Forwarded from The Stalin Society
There is a clear contrast between what capitalism can offer workers in their twilight years and what the soviet proletarian was guaranteed.
In 1929, while the Soviet Union was building a system that guaranteed workers security in old age, the capitalist world offered more uncertainty. In Britain, pensions were means-tested and deliberately restrictive, forcing workers to prove their poverty for scraps. In the United States, there was no meaningful pension system at all. Old age under capitalism was not security, it was further poverty.
The Soviet system, however, was not just about a payment at the end of a working life. It was part of a wider social guarantee. Healthcare, housing, and basic necessities were not left to the market, and pensions were tied directly to a worker’s previous earnings. A life that was dedicated to furthering the revolution meant dignity was preserved. A worker who had spent their life contributing to society was not cast aside the moment they could no longer labour.
As Joseph Stalin put it in Problems of Leninism:
This divides the U.S.S.R. from the imperialists. Where a planned economy was created for the full life of the worker, capitalism has always treated workers who can no longer offer their labour as an afterthought.
And today, despite all the talk of progress, little has changed. Retirement ages rise, pensions are chipped away, and workers are pushed into private schemes tied to market chaos.
The 1929 Soviet decree did not just introduce pensions—it exposed the limits of a system that cannot guarantee dignity, because its priority has always been capital and not the workers who created it.
Stalin Society.
In 1929, while the Soviet Union was building a system that guaranteed workers security in old age, the capitalist world offered more uncertainty. In Britain, pensions were means-tested and deliberately restrictive, forcing workers to prove their poverty for scraps. In the United States, there was no meaningful pension system at all. Old age under capitalism was not security, it was further poverty.
The Soviet system, however, was not just about a payment at the end of a working life. It was part of a wider social guarantee. Healthcare, housing, and basic necessities were not left to the market, and pensions were tied directly to a worker’s previous earnings. A life that was dedicated to furthering the revolution meant dignity was preserved. A worker who had spent their life contributing to society was not cast aside the moment they could no longer labour.
As Joseph Stalin put it in Problems of Leninism:
The aim of socialism is not only to eliminate the exploitation of man by man, but also to ensure the material and cultural well-being of all members of society.
This divides the U.S.S.R. from the imperialists. Where a planned economy was created for the full life of the worker, capitalism has always treated workers who can no longer offer their labour as an afterthought.
And today, despite all the talk of progress, little has changed. Retirement ages rise, pensions are chipped away, and workers are pushed into private schemes tied to market chaos.
The 1929 Soviet decree did not just introduce pensions—it exposed the limits of a system that cannot guarantee dignity, because its priority has always been capital and not the workers who created it.
Stalin Society.
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140 years ago, on April 16, 1886, Ernst Thälmann was born - an outstanding figure of the German and international workers' movement, a revolutionary, an anti-fascist, and the leader of the Communist Party of Germany.
He was born in Hamburg. From the age of 14, he worked as a packer, a porter, a port worker, and a loader in the harbor, then as a ship's boy and an assistant stoker. In 1903, he joined the Social Democratic Party and aligned himself with its left wing. From 1912, he led the Hamburg Transport Workers' Union. During the First World War, he served in the artillery. He conducted propaganda work among German soldiers, exposing the imperialist nature of the war and the treacherous role of the opportunistic leadership of the Social Democratic Party.
At the end of 1918, after returning from the front, Thälmann immediately joined the revolutionary struggle of Hamburg workers. His dedication to the proletariat, revolutionary energy, and great organizational skills displayed by Thälmann during the November Revolution of 1918 contributed to a huge increase in his popularity among workers. In 1919, he was elected as the leader of the Hamburg organization of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD). In 1920, after the split of the USPD, the Hamburg organization led by Thälmann merged into the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). In 1921, Thälmann was elected to the Central Committee of the KPD. In 1923, under his leadership, the Hamburg Uprising took place.
From 1924, Thälmann was a member of the Politburo of the KPD Central Committee, and from 1925 - the chairman of the KPD Central Committee. In 1924, in the fight against the forces of fascist reaction, a "Union of Red Front Soldiers" ("Rot Front") was established by the advanced workers of Germany, led by Thälmann. In 1924-1928, he was elected as a candidate for the Executive Committee of the Comintern (ECCI), and in 1928-1943 - a member of the ECCI. From 1924 to 1933, he was a member of the Reichstag.
After the establishment of the Hitler dictatorship, Thälmann continued to lead the underground struggle of the Communist Party, but in March 1933, he was captured by the Gestapo and imprisoned. A powerful movement for Thälmann's liberation emerged in Germany and around the world. The Nazis did not dare to hold a trial against him, fearing that Thälmann would use the court to expose fascism and propagate the ideas of communism. Neither torture nor 11 years of solitary confinement broke the fighting spirit of the leader of German workers. In August 1944, Thälmann was transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where he was shot on August 18, 1944, on the direct orders of Hitler and Himmler.
Source
He was born in Hamburg. From the age of 14, he worked as a packer, a porter, a port worker, and a loader in the harbor, then as a ship's boy and an assistant stoker. In 1903, he joined the Social Democratic Party and aligned himself with its left wing. From 1912, he led the Hamburg Transport Workers' Union. During the First World War, he served in the artillery. He conducted propaganda work among German soldiers, exposing the imperialist nature of the war and the treacherous role of the opportunistic leadership of the Social Democratic Party.
At the end of 1918, after returning from the front, Thälmann immediately joined the revolutionary struggle of Hamburg workers. His dedication to the proletariat, revolutionary energy, and great organizational skills displayed by Thälmann during the November Revolution of 1918 contributed to a huge increase in his popularity among workers. In 1919, he was elected as the leader of the Hamburg organization of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD). In 1920, after the split of the USPD, the Hamburg organization led by Thälmann merged into the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). In 1921, Thälmann was elected to the Central Committee of the KPD. In 1923, under his leadership, the Hamburg Uprising took place.
From 1924, Thälmann was a member of the Politburo of the KPD Central Committee, and from 1925 - the chairman of the KPD Central Committee. In 1924, in the fight against the forces of fascist reaction, a "Union of Red Front Soldiers" ("Rot Front") was established by the advanced workers of Germany, led by Thälmann. In 1924-1928, he was elected as a candidate for the Executive Committee of the Comintern (ECCI), and in 1928-1943 - a member of the ECCI. From 1924 to 1933, he was a member of the Reichstag.
After the establishment of the Hitler dictatorship, Thälmann continued to lead the underground struggle of the Communist Party, but in March 1933, he was captured by the Gestapo and imprisoned. A powerful movement for Thälmann's liberation emerged in Germany and around the world. The Nazis did not dare to hold a trial against him, fearing that Thälmann would use the court to expose fascism and propagate the ideas of communism. Neither torture nor 11 years of solitary confinement broke the fighting spirit of the leader of German workers. In August 1944, Thälmann was transferred to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where he was shot on August 18, 1944, on the direct orders of Hitler and Himmler.
Source
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The support I've received in difficult times has been fantastic and it's put me back in a position to get back involved in work again and in an actual bed.
I have big plans this year and if anyone wishes to continue to support me you can here.
buymeacoffee.com/RedRick
I have big plans this year and if anyone wishes to continue to support me you can here.
buymeacoffee.com/RedRick
Buy Me a Coffee
Red Rick
Just a working class man who is trying his best to help the class struggle.I am a communist and an anti-imperialist. I am a founding member of the Class Consciousness Project and a party member of the
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Forwarded from Beorn and The Shieldmaiden
Joti Brar, Chair of the Communist Party of Great Britain, Marxist-Leninist:
"The EU is an imperialist club whose whole purpose is to keep Europe free of communism and open to US/Nato bases. It will not be reformed, it must be disbanded.
A united Europe can only be formed after a wave of socialist revolution has dismantled European imperialism."
@BeornAndTheShieldmaiden
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"The EU is an imperialist club whose whole purpose is to keep Europe free of communism and open to US/Nato bases. It will not be reformed, it must be disbanded.
A united Europe can only be formed after a wave of socialist revolution has dismantled European imperialism."
@BeornAndTheShieldmaiden
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Billy Moore is an ex-fighter turned YouTube "influencer". His show was once interviews with famous scousers and villains.
The last few years he has followed a lot of the Liverpool social media accounts and turned very reactionary and anti-immigration advocate.
This article speaks of Billy and his change. The one thing it doesn't grasp is how too much of a coincidence the change in all these Liverpool social media personalities are.
I don't doubt for one minute that they have been bought by the state.
https://www.livpost.co.uk/whats-going-on-with-billy-moore/
The last few years he has followed a lot of the Liverpool social media accounts and turned very reactionary and anti-immigration advocate.
This article speaks of Billy and his change. The one thing it doesn't grasp is how too much of a coincidence the change in all these Liverpool social media personalities are.
I don't doubt for one minute that they have been bought by the state.
https://www.livpost.co.uk/whats-going-on-with-billy-moore/
The Post
What’s going on with Billy Moore?
The Prayer Before Dawn star is going viral for all the wrong reasons. We ask him if he’s really turned to the “far-right.”
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Forwarded from Joti Brar
There is nothing progressive or 'pro-worker' about this position.
And there's certainly nothing clever about combining anti-worker rhetoric with what appear to be more progressive positions re imperialist war. This is, in fact, the definition of demagoguery: combining progressive demands with reactionary ones in order to lead the masses up the garden path.
In this particular case, it's a pretty sordid attempt to get a few votes by pandering to anti-immigration prejudices. Winning votes by reinforcing pervasive bourgeois propaganda instead of doing the hard work of exposing those lies is the textbook definition of opportunism. That is: selling out the real, long-term interests of the working class in order to gain some short-term real or perceived gain.
Quite a few of those who have signed up to promote this programme know well that the one of the most urgent tasks facing socialists in Britain today is that of opening the eyes of the masses to the ways in which they are kept divided (and are therefore also kept poor and under control).
Immigration narratives are the oldest (and therefore most embedded) form of culture-wars, divide-and-rule propaganda. Their only purpose is to keep the working class fighting itself; to keep us punching down instead of punching up.
Shame on all those parties and individuals who call themselves socialist and spout this filth. They are charlatans and traitors to their class.
https://x.com/JesseWinney/status/2043613491169227100
And there's certainly nothing clever about combining anti-worker rhetoric with what appear to be more progressive positions re imperialist war. This is, in fact, the definition of demagoguery: combining progressive demands with reactionary ones in order to lead the masses up the garden path.
In this particular case, it's a pretty sordid attempt to get a few votes by pandering to anti-immigration prejudices. Winning votes by reinforcing pervasive bourgeois propaganda instead of doing the hard work of exposing those lies is the textbook definition of opportunism. That is: selling out the real, long-term interests of the working class in order to gain some short-term real or perceived gain.
Quite a few of those who have signed up to promote this programme know well that the one of the most urgent tasks facing socialists in Britain today is that of opening the eyes of the masses to the ways in which they are kept divided (and are therefore also kept poor and under control).
Immigration narratives are the oldest (and therefore most embedded) form of culture-wars, divide-and-rule propaganda. Their only purpose is to keep the working class fighting itself; to keep us punching down instead of punching up.
Shame on all those parties and individuals who call themselves socialist and spout this filth. They are charlatans and traitors to their class.
https://x.com/JesseWinney/status/2043613491169227100
X (formerly Twitter)
Jesse Winney (@JesseWinney) on X
The Workers Party's message of 'Stop the Wars - Stop the Boats' must be taken to working class communities most impacted by mass migration: the undercutting of wages, unsafe streets and overwhelmed infrastructure. All this is connected to the criminal wars…
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Forwarded from Beorn and The Shieldmaiden
Capital and its entourage
A caricature by A.Vasilenko from Kiev appeared on the pages of the Soviet satirical magazine "Krokodil" in its issue №33 of 1983.
The imperialism, the big Capital with its portfolio of "Monopolies" is accompanied and guarded by its loyal servants, clockwise from top left: Zionism, Colonialism, Military-Industrial Complex, Nazism, Racism, and the CIA.
#Caricature #Krokodil
@BeornAndTheShieldmaiden
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A caricature by A.Vasilenko from Kiev appeared on the pages of the Soviet satirical magazine "Krokodil" in its issue №33 of 1983.
The imperialism, the big Capital with its portfolio of "Monopolies" is accompanied and guarded by its loyal servants, clockwise from top left: Zionism, Colonialism, Military-Industrial Complex, Nazism, Racism, and the CIA.
#Caricature #Krokodil
@BeornAndTheShieldmaiden
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Forwarded from Beorn and The Shieldmaiden
"Operation Weserübung", the Blitzkrieg overture
— On April 9, 1940, Nazi Germany attacked Norway and Denmark
As part of the invasion and occupation of Norway, Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany on the morning of April 9th 1940.
Denmark capitulated after a few hours, whereas Norway fought heroically until the 2nd of May against Hitler's superior troops.
"Operation Weserübung", which was the code word for the attack on Norway and Denmark, aimed at giving the German navy enhanced operative conditions in the Atlantic Ocean and to ensure the important shipment of Swedish iron ore to the German armaments industry from the Norwegian port city of Narvik.
Denmark, a well-developed and highly productive agricultural nation, played an important role in supplying the German military with food. The Danish state paid via a so called "Clearing Account" farmers and producers for everything, the Germans took.
The politicians chose full collaboration with the Nazis and Denmark was used by the propaganda as example of "friendly protective occupation". The Danish police co-operated closely with the Nazis, and when the Communist Party of Denmark was sent underground on June 22nd 1941, they began a manhunt, which continued for years. The communists began building the resistance movement with underground press and sabotage. In 1943, the tide was turning and on August 29th, the collaborator government was forced to step down as result of intensified sabotage and a general strike. Until the Nazi capitulation, the underground "Freedom Council" was de facto the legitimate government.
In Norway, thanks to the quick response of the military forces defending Oslo fjord, the main German assault ship Blücher was sunk and the capture of Oslo was delayed by a few hours, allowing the Norwegian government and the Royal house to escape to Britain, to coordinate sabotage raids against the Nazi occupiers and to distribute the underground press in Norwegian from there.
On August 10, 1940, the Communist Party of Norway issued a call to intensify the fight against the German occupiers. In autumn of 1940, anti-Nazi demonstrations were held in Bergen, Trondheim and Sarpsborg.
Resistance took various forms. Some Norwegians took part in the armed resistance, others supported them and many Norwegians committed acts of civil disobedience.
The National Unity Party, headed by the infamous V.Quisling, collaborated with the Germans and formed a puppet government. The party attracted civil servants and representatives of business circles who actively cooperated with Germany, in particular, fulfilled German orders from the occupation administration and the German army and military industry. As of April 1st 1941, 275 enterprises in Norway were fulfilling orders from the Wehrmacht.
During the occupation, Norwegian police continued to operate in Norway. Its officers carried out orders of the German occupation administration and participated in search and arrests of communists, anti-fascists, resistance fighters, Jews, etc., although some of the police helped the anti-German forces.
In both countries, KZ camps were in operation. Resistance fighters were tortured, executed and transported to KZ camps in Germany. Many didn't return.
The Nazis in Denmark capitulated on May 4th 1945, with effect from May 5th. In Norway, on May 8th.
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The liberation of Norway started in October of 1944 by the Soviet troops during the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation (see: Saved by the Russians).
Before the liberation, the German occupiers with the support of Norwegian collaborators, applied the "scorched earth" tactic, forcibly removed two thirds of the civilian population of Northern Norway and destroyed a significant part of residential and other constructions.
During the liberation, Norwegian volunteer units were created in Finnmark, plus Norwegian units came from Great Britain and the Norwegian "police" from Sweden. With the support of Soviet troops, they participated in the further liberation of Northern Norway in the winter of 1944-45.
@BeornAndTheShieldmaiden
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— On April 9, 1940, Nazi Germany attacked Norway and Denmark
As part of the invasion and occupation of Norway, Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany on the morning of April 9th 1940.
Denmark capitulated after a few hours, whereas Norway fought heroically until the 2nd of May against Hitler's superior troops.
"Operation Weserübung", which was the code word for the attack on Norway and Denmark, aimed at giving the German navy enhanced operative conditions in the Atlantic Ocean and to ensure the important shipment of Swedish iron ore to the German armaments industry from the Norwegian port city of Narvik.
Denmark, a well-developed and highly productive agricultural nation, played an important role in supplying the German military with food. The Danish state paid via a so called "Clearing Account" farmers and producers for everything, the Germans took.
The politicians chose full collaboration with the Nazis and Denmark was used by the propaganda as example of "friendly protective occupation". The Danish police co-operated closely with the Nazis, and when the Communist Party of Denmark was sent underground on June 22nd 1941, they began a manhunt, which continued for years. The communists began building the resistance movement with underground press and sabotage. In 1943, the tide was turning and on August 29th, the collaborator government was forced to step down as result of intensified sabotage and a general strike. Until the Nazi capitulation, the underground "Freedom Council" was de facto the legitimate government.
In Norway, thanks to the quick response of the military forces defending Oslo fjord, the main German assault ship Blücher was sunk and the capture of Oslo was delayed by a few hours, allowing the Norwegian government and the Royal house to escape to Britain, to coordinate sabotage raids against the Nazi occupiers and to distribute the underground press in Norwegian from there.
On August 10, 1940, the Communist Party of Norway issued a call to intensify the fight against the German occupiers. In autumn of 1940, anti-Nazi demonstrations were held in Bergen, Trondheim and Sarpsborg.
Resistance took various forms. Some Norwegians took part in the armed resistance, others supported them and many Norwegians committed acts of civil disobedience.
The National Unity Party, headed by the infamous V.Quisling, collaborated with the Germans and formed a puppet government. The party attracted civil servants and representatives of business circles who actively cooperated with Germany, in particular, fulfilled German orders from the occupation administration and the German army and military industry. As of April 1st 1941, 275 enterprises in Norway were fulfilling orders from the Wehrmacht.
During the occupation, Norwegian police continued to operate in Norway. Its officers carried out orders of the German occupation administration and participated in search and arrests of communists, anti-fascists, resistance fighters, Jews, etc., although some of the police helped the anti-German forces.
In both countries, KZ camps were in operation. Resistance fighters were tortured, executed and transported to KZ camps in Germany. Many didn't return.
The Nazis in Denmark capitulated on May 4th 1945, with effect from May 5th. In Norway, on May 8th.
🔥🔥🔥
The liberation of Norway started in October of 1944 by the Soviet troops during the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation (see: Saved by the Russians).
Before the liberation, the German occupiers with the support of Norwegian collaborators, applied the "scorched earth" tactic, forcibly removed two thirds of the civilian population of Northern Norway and destroyed a significant part of residential and other constructions.
During the liberation, Norwegian volunteer units were created in Finnmark, plus Norwegian units came from Great Britain and the Norwegian "police" from Sweden. With the support of Soviet troops, they participated in the further liberation of Northern Norway in the winter of 1944-45.
@BeornAndTheShieldmaiden
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Media is too big
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A very interesting video about the Mosley family and their attempt to bring Mussolini's fascism to Britain.
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