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How should a coherent analysis of the history of the Communist movement in the twentieth century be developed? What must be the primary approach? Today the thesis of the "failure" of "real, existing socialism" is so undisputed that not even the Left opposes it. The current dominant historiography and ideology attempt to wrap up a dramatic century in an enlightening fable along the following lines. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a pretty and virtuous young girl (Miss Democracy) gets attacked first by one brute (Mr. Communism), and then by another one (Mr. Nazi-fascism). By utilizing the differences between the two, and through complicated events, the girl finally frees herself from the horrible situation. Having gained maturity without losing any of her charm, Miss Democracy can finally live out love's young dream by marrying Mr. Capitalism. In a sea of respect and general admiration, the happy, inseparable couple choose to spend their life principally between New York and Washington, between the White House and Wall Street. In this view, there is no possible doubt: the failure of Communism appears to be as obvious as it is inglorious.
This educational tale, however, has nothing to do with real history. Contemporary democracy is based on the principle that every individual enjoys certain inalienable rights without regard to race, class, or gender. It therefore requires the overthrow of the three great discriminations (racial, class, and sexual) that were still commonplace on the eve of the October Revolution. Let us look at the first one: it appears in a dualistic form. On a worldwide level, we see the "enslavement of hundreds of millions of working people in Asia, in the colonies in general, and in the small countries" by "a few select nations" which, Lenin continues, claim "the exclusive privilege of forming a state" and deny the barbarians in the colonies or semicolonies that same right (1964a, 424; 1964c, 437). On the other hand, in the United States, one finds racial discrimination, where Blacks, living under a regime of white supremacy, are denied political and civil rights. In 1944, the famous Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal comes to this eloquent conclusion: "Segregation is now becoming so complete that a white Southerner practically never sees a Negro except as his...