• JamesConeZone [they/them]@hexbear.net
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    1 year ago

    How do you differentiate yourself from them as a socialist? What is your theory of power and how it relates to authority, revolutions, and the working class that causes you to make this separation between supporting non-western communist countries and not?

    • Alterecho@midwest.social
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      1 year ago

      I’m sorry, maybe I’m misunderstanding here. I think the delineation between authoritarian regimes and non-authoritarian governments is pretty clear - are you implying that all socialist and communist influenced governments are necessarily authoritarian?

      • JamesConeZone [they/them]@hexbear.net
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        1 year ago

        No, I’m suggesting that authoritarian is a meaningless term unless defined specifically and was asking what theories of power and authority they had for making the delineation they are.

        The derogatory term authoritarian is always leveled at socialist or communist countries, and never capitalist ones even though capitalist countries restrict rights for the majority of their populations by the very nature of the inherent power structure in capitalism. Even though communist countries usually enjoy far more decentralised authority, better voting rights, and higher political involvement in the populace, they are labeled as “authoritarian,” the implication being that they need “freedom” aka capitalism

        • PvtGetSum@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          What? The term authoritarian is thrown at non-communist/capitalist nations all the time. Syria, Nazi Germany, Libya, Franco’s Spain, Modern Russia, and a million other instances. Authoritarian is a clearly defined term and is in no way exclusively applied to communist nations in almost any circles. It also happens to have been applied to most “communist” countries because most of them have been authoritarian

          • JamesConeZone [they/them]@hexbear.net
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            1 year ago

            Notice you didn’t name the United States which is just as authoritarian as modern Russia by any definition we choose (voting rights? participation in political process? allowed dissent? access to clean water? basic access to healthcare? food desserts? policies meant to keep people in poverty?). That’s my point. It’s an ethereal term unless properly defined.

            We’ll have to set Libya aside since after given “freedom,” there are now literal slave traders everywhere.

            • PvtGetSum@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              I don’t particularly care as that wasn’t my point. My point was to disagree with your comment prior which stated that authoritarian as a term was mainly used as a truncheon against communist nations in order to increase support for capitalism, which it isn’t.

              • UnicodeHamSic [he/him]@hexbear.net
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                1 year ago

                Yeah, but you doing that is unhelpful. It is confusing people because that is not a reasonable place to find criticism with the argument. Too much precision is not helpful in arguments and the CIA literally ran propaganda programs to get people to try to bog down any discussion of communism with meaningless minutiae. So, do better or something.

                • PvtGetSum@lemm.ee
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                  1 year ago

                  It is helpful because it’s not about having too much precision, he made a bullshit argument and I found it ridiculous.

                  • UnicodeHamSic [he/him]@hexbear.net
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                    1 year ago

                    Look at the replies? Was it really helpful? No. I am glad you found it emotionally validating but that is not reason enough do to all that.