you define the socialist mode of production? I've always thought Marx was very vague on the distinction between socialism and communism, and that Lenin's definition was a bit unscientific and perhaps somewhat opportunistic.