Has socialism been tried and failed?
Introduced by Melbourne socialist activist Liam Parry.
Every socialist has been asked this question. What about Stalin’s Russia or Mao’s China - don’t these examples prove socialism doesn’t work? For much of the 20th century, authoritarian dictatorships clouded and confused ideas about what an alternative to capitalism could look like - this talk will address what happened in these countries, why they should not be meaningfully considered ‘socialist’, and what we can do today to reclaim and rebuild a vision of socialism that is based on liberation and freedom.
Readings
Russia 1917 a radical workers democracy comes to life, Sandra Bloodworth
https://redflag.org.au/index.php/node/5723
Tyranies ruling in the name of socialism, Paul D’Amato
https://socialistworker.org/2008/08/28/in-the-name-of-socialism
How stalinism distorted Marxism, Daniel Taylor
https://redflag.org.au/node/6885
What would socialism look like, Sarah Garnham