Whither Communism?

"The greatest achievement of communism may well turn out to have been not the creation of an alternative and more desirable system contrasted to capitalism, but its contribution to the modernisation of capitalism itself. No account of the spread of the suffrage, the rise of the welfare state, the end of colonialism, or the economic booms of Europe and east Asia after 1945 could omit the catalytic role which, combined with pressure from within, the communist challenge from without played. Communism was not just a utopian project: it was a dramatic response to the inequalities and conflicts generated by capitalist modernity. The continuation of many of these same inequalities and conflicts today suggests that further challenges, of an as yet indeterminate nature, will result." I disagree with several points and sections: he was too harsh on communism and he too casually conflates Leninism (and even Stalinism) with Marxism. I know that Anarchists--not that Halliday is one--traditionally advocated that but I am less inclined these days because the argument is now used to discredit and undermine all leftist actions and discourses.