The October 1917 Revolution Started Off the Transformation of the World

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article, written especially for the 100th anniversary of the October 1917 Revolution, is certainly not to denigrate this first gigantic socialist project. Humanity owes an enormous debt to the Soviet Union that resulted from this revolution as it was the Red Army, and it alone, that put the Nazi hordes to rout. The support of the Soviet Union to the national liberation struggles of the peoples of Asia and Africa at that time forced the imperialist powers to retreat and to accept a polycentric globalization that was less unequal and more respectful of the sovereignty of nations and of their cultures. However, neither is the objective of this study to be a nostalgic looking back on this historic event. On the contrary, I shall try to identify the mistakes and weaknesses of the original construction and then describe the drift away from it that led to efforts for its reform. And I show how, when these failed and led to the brutal restoration of capitalism, an end was put to this first great wave of humanity’s progress towards socialism.

KEYWORDS:

• October Revolution
• Soviet mode of production
• Cold War

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on Contributor

Samir Amin is Director of the Third World Forum since 1980 and President of the World Forum for Alternatives since 1997. His major recent books published in English include Russia and the Long Transition from Capitalism to Socialism (Monthly Review Press, 2016), The Implosion of Contemporary Capitalism (Pluto, 2014), From Capitalism to Civilization: Reconstructing the Socialist Perspective (Tulika Books, 2010), Ending the Crisis of Capitalism or Ending Capitalism? (Fahamu Books & Pambazuka Press, 2010), Global History: A View from the South (Pambazuka, 2010), and The Law of Worldwide Value (Monthly Review Press, 2010).

Notes

1. The given name “Hue” might be misspelled, but the Chinese comrade we met in 1963 gave us this name as written here.

2. I refer here to a sentence that was widely in use among the Maoists of that time.