The Revenge of History - Alex Callinicos

Callinicos's new book is a frontal assault on the widely acceptedidea that the East European revolutions of 1989 mark the death ofsocialism.

In an attempt to vindicate the classical Marxist tradition,Callinicos argues that socialism in this tradition can only comefrom below, through the self-activity of the working class.Stalinism from this standpoint was a 'counter-revolution', erectingat the end of the 1920s a state capitalist regime on the ruins ofthe radically democratic socialism briefly achieved in October1917. He further argues that the collapse of Stalinism at the endof the 1980s was only one aspect of a world-wide transition fromnationally organized to globally integrated capitalism. The resultis likely to be greater economic and political instability. Againstthis background socialism - in Marx's sense - is all the morenecessary.

He concludes that the collapse of Stalinism should be less themoment to abandon socialism than to resume unfinished business.