This is one of the reasons that I read Stalin as ideological pure as opposed to the common view of him as a despotic aberration of true socialism. He ended the NEP, forced collectivization, and treated the criminal class as socially friendly. His belief that any failure of communism was due to wrecking on the part of the remnants of the bourgeoisie aligns with an unfalsifiable belief in the success of socialism and historical materialism. In his worldview, famine can only be caused by capitalist sabotage or was a capitalist lie.
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
This is one of the reasons that I read Stalin as ideological pure as opposed to the common view of him as a despotic aberration of true socialism. He ended the NEP, forced collectivization, and treated the criminal class as socially friendly. His belief that any failure of communism was due to wrecking on the part of the remnants of the bourgeoisie aligns with an unfalsifiable belief in the success of socialism and historical materialism. In his worldview, famine can only be caused by capitalist sabotage or was a capitalist lie.
It was a magnificent experience to read Bloodlands.
(I've been disappointed in everything I've seen of his subsequently. I cannot explain this.)
Just have to wonder how much of what covered in this book was covered perhaps not as detailed by Kotkin book on Stalin
I read the whole thing long time ago. It's a must. And Snyder does not slip to ideological moralizing like elsewhere.
Jesus, the audiobook edition is $30. Publishers, use AI narration.
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
― C. S. Lewis
Interesting...