Stalinist Realism and Open Communism: Malignant Mirror or Free Association

97 Pages·2022·0.599 MB·English

by  Ian Parker

Stalinist Realism and
Open Communism

Stalinist Realism and
Open Communism
Malignant Mirror or Free
Association
Ian Parker
Resistance Books
Stalinism Realism and Open Communism
Malignant Mirror or Free Association
Ian Parker
Published 2022
Resistance Books, London
[email protected]
www.resistancebooks.org
Cover design by Adam Di Chiara
ISBN: 978-0-902869-27-1 (print)
ISBN: 978-0-902869-26-4 (e-book)
Capitalism as a global system of rule tells us that
there is no alternative, and is accompanied by its
terrible twin, ‘stalinist realism’ that works its way
into ideas about political camps, bodies, identity
and organisation.
Ian Parker provides an analysis and an alterna-
tive,‘opencommunism’,whichisdemocraticand
plural, and must be built now.
Ian Parker is a revolutionary Marxist in Manches-
ter, an activist with Anti-Capitalist Resistance,
and author of Revolutionary Keywords for a New
Left (2017: Zero Books), Socialisms: Revolutions
Betrayed,MislaidandUnmade(2020:Resistance
Books) and Radical Psychoanalysis and Anti-
Capitalist Action(2022: Resistance Books).

CONTENTS
Introduction 1
1 Stalinism 7
2 Camps 13
3 Bodies 21
4 Identity 28
5 Organisation 35
6 Freedom 42
7 Commons 48
8 Intersections 55
| vii |
CONTENTS
9 Plurality 63
10 Transitions 71
FURTHER READING 79
GLOSSARY 83
| viii |
Introduction
Stalinist Realism
MarkFishergaveusacutting-edgeanalysisin2009
ofwhathecalled‘capitalistrealism’;theideological
claim that capitalism is the only possible reality
today, that there is no alternative. Mark’s analysis
showed us that this kind of ‘realism’ locks us into
place in capitalism, and is suffused with fantasies
aboutourpassivityandtheimpossibilityofradical
change.‘Realism’hereisthemantraofthosewho
wanttheworldtostaythesame,ofthosewhowant
exploitationtocontinueasitis,ofthosewhowant
to convince us to give up struggling for another
world beyond capitalism.
There is an alternative, and Anti-Capitalist
Resistance works alongside other revolutionary
organisations here and across the world to build
that alternative. Mark Fisher showed us that we
need a deep analysis of the ideology of ‘capital-
ist realism’ precisely so we can better challenge it.
Understandingtheworld,forusrevolutionaries,is
intimately connected to challenge and change, to
struggleandtransformation.Thatiswhatsocialist
politics is for us.
But we also face another threat, one Mark
understoodwell,andwhichthislittlebookfocuses
on. There is a weird flip-side of capitalist realism
thatpretendstoofferawayoutofglobalcapitalism
butwhichlocksusallthemoretightlyintoexploi-
tation and oppression. That false path, a poison-
ous trap for the left, is ‘stalinist realism’ (a telling
phrase we owe to comrade Ali); little s for stalin-
ist here to mark it as a pervasive cultural-political
phenomenon on the left. Stalinist realism is very
presentintheexplicitpoliticsofsomegroupsthat
saytheyarecommunistandinthepoliticsoftheir
fellow travellers who are well-meaning but deeply
mistaken.
Stalinist realism is a kind of weird malignant
mirror of global capitalism; it repeats many of the
mosttoxicaspectsofcapitalismwhileposingasan
alternative.Itisnotanalternative.Itispartofthe
problem.Hereweexplainwhatstalinistrealismis,
and why it needs to be avoided.