this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
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MeanwhileOnGrad

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Hoo boy.

The point being raised, I believe, is that 'communist' countries are generally as 'communist' as they are 'the people's' or 'democratic' - it bears little resemblance to the 19th century theories which spawned the term and which are still in use amongst socialist thinkers today.

[–] SuddenlyBlowGreen 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

So you're saying there's no actual communist countries, and this whole this is just theoretical?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

I mean, countries controlled by communist parties themselves would say that. Communist parties generally claim to run a socialist worker's state which will lead to communism.

In reality, it's just a power grab, with little to do with the workers.

There have been socialist polities in the past 100 years, genuinely socialist. None without their faults, but certainly not the totalitarian farce that people think of when they think of communism.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

there's no actual communist countries

Correct.

[–] SuddenlyBlowGreen 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Man, that's really convenient.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There's also no direct democracies either, so what?

[–] SuddenlyBlowGreen -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Did I say there were?

You're arguing against something I never even said 🤣

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'm asking what your point is, or are you incapable of reading more than 6 words in a reply?

[–] SuddenlyBlowGreen 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My point is:

"Shit like this is why I don't get (some of) the LGBTQ community's fascination with communism and tankies.

They have proven themselves just as anti-LGBTQ as the fascists."

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Okay, and what does that have to do with fact China and the USSR aren't/weren't communist being convenient?

[–] SuddenlyBlowGreen 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I just think it's convenient that communism gets to live in this little "no true scotsman/communism" bubble where if a state adopts communism and fails, it immedietly gets labeled as "not a real communist" state.

That way, instead of looking if there's something wrong with communism itself, it can get written off as the fault of the state attempting it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's not really convenient. It's that communism is an ideal that's literally impossible for large groups of humans to obtain.

There has never been a communist state because there can't be with people involved.

[–] SuddenlyBlowGreen 2 points 1 year ago

It's that communism is an ideal that's literally impossible for large groups of humans to obtain.

Bingo!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

state adopts communism

But no state has actually adopted communism. Communism as a basis of an economy requires communal ownership of all goods; not state ownership, but communal. Which country has ever done that?

[–] SuddenlyBlowGreen 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Okay, so when a country tries to adopt communism, if that makes you happy.

You're proving my point though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

None of them even tried to adopt communism, they all tried to adopt authoritarianism, using the word communism to garner support to get elected. Communism is a class-free society with communal ownership, no country has ever tried to be that.

[–] SuddenlyBlowGreen 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Again, thanks for proving my point for me.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have no idea what point you're trying to make, but you do you.

[–] SuddenlyBlowGreen 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm not surprised.

Have a great day!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

No, you're point is just shit.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The state can also control everything. In which case, China, Vietnam and Cuba.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's authoritarianism, not communism.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Which can coincide with communism, see China.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No it cannot, that's not communism. China is as communist as North Korea is democratic. Just because a country calls itself something does not make it that thing.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Countries can have multiple different systems in place. China for example, is an authoritarian communist state.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Communism by definition cannot be authoritarian. So no, China is not an authoritarian communist state, it's just a an authoritarian state.

The only way for China to be communist is to give all people direct communal ownership of goods and services.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Communism can be authoritarian, though, as it has been in history.

What's your basis for this definition?

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No it cannot because communism by definition must be a classless society. If there is a group above others that controls the state, it is no longer classless, and therefore not communist.

And you know, the name derives from communal, so no communal ownership = no communism.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Again, what's your basis for this definition?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Generally speaking Marxists and those operating on schools of thought derived or related to Marxism use Marx's original definition of 'Communism' as the end goal of a stateless society, with a socialist state as the necessary intermediate point. This unfortunately gets muddled when people say "I'm a Communist" (meaning I'm forming a socialist state to ACHIEVE communism) and just end up forming a socialist (or 'socialist') state.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I just told you.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I recon the Neozapatista communes in Chiapas come pretty close. Historically, Revolutionary Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War, the Makhnovshina during the Russian Civil War, and a couple others also came very close to the definition of communism, although all of them, because they still had to interact with the outside economy, continued to use some form of money.

In the case of the aforementioned historic governments, they met their demise because they relied too heavily on an alliance with tankies, who then proceeded to shoot them in the back. The Neozapatistas did not ally with any authoritarian groups, which is why the sprung up in 1994 in the form of MAREZ and still exist today in the form of GALs.

[–] Aux -3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No, these countries have implemented 19th century theories extremely accurately. After all, Marx manifesto is openly calling for violence and genocide and Marx was also a big fan of Taiping Rebellion which resulted in more than 20 million deaths. I bet he was dreaming about the same destiny for Europe.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Aux -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What do you mean? These are the facts. How can they not be true? Are you a lunatic?