Workers' government Archives - John Riddell https://johnriddell.com/category/marxism/workers-government/ MARXIST ESSAYS AND COMMENTARY Wed, 20 Oct 2021 23:05:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.10 https://i0.wp.com/johnriddell.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/cropped-John-Riddell-Icon-Final-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Workers' government Archives - John Riddell https://johnriddell.com/category/marxism/workers-government/ 32 32 22825446 What Are the ‘Right Lessons’ for Socialists? https://johnriddell.com/2021/08/16/what-are-the-right-lessons-for-socialists/ https://johnriddell.com/2021/08/16/what-are-the-right-lessons-for-socialists/#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2021 12:48:53 +0000 https://johnriddell.com/?p=7263 A Reply to Eric Blanc By Mike Taber: Eric Blanc is a serious and dedicated socialist historian and activist who doesn’t hesitate to jump into the fray and take positions he knows are controversial. Such an attitude is commendable, even if I disagree with his conclusions. His latest article, “Socialists Should Take the Right Lessons […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2021/08/16/what-are-the-right-lessons-for-socialists/feed/ 8 7263 Socialist Participation in Capitalist Governments https://johnriddell.com/2021/07/19/socialist-participation-in-capitalist-governments/ https://johnriddell.com/2021/07/19/socialist-participation-in-capitalist-governments/#respond Mon, 19 Jul 2021 16:54:16 +0000 https://johnriddell.com/?p=7139 A Debate in the Second International, 1900–1904 Introductory Note by Mike Taber Should socialists accept positions as ministers in capitalist governments? What stance should they take toward bourgeois parties?  These questions, which remain the subject of debate today, have aroused heated controversies in the socialist movement for over 120 years. The Second (or “Socialist”) International, […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2021/07/19/socialist-participation-in-capitalist-governments/feed/ 0 7139 James P. Cannon on Defensive Formulations and the Organization of Action https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/10/james-p-cannon-on-defensive-formulations-and-the-organization-of-action/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/10/james-p-cannon-on-defensive-formulations-and-the-organization-of-action/#respond Wed, 10 Jul 2019 16:41:50 +0000 http://johnriddell.com/?p=5440 Introductory Note by John Riddell: My article, “On The Democratic Character of Socialist Revolution” contested the view that revolutionary Marxists (“Leninists”) favour a strategy for insurrection against parliamentary institutions, quoting from court testimony given in 1942  by James P. Cannon, a founding leader of the U.S. Communist Party and later of the Socialist Workers Party. […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/10/james-p-cannon-on-defensive-formulations-and-the-organization-of-action/feed/ 0 5440 On the Democratic Character of Socialist Revolution https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/09/on-the-democratic-character-of-socialist-revolution/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/09/on-the-democratic-character-of-socialist-revolution/#comments Tue, 09 Jul 2019 22:27:06 +0000 http://johnriddell.com/?p=5429 Related Articles on the Road to Socialism Why Kautsky Was Right and Why You Should Care, by Eric Blanc, April 2, 1919 Kautsky, Lenin, and the Transition to Socialism: A Reply to Eric Blanc by Mike Taber, April 6, 2019 The Democratic Road to Socialism: A Reply to Mike Taber, by Eric Blanc, April 11, 2019 Revolutionary […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/09/on-the-democratic-character-of-socialist-revolution/feed/ 1 5429 Karl Kautsky as Architect of the October Revolution: Part 2 https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/05/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-2/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/05/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-2/#comments Fri, 05 Jul 2019 13:37:23 +0000 http://johnriddell.com/?p=5415 1917: The Bolsheviks Apply Kautsky’s Tactics Lenin remained true to the tactical ideas of Karl Kautsky after the latter had abandoned them. By Lars T. Lih As we have seen, the Bolsheviks came into 1917 with two pieces of Kautsky advice firmly under their belts: enlist the peasantry as a revolutionary ally, and do not […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/05/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-2/feed/ 1 5415 Karl Kautsky as Architect of the October Revolution: Part 1 https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/04/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-1/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/04/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-1/#comments Thu, 04 Jul 2019 15:03:23 +0000 http://johnriddell.com/?p=5410 Before the War: The Bolsheviks Applaud Kautsky’s Tactics Lenin remained true to the tactical ideas of Karl Kautsky after the latter had abandoned them. By Lars T. Lih In recent months, Jacobin has seen an exchange of views on the theme of Kautsky vs Lenin. Many good points were made, but on the subject of […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/07/04/karl-kautsky-as-architect-of-the-october-revolution-part-1/feed/ 4 5410 The Workers’ and Peasants’ Government https://johnriddell.com/2019/05/17/the-workers-and-peasants-government/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/05/17/the-workers-and-peasants-government/#comments Fri, 17 May 2019 20:20:02 +0000 https://johnriddell.com/?p=5332 Text of the Communist International’s 1923 decision Reproduced below are a resolution and excerpts from a report adopted in June 1923 by the Communist International (Comintern). It took place at an enlarged meeting of the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI). It is reprinted from The Communist Movement at a Crossroads: Plenums of the […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/05/17/the-workers-and-peasants-government/feed/ 1 5332 Revolutionary strategy and the electoral road https://johnriddell.com/2019/04/13/revolutionary-strategy-and-the-electoral-road/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/04/13/revolutionary-strategy-and-the-electoral-road/#comments Sat, 13 Apr 2019 13:59:38 +0000 https://johnriddell.com/?p=5293 A rejoinder to Eric Blanc By Mike Taber: It should be apparent that my exchange with Eric Blanc (See part 1, part 2, part 3) involves more than different historical appreciations. In the background are clear differences over how to evaluate politics in general, as well as what perspective socialists and revolutionaries should adopt today. […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/04/13/revolutionary-strategy-and-the-electoral-road/feed/ 3 5293 The democratic road to socialism: A reply to Mike Taber https://johnriddell.com/2019/04/11/the-democratic-road-to-socialism-a-reply-to-mike-taber/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/04/11/the-democratic-road-to-socialism-a-reply-to-mike-taber/#comments Thu, 11 Apr 2019 14:19:58 +0000 https://johnriddell.com/?p=5288 By Eric Blanc: I wrote my piece on Marxist theorist Karl Kautsky’s pre-1910 strategy on the democratic road to socialism in the hopes of helping socialists today sharpen our political strategy. Moving beyond various unfounded assumptions about working-class politics and history — particularly regarding the generalizability of the October 1917 model for capitalist democracies — […]

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]]> https://johnriddell.com/2019/04/11/the-democratic-road-to-socialism-a-reply-to-mike-taber/feed/ 4 5288 Kautsky, Lenin, and the transition to socialism: A reply to Eric Blanc by Mike Taber https://johnriddell.com/2019/04/06/kautsky-lenin-and-the-transition-to-socialism-by-mike-taber/ https://johnriddell.com/2019/04/06/kautsky-lenin-and-the-transition-to-socialism-by-mike-taber/#comments Sun, 07 Apr 2019 02:39:04 +0000 https://johnriddell.com/?p=5279 Mike Taber’s article below responds to Eric Blanc’s text “Why Kautsky was right and why you should care.”  Eric Blanc is a talented Marxist historian and activist, with a reputation for questioning accepted wisdom. While one may not always agree with all of his conclusions, Eric’s works generally have a refreshing quality that can only […]

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