Tony Cliff
Stalin’s Satellites in Europe
Part One
The economy of the Russian satellites
Chapter VI
Socio-economic relations in the satellites

'If we look back at the “trials” of “witches” in the middle ages, we may disagree with the prosecutor when he accused the “witch” of causing the outbreak of a plague, but still accept the accusation as evidence of the existence of a plague at the time.'
I hope Richard Seymour won't mind me saying that he objected to my piece on the Syria vote appearing on the International Socialist Network website because he thinks it isn't congruent with ISN politics. I think quite the opposite is true.
Firstly, it is to revolutionary socialists and the ISN particularly that my argument was directed. If you raise the phantasm of US bombing that isn't likely to happen over the real bombing, chemical and otherwise, you aren't going to relate to many Syrians, a few revolutionary socialists, a few Assad fans, but not the millions of Syrians in revolt or those that support them here. Do you really think Cliff would have approved of such a missed opportunity?
It's a pity there isn't more of this book up on the Internet Archive yet, as I was interested in what Cliff had to say about relating to revolts there. I also looked for, but couldn't find, his interview in the July-August 1987 edition of Socialist Worker Review in which he describes his 55 years of revolutionary activity, because I think there may be some simple lessons there about looking at the reality of the world, and learning from where the struggle is taking place. I did find this interview with Ahmed Shawki, in which Cliff claims that the theory of state capitalism is what enabled he and his comrades to keep their minds while Trotskyists all around were losing theirs.
I didn't really get as far as secondly there, did I? Mostly because I want other people to make up their own minds in there own time as to what is right and wrong. It's so much easier that way.