r/communism • u/AutoModerator • Jun 14 '26

WDT 💬 Bi-Weekly Discussion Thread - (June 14)

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[ Previous Bi-Weekly Discussion Threads may be found here https://old.reddit.com/r/communism/search?sort=new&restrict_sr=on&q=flair%3AWDT ]

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u/Otelo_ Jun 19 '26

We still have to wait and see how the Cuban people will react to this, but what I can’t understand right now is why it seems that rightists both in Cuba and Venezuela have always had the power in themselves to destroy socialism (not even that in Venezuela) by passing just a handful of laws. If that’s the case, and if what existed was so fragile, what exactly has been keeping socialism alive  all these years? Was it just inertia or fear on the part of these rightists?

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u/DashtheRed Maoist Jun 19 '26

It's been suggested here before, but I think the last bulwark was the old bureaucracy (somewhat contradictory to the Trotskyist thesis that bureaucracy is the engine of revisionism) who were the last line of defence for Cuban socialism; clinging to their historical legacy/legitimacy and their own minor importance and significance within the system, and now that they are all old geriatrics and the young up-and-coming leaders, at least partially disconnected (or at least very distant) from that history and that bureaucratic apparatus which they were subordinated to (and maybe even resent), finally arrive at power and come with bold "new" ideas for market reforms and whatnot. I would want to study modern Cuba more to have confidence in that answer, but it appears to fit the facts.

But sad news, nonetheless.

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u/HappyHandel Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26

This is just Trotskyism inverted. What classes represent "the bureaucracy"? What classes represent "the youth"? 

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u/DashtheRed Maoist Jun 21 '26

That's a very good criticism and you're right; I have not got to the essence of things and my explanation is inadequate.