I'd say that the error generally is believing that Lenin, Trotsky or Stalin could be considered to be any better than each other. The failure of the soviet union and its casual slide into genocide was its belief in creating a 'new person' and the 'greater good'. Their reduction of the individual to 'machine parts' of a greater whole, dehumanised and created a credo by which genocide was justified. Attempts to implement mass change in a short period are almost always doomed to disaster, both in capitalism and socialism.

Marx's always presented the shift as being a gradualised awakening of the working classes to the inequalities coupled with a failing of capitalism creating an change in people, not one that was forced ultimately resulting in a revolution. Attempts to pre-empt this generally failed to produce a 'better world' resulting in an almost religious tyranny, in which Marxist Leninism/Stalinist/Maoism resulted oppressive regimes that served the party elite, rather than society as a whole.

China and Russia saw whole scale massive change, but at a terrible price paid by the very people these systems claimed to promote the interests of.

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The historical paradox of Marxist theories being put into practice in states far from ready for them, rather than in Britain or Germany( for it was those developed industrial nations that Marx addressed)has led inexorably to the discrediting of Socialism generally. Far from creating a socialist state, all that was achieved was the building of disguised dictatorships...badly disguised dictatorships....and conformist, centralised beaurocracies backed by ruthless internal security organizations. Economic 'miracles' achieved by endless suffering. It was WW1 that really de-railed what would perhaps have been inevitable and a German strategem(shipping Lenin off to St.Petersburg) that diverted the course of socialist development.

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Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and we should learn from history. All that Lenin achieved was the transition from one form of oppression to another, with millions dead, and creating the environment into which Stalin came to kill tens of millions more.

The Mensheviks disagreed with the idea of Marxist Leninism, and rejected the idea of a vanguard. They were convinced that socialism/communism could not succeed in Russia until the historical transformation of a bourgeoisie revolution and a failure of capitalism before a revolutionary movement could effect a true transformation to socialism or communism.

They originated from the schism of the Social Democratic Party that formed the Bolsheviks.

Edited by jamiemartin721 (17 Jul 2014 11.29pm)

"One Nation Under God, has turned into One Nation Under the Influence of One Drug"
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To be honest looking at their policy more coverage would be more rope to hang themselves, just like Caroline Lucas.

Maybe the reason that they aren't even registering on opinion polls is because all of their policies are f***ing mental and could be construed as a bunch of unworkable ultra left wing mumbo jumbo that if implemented, would land us back in the Stone Age.

Just saying.

"That was fun and to round off the day, I am off to steal a charity collection box and then desecrate a place of worship.” - Smokey, The Selhurst Arms, 26/02/02

The People's Front of Judea?

Fcuk off we're The Judean People's Front!