We’re still in the waiting room of history. The question of “socialism or barbarism” could go either way. The Marxist-Leninists, Social Democrats and Anarchists did not definitively answered that question. It’s hard to look at the end of the 20th century and not see it as a defeat of the left.

Compared to the end of the 19th century where the entire world has been almost completely colonized by Europe and the US, the end of the 20th century is paradise. 1990s India, with all its problems, is orders of magnitude better than 1890s India where the UK was free to starve millions of Indians to death. 1990s China was better than 1890s China where millions of Chinese were transformed by the UK into junkies. 1990s Zaire, despite being ruled by some Western-backed dictator, was better than 1890s Congo Free State where millions of Congolian hands were paid as tribute to Leopold. I could go on and on.

Yes, the 1990s was a low point compared with the 1950s and 1960s, but the path towards the end of exploitation and class society is not smooth. There's going to be setbacks and retreats. One must not be coy about the achievements of socialism while completely dismissing the socialist project with the appearance of a single setback.