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Two disillusioned men with roots in Communist countries, one a former dissident from the Czech Republic, Milan Kohout, and the other a Russian born citizen who immigrated to the US at a young age, probably with his parents, get together at a village in western Czech Republic to discuss their disappointments. It's clear that they both embraced American culture initially, but came away profoundly in opposition to it. I think that in this interview they are trying to understand what happened with themselves and many other dissidents from all the "Communist" countries. I don't think they really found the answer. So, permit me to offer my own opinion.
I think that the main reason that "really existing socialism" failed in the 20th century was because it was informed by a vanguard political orientation. Although a politically conscious revolutionary organization may be necessary to get the ball rolling toward a revolution, such an orientation never ceased after their revolutions. After overturning the old ruling class, people in the "vanguard" regarded themselves as having a superior political consciousness, and entitled by their revolutionary service to assume leadership which easily evolved into a ruling class. When genuine as well as capitalist inspired opposition began to appear, they resorted to police-state tactics to suppress opposition. Obviously subversive actions from Western capitalist countries was always a threat, but the Communist suppression of genuine dissent among their own populations had a reactionary effect.
I think the lessons for a future revolution against capitalist rule are clear. Only a rock solid anchoring of power within the grass-roots of society has any chance of taking down capitalist rule and enduring over time. The secret of capitalism's endurance, in spite of a horrendous record, has been the overwhelming capitalist control of ideological institutions--media, education, and entertainment. Hence, an enduring people centered system, one grounded in the grassroots of society, must emphasize control of such institutions from the very beginning.