Reps.Ru Victory Day present - Page 4

On April 15 2021 20:34 Rus_Brain wrote:
So much hatred
Do you blame me that I'm Russian?

On April 15 2021 20:45 Rus_Brain wrote:
I beg your pardon for that, Mr. Everyone Else.

On April 15 2021 21:52 Rus_Brain wrote:
No balls to admit hatred against Russians, hiding behind "everyone". No authority to speak on everyone's behalf.

On April 16 2021 10:00 ox.tQ wrote:
Just to be clear, I don't believe the USSR under Stalin was a real workers' state nor do I confuse Stalinism with Marxism, just as I don't confuse the crusades with Christ. But it should be pointed out, that rather paradoxically, modern welfare institutions, liberal-democratic rights and labour legislation in advanced capitalist democracies were all the product of post-1917 historical events and conditions, that is to say, the admirable features of modern democracies today sprung from a confluence of global circumstances and working-class struggle that demanded a response from ruling elites in western countries for social reform.

The existence of the USSR, an ostensibly socialist Eastern Europe, and revolution in China stood as living examples of alternatives to capitalism, of socialism as workers’ states— at least in name and appearance. The 1930s Great Depression (which had become a recruiting ground for communist sympathisers in the West) stood out as a recent memory, exemplifying the failures and stark realities of capitalism and its accompanying miseries. The working classes in liberal democratic countries, moreover, had made huge sacrifices in a war between national capitals and now had reason to expect something meaningful in return, as extravagant promises had been made to them during the war effort. They were also hardened to warfare and trained in the use of arms and so there were fears over demobilisation and insurrection in the West. At the same time, the rapid disintegration of the old European colonial empires opened new markets and sources of raw materials. Domestic consumer markets expanded in the industrial nations and new technology developed for the war effort was applied to the civilian economy with dramatic increases in productivity, translating into material benefits for western working populations. Reconstruction and expansion created a high demand for labour which in turn encouraged a growth in unionisation, demands for higher wages, improved conditions and benefits. Unions became fully institutionalised within legal codes and were brought into arrangements with corporations: many European governments even allowed unions to play a role in tripartite state-planning structures. The United States actively promoted the development of social-democratic parties to divide the political expression of the working class and undermine the popularity of the mass communist parties. These were some of the key historical conditions that underlay the rise of the modern welfare and liberal-democratic state: a half-hearted patchwork of diverse policies put together in response to political and economic changes that occurred post-1917.

The creation of a communist international (Comintern) and the Red International of Labour Unions (Profintern) shaped the political landscape and debates on future labour reforms for most of the twentieth century. The International Labour Organisation was in fact created in 1918, one year after the Bolshevik revolution, which persuaded the key capitalist powers (Great Britain, the United States and France) to lead efforts to establish an international labour office at the Versailles Peace Conference to promote labour reforms and buttress the spread of socialism.

"[Post-17] the labor movement was well aware that it was in a position of peculiar strength, and it was therefore to be expected that it would press with all its influence in order to secure that its demands should be given full and complete satisfaction” (Phelan, Director General of the International Labour Organisation, 1934).

The October Revolution was followed by the formation of strong communist parties in France, Germany and Italy. Revolutions also broke out in Austria and Germany in 1918 and Hungary in the following year, where social democrats and communists came into power. There were also land seizures and factory occupations from 1919-21 in Northern Italy. In Canada, there were 218 strikes involving more than 50,000 workers in 1917 and union membership exploded from 1915 to 1919 (with 140,000 members in 1915, 205,000 in 1917, 250,000 in 1918 and 378,000 by 1919). Japanese workers also took part in strikes in record numbers from 1917 to 1919. The first African trade unions also formed during this period and had nearly 40,000 members in 1917 and over 135,000 by 1920. Britain also created a Ministry of Labour in 1917 and universal suffrage for men was introduced in the same year in the Netherlands (after massive demonstrations called ‘Red Tuesdays’ in 1911 and 1912).

As the eminent historian Eric Hobsbawm has noted, the 1917 Revolution became the central event of 20th century world politics, just as the bourgeois revolutions of 1776 and 1789 had been the defining events of the 18th century.

Once the threat of 'socialism' (in name and not in substance) disappeared with the collapse of the USSR, it is no coincidence that we witnessed the retrenchment of welfare state institutions and labour legislation and the curtailment of liberal democratic civil political rights in western capitalist countries under questionable pretenses.

On April 16 2021 22:58 Jealous wrote:

It isn't, just like this whole thread isn't, and anyone who tries to assert otherwise is just trying to be overly dramatic and is seeking out offense when there isn't any.

On April 17 2021 02:51 Jealous wrote:

Horrible comparison because the day being celebrated is about defeating Nazi Germany and has nothing to do with occupation, Gulag, Stalin, or whatever else you choose to associate with this holiday. I will repeat, it is your choice to associate those things with this holiday, it is your choice to find it offensive. Hitler's birthday is clearly different but if you can't understand that then it's a waste of time trying to explain this to you.

"Victory Day[a 1] is a holiday that commemorates the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945." - Wikipedia

That's it.