Alexander Dolitsky: Explaining socialism vs. social programs

BY ALEXANDER DOLITSKY

Explaining Socialism vs. Social Programs

Nikita Khrushchev was first secretary of the Communist Party (Politburo) of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964; and chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. 

In the early 1960s, on various occasions, he formally proclaimed that in 20 years, by the early 1980s, the Soviet Union would transition from Socialist socio-economic formation toward a better life under Communist socio-economic formation. In fact, there was a “hope in the air” in the former Soviet Union for a better life under communism; but it ended up being only the “totalitarian socialist regime in the air.”

Socio-economic formation is a theory that describes how social development is driven by material life and social being, rather than human consciousness and moral values. It is a Marxist concept that is considered a cornerstone of the materialist conception of history — historical materialism. The theory is based on the idea that the structure of a society is made up of three fundamental socio-economic factors: productive forces, relations of production, and superstructure. 

Karl Marx used the term “socio-economic formation” in his analysis of society’s economic and political development. He used it as an alternative to “mode of production” to describe the totality of social relations that define a society at a given historic time. 

Although Marx did not formulate a complete theory of socio-economic formations, Soviet historians and political scientists generalized his statements to conclude that he distinguished five socio-economic formations, namely: Prehistory—hunter-gatherers society; Slavery—slaves and masters; Feudalism—peasants and landlords; Capitalism—proletariat (workers) and capitalists; and Communism—all groups of people are socially equal and free from exploitation.

Vladimir Lenin, a Russian revolutionary and political theorist, was the founder and first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until 1922, and of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1924. Lenin was a loyal student and committed follower of Marxist teaching.

According to classical Marxism-Leninism, socialism is a transitional social state between the overthrow of capitalism and the realization of communism as the last and victorious socio-economic stage of mankind. In short, theoretically, socialism is the first stage of the worldwide transition to communism.

Marxist-Leninist doctrine stipulates that Socialism is an economic and political philosophy, encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterized by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and social theories and movements associated with the implementation of such systems.

In short, Socialism is an economic system in which major industries are owned by workers rather than by private businesses. It is different from capitalism, where private actors, like business owners and shareholders, can own the means of production.

After graduating from high school at the age of 17, I worked as a layout in the ship-building yard in Kiev for two years, and then for five years in education and academic systems prior to my departure from the Soviet Union to the West in 1977.

Frankly, I don’t recall owning anything in the Soviet Union except for my books and personal possessions. But I do recall a remarkable inefficiency of the Soviet Socialist economic system, including food shortages, long waiting lines to acquire material goods and services, intellectual censorship, ideological indoctrination in the education system, isolation from the West, only one legitimate political party—Communist Party, rejection of world religions, including Judeo-Christian teaching and values, extreme antisemitism, and a remarkable bureaucratic corruption.

It is imperative to clearly distinguish socialism, as a socio-economic stage, from social programs that are intended to provide essential assistance to the public. The United States has many major social programs, including:

• Social Security: Pays benefits to retired people and others who are unable to work due to disability
• Unemployment: Helps replace lost wages for eligible workers who are unemployed 
• Medicare: Provides health insurance coverage to people over 65 and eligible individuals with disabilities 
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Also known as food stamps 
• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Helps with food 
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): A welfare program 
• Medicaid: A health insurance program for underemployed 
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): A refundable tax credit that subsidizes pretax income for low-earning households 
• Housing assistance: Includes rental and buyer assistance programs, emergency housing, and eviction prevention 
• Utility bills: Helps with phone, internet, and energy bills 
• Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI)
• Workers’ Compensation
• Temporary Disability Insurance
• Veterans’ Benefits
• Government Employee Retirement Systems
• Railroad Retirement 
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
• General Assistance (GA)

Considering the short history of our nation, these social programs were developed and refined in a relatively short time, compared to other world civilizations.

In my view, today’s Marxist-Leninist teaching of Socialism is no longer an ideological threat to our society; it must be interpreted in the historic context of the 19th and 20th centuries. In fact, Marxism-Leninism outlived its purpose and validity. However, the far-left neo-Marxism-Leninism of white privilege doctrine, critical race theory, DEI, systemic racism notion, Black Lives Matter, wokeism and ANTIFA are indeed a grave danger to the fabric and ultimate existence of our Constitutional Republic.

True, our American nation is not perfect. Today, there are many far-left neo-Marxist-Leninist flaws and diversions contaminating our democracy and traditional Judeo-Christian lifestyle. Nevertheless, Americans always determine to find the right course in protecting and perfecting Judeo-Christian values of our Constitutional Republic.

Alexander B. Dolitsky was born and raised in Kiev in the former Soviet Union. He received an M.A. in history from Kiev Pedagogical Institute, Ukraine, in 1976; an M.A. in anthropology and archaeology from Brown University in 1983; and was enroled in the Ph.D. program in Anthropology at Bryn Mawr College from 1983 to 1985, where he was also a lecturer in the Russian Center. In the U.S.S.R., he was a social studies teacher for three years, and an archaeologist for five years for the Ukranian Academy of Sciences. In 1978, he settled in the United States. Dolitsky visited Alaska for the first time in 1981, while conducting field research for graduate school at Brown. He lived first in Sitka in 1985 and then settled in Juneau in 1986. From 1985 to 1987, he was a U.S. Forest Service archaeologist and social scientist. He was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Alaska Southeast from 1985 to 1999; Social Studies Instructor at the Alyeska Central School, Alaska Department of Education from 1988 to 2006; and has been the Director of the Alaska-Siberia Research Center (see www.aksrc.homestead.com) from 1990 to present. He has conducted about 30 field studies in various areas of the former Soviet Union (including Siberia), Central Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and the United States (including Alaska). Dolitsky has been a lecturer on the World Discoverer, Spirit of Oceanus, and Clipper Odyssey vessels in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. He was the Project Manager for the WWII Alaska-Siberia Lend Lease Memorial, which was erected in Fairbanks in 2006. He has published extensively in the fields of anthropology, history, archaeology, and ethnography. His more recent publications include Fairy Tales and Myths of the Bering Strait Chukchi, Ancient Tales of Kamchatka; Tales and Legends of the Yupik Eskimos of Siberia; Old Russia in Modern America: Russian Old Believers in Alaska; Allies in Wartime: The Alaska-Siberia Airway During WWII; Spirit of the Siberian Tiger: Folktales of the Russian Far East; Living Wisdom of the Far North: Tales and Legends from Chukotka and Alaska; Pipeline to Russia; The Alaska-Siberia Air Route in WWII; and Old Russia in Modern America: Living Traditions of the Russian Old Believers; Ancient Tales of Chukotka, and Ancient Tales of Kamchatka.