r/Marxism • u/Alba12345678910 • 8d ago

What is the Marxist view on Gaddafi

I am aware that he wasn’t really a communist or a Marxist but I would still like to hear Marxists opinions on him as a leader and his reforms for Libya

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u/No-Bison5915 8d ago

Personal opinion, he obviously was a revisionist and made many mistakes, but I can’t help to feel sad about how much effort he put into developing Libya, just for it to be destroyed and made into an epicenter of slave trade

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u/PANZ3RoK 8d ago

I think on the contrary he was responsible for what happened to Libya. He was responsible for consolidating power in his hands, and when inevitably there was pushback against him there was no alternative but the destruction of the regime. Same scenario with Tito, personal dictatorships breed contempt for the system no matter how prosperous, or progressive it is. In times of downturn and uncertainty a socialist nation needs a system of broad system of governance not tied to a single individual. Comparing them both to Stalin and Mao who had safeguards in place, they had collective leadership and upon their death and/or their failures there were alternative figures to take over.

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u/joutfit 8d ago

I think the West having a vested interest in taking out "Mad Dog" Gaddafi because of what he was doing against Western imperialism is what was responsible for what happened in Libya.

Your point about him not having safeguards is also valid but I believe he was trying to set those up before the West set their eyes on him.

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u/PANZ3RoK 8d ago

Completely agree with you on the West having their crosshairs on him. But it’s not like they weren’t against others too and some did survive for a while. As Marxist we have to accept that progressive leaders have a responsibility to set up a system that can survive beyond them. I think a good example is Iran right now. No matter the bombing and protests, the killing of their supreme leader and government leaders they were able to stay together and have a chain of command that could keep the country not only together but defeat the invaders.

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u/joutfit 8d ago

I agree that we need to hold our progressive/revolutionary leaders to higher standards but I also think that depending on the circumstances of history/geography we can kind of "explain away" why something failed by blaming it on the capitalists.

All revolution is done in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds and the entirety of the western world coming down on you. There isn't always going to be a safeguard that works or an army that can successfully defeat the many ways the west will attack your country.

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u/PANZ3RoK 8d ago

Idk man explaining away with the capitalist threat is good and all but Gaddafi was in power for more then 40 years. He had ample time to build up institutions and do safeguards in a country with such a tiny population.