Paul C:
>> The theory of socialism in one country ceased to be historically relevant
>> after 1948, but became relevant again after 1989.
>Jerry:
>I disagree. While there was a USSR, that theory was used to justify
>Soviet foreign policy and attitudes towards revolutionary movements in
>other countries. It may be less important today -- to the extent that
>regimes which hold state power and agree with that belief are few if any.
>
Paul C:
This is factually inaccurate. Debates about socialism in one country
had long ceased to have any relevance to Soviet doctrine, having been
replaced by the concept of the socialist world system, or of a socialist
camp confronting a capitalist camp.
Can you cite Soviet sources from the 50s onwards that justified their
foreign policy in terms of a theory of 'socialism in one country'?
I suspect that you may have formed your impression by reading comentaries
on the USSR by american leftists rather than original sources.
Paul Cockshott (wpc@cs.strath.ac.uk)