I’m pretty sure Parenti actively disparages Lukashenko specifically in BS&R. Calling him an apologist for hitler at one point iirc.
I found the quote in chapter 6 of the book:
In 1996, Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko, a self-professed admirer of Adolph Hitler s organizational skills, shut down the independent newspapers and radio stations and decreed the opposition parliament defunct. Lukashenko was awarded absolute power in a referendum that claimed an inflated turnout, with no one knowing how many ballots were printed or how they were counted. Some opposition leaders fled for their lives. “Once a rich Soviet republic that produced tractors and TVs, Belarus is now [a] basket case” with a third of the population living “in deep poverty” (San Francisco Bay Guardian, 12/4/96).
Damn, I missed that part when I read it and a Rare L to Parenti. Thanks for pointing this out. It is still a good book to dispel cheap anticommunist rhetoric but maybe there are other books that do a better job in attacking liberalism for beginners 🤔
Funnily enough, Belarus still has their state factory for tractors up and running. They didn’t lose most of their manufacturing compared to the other ex soviet states that fell to neoliberalism. This goes to show how dangerous is to be misinformed as an author.
Considering how soon after the collapse this was I’d say it’s forgiven to hold a pessimistic view of any post soveit leader who didn’t explicitly declare themselves a communist.
He makes similiar remarks about China’s reform and opening up if I’m not mistaken. The whole period was undeniably a dismal time for the international communist movement, and it’s hard imagine someone coming to our current perspective after appreciating the gravity of capitlist victory.
I don’t find it hard to believe Belarus would have been plunged into poverty, the entire soveit trade network collapsed, any country in those conditions would be desolate as can be seen with the entire post soveit world.
Yeah, in Parenti’s defense it’s fair to be skeptical in the 90s. Shit was bleak and there was a lack of clarity going on amidst all the neolib disinfo and triumphalism.
The whole period was undeniably a dismal time for the international communist movement, and it’s hard imagine someone coming to our current perspective after appreciating the gravity of capitlist victory.
Very true. This may explain his views. Thanks for sharing this!
I’m pretty sure Parenti actively disparages Lukashenko specifically in BS&R. Calling him an apologist for hitler at one point iirc.
I found the quote in chapter 6 of the book:
Link to PDF
-pg 97 paragraph 2
Damn, I missed that part when I read it and a Rare L to Parenti. Thanks for pointing this out. It is still a good book to dispel cheap anticommunist rhetoric but maybe there are other books that do a better job in attacking liberalism for beginners 🤔
Funnily enough, Belarus still has their state factory for tractors up and running. They didn’t lose most of their manufacturing compared to the other ex soviet states that fell to neoliberalism. This goes to show how dangerous is to be misinformed as an author.
Considering how soon after the collapse this was I’d say it’s forgiven to hold a pessimistic view of any post soveit leader who didn’t explicitly declare themselves a communist.
He makes similiar remarks about China’s reform and opening up if I’m not mistaken. The whole period was undeniably a dismal time for the international communist movement, and it’s hard imagine someone coming to our current perspective after appreciating the gravity of capitlist victory.
I don’t find it hard to believe Belarus would have been plunged into poverty, the entire soveit trade network collapsed, any country in those conditions would be desolate as can be seen with the entire post soveit world.
Yeah, in Parenti’s defense it’s fair to be skeptical in the 90s. Shit was bleak and there was a lack of clarity going on amidst all the neolib disinfo and triumphalism.
Very true. This may explain his views. Thanks for sharing this!