Oh yeah, I think it's just a matter of the man being born in 1878 and being raised in seminary school, so it was just part of who he was, not something he had theoretical justification for or anything. He also wasn't great with the women in his personal life from what I've read. When comparing him to his contemporaries, especially outside of the communist movement, he was definitely much more progressive in many areas than was typical for the time, but I don't think we should, per se, only judge people based on the prevailing viewpoint of their time, so I'm not going to excuse it. It's just one of "the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it emerges" that Marx talks about. I'd like to think that Stalin would have come around on it like Castro did, if given the chance to, but given that he didn't, it is a major point we need to be critical of him on. I still very much "uphold" Stalin, but I think it's important to point out and criticize the shortcomings of people like him, even if he was very good in most other regards. (Sorry if I repeat myself or don't make sense in some parts, I'm typing this at work, so I have to keep going back and forth)
On the anti-semitism point, Proles of the Round Table did a good episode on the topic called "Stalin is a Mensch"
I'm going to check this out. I've been trying to figure out how much of the "Doctor's Plot", or specifically what people claim about where the Dr's Plot was intended to go, is cap. People make some pretty bold claims about a planned Soviet genocide of Jewish people without much evidence.
The kind Joseph Vissarionovich (who would probably agree with him here unfortunately)
deleted by creator
deleted by creator
Oh yeah, I think it's just a matter of the man being born in 1878 and being raised in seminary school, so it was just part of who he was, not something he had theoretical justification for or anything. He also wasn't great with the women in his personal life from what I've read. When comparing him to his contemporaries, especially outside of the communist movement, he was definitely much more progressive in many areas than was typical for the time, but I don't think we should, per se, only judge people based on the prevailing viewpoint of their time, so I'm not going to excuse it. It's just one of "the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it emerges" that Marx talks about. I'd like to think that Stalin would have come around on it like Castro did, if given the chance to, but given that he didn't, it is a major point we need to be critical of him on. I still very much "uphold" Stalin, but I think it's important to point out and criticize the shortcomings of people like him, even if he was very good in most other regards. (Sorry if I repeat myself or don't make sense in some parts, I'm typing this at work, so I have to keep going back and forth)
On the anti-semitism point, Proles of the Round Table did a good episode on the topic called "Stalin is a Mensch"
I'm going to check this out. I've been trying to figure out how much of the "Doctor's Plot", or specifically what people claim about where the Dr's Plot was intended to go, is cap. People make some pretty bold claims about a planned Soviet genocide of Jewish people without much evidence.