Shamelessly stolen from r/MarxismMemes
Want to get your feet wet with Marxism-Leninism? Check out the intro Marxist-Leninist reading list I made.
Shamelessly stolen from r/MarxismMemes
Want to get your feet wet with Marxism-Leninism? Check out the intro Marxist-Leninist reading list I made.
Removed by mod
I know I have a scary .ml handle, but please bear with me, because I genuinely want to understand.
Marxism-Leninism, whatever you think of the vicissitudes of its theoretical claims, has been the form of socialism which has seized power, more than any other.
Otherwise there are maoist insurgencies that dot south Asia, some anarchist projects throughout the world, and Trotskyists haven’t made Revolution anywhere.
If you ask me, those other tendencies are still my comrades, I support their struggles, and their histories are mine as well. But I don’t see them proliferating themselves much further than they already have.
What Socialist experiments would you consider “real”, and how are they more real than ML?
I’m always skeptical of those that claim to be “real” leftists while using anti-communist pejoratives like “tankie.”
Whew, that’s a lot of alts.
Removed by mod
We don’t actually have an issue with the label, just the strawman version of a Red Scare nightmare the label entails. Lots of us call ourselves tankies, but when it’s used as an insult and a caricature to terminate discussion it becomes a problem.
“Tankie” was a pejorative for Marxists that support socialism in real life then as well as now. It originated in the Communist Party of Great Britain. The term was coined because of the British tendency towards silly-sounding insults, and because the Soviet Union sent in the Red Army to stop the western-backed fascist insurrection. This caused a split in the party (as it always does in western orgs).
The Hungarian revolt in 1956 was infested with anti-semitic pograms. MI6 funded, supplied, and trained the Hungarian counter-revolutionaries. These counter-revolutionaries were allied with fascists who were lynching Jewish people and Communists. The Truth About Hungary by Herbert Aptheker heavily relies on citing western sources like the New York Times. Aptheker backs up his claims heavily.
Further, the CIA also backed Hungarian resistance forces:
Prague in 1968 was a similar fascist uprising in both cases there were some elements of progressive protest, but these were greatly overshadowed by the fascist movements. Dubcek wanted to sell out to the IMF, and restore capitalism. The idea that any of this was about “democracy” or “freedom” is silly, it was always about Cold War tactics to destabilize socialism.
TL;DR imagine if the January 6th rioters were armed and trained by foreign governments, started lynching officials and Jewish people, and the US sent in the army to put down the insurrection. The MAGA chuds would claim that it was about “freedom” and “democracy,” but we all know that they just wanted Trump in office.
Nowadays, it’s used by any random anti-communist to refer to anyone that supports socialist states or doesn’t buy into the imperialist narrative about global south countries. It was the ones they call “tankies” that knew the stories of WMD and Saddam’s forces leaving babies outside of incubators were both bullshit to manufacture consent for war, but now that its decades later the anti-communists all suddenly have collective amnesia about their willing participation in spreading the lies of empire to murder hundreds of thousands of people.
I recommend the Prolewiki article on “Tankies,” as well as Nia Frome’s essay “Tankies.” That should give you a more well-rounded view.
We “tankies” absolutely do have real beliefs, I myself made an introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list to help others with theory. By trying to paint the caricature of a “tankie” as this irrational, nonsensical strawman, and call anyone supporting socialism in the real world a “tankie,” you’re terminating discussion and erasing that we communists do have coherent beliefs, and are admitting that you cannot effectively engage with them.
Removed by mod
So you didn’t even bother to read what you’re replying to. The Hungarian civilians in question were bourgeois- & CIA-backed fascist counter-insurgents.
“Tankie bullshit” lol they cited sources for their assertions, you have none, you lose
My comment already debunked this, so I’ll simply restate that you are defending literal Nazis jailed during and after World War II, and those who enabled them, simply because they opposed socialism.
False. The USSR was the first consolidated, multinational socialist state in history. Marxism was studied in the Academy of Sciences, the works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and other Marxists were pondered and debated, studied and practiced. Public ownership was the principle aspect of the economy, production was oriented around satisfying the needs of the people, and the working classes were in charge of the state. Syzmanski’s Is the Red Flag Flying? is a fantastic overview of the soviet union’s political economy.
The USSR was socialist, as I already stated, public ownership was the principle aspect of the economy, production was oriented around satisfying the needs of the people, and the working classes were in charge of the state. State capitalism refers to countries where private ownership is the principle aspect and the bourgeoisie in charge of the state, like Singapore, the Republic of Korea, and the US Empire. The USSR was not imperialist either, it was not dominated by a financial oligarchy nor did it have any colonies or neo-colonies to extract from. It was a multi-national federation.
This is what anti-communists always do. They simply equate socialism with capitalism and imperialism at a rhetorical level, without backing up anything they have to say to support this. The fact is, socialism in real life brought dramatic improvements in the lives of the working classes. In Russia alone, life expectancies doubled, literacy rates multiplied by 3-5 times to full literacy, the economy and state were democratized, real wages dramatically rose while working hours fell, equality of the sexes rose dramatically, and for the first time in history a country went from a semi-feudal backwater to space in the span of half a century. Anti-communists like yourself cannot grapple with reality, and so must restrain yourselves to arguments purely in the ideal realm.
I will not call putting down a fascist counter-revolution “victim blaming.” The Nazis were evil, and lynching Jews and communists is evil. You cannot go on and on about “suppression and oppression of Jewish people under the USSR, especially under Stalin” because the USSR was vehemontly against anti-semitism, punishing anti-semitism with up to the death penalty. Nazis even spread lies about “Judeo-Bolshevism” because of the USSR’s opposition to anti-semitism. I’m posting modern analysis that is consensus among communists in the modern day, while you’ve provided nothing but your word.
No, it isn’t, because Israal is a fascist settler-colony committing genocide on Palestinians while the Hungarian counter-revolution was a western-backed pro-fascist movement.
Except when it refers to something else entirely, which Lenin did, to my frustration.
Yep, they also called themselves social democrats. State capitalism is such a loaded term that it’s better to identify it by its class character.
I love how ‘people I disagree with’ becomes ‘people without principles’
While a lot of libertarians end up being conservatives that want to be cool, I’ve met quite a few who believe strongly in the fundamental principles.
I disagree with them precisely because they are principled. I don’t feel the need to deny them their capabilities of believing something.
Is this just you being unable to imagine people who legitimately disagree with you?
Removed by mod
Wrong on all counts. The people in the PRC, Cuba, Vietnam, DPRK, Laos, Venezuela, Nicaragua, or even Belarus, etc. would all be thrown far backward if they dissolved their socialist (or quasi-socialist for Belarus) systems, opening themselves up to imperialist plunder.
You are clearly not capable of objectivity
…but the people who coined the word Tankie were also MLs
Only secret conservatives use the term tankies and punch left though, like your comment
Removed by mod
“Tankie” is just a pejorative for those that support socialism in the real world. recommend the Prolewiki article on “Tankies,” as well as Nia Frome’s essay “Tankies.” Stalin was a committed Marxist-Leninist, not a fascist, and this is clear to anyone that actually attempts to understand the political economy of the soviet union and the theoretical basis of Marxism. Stalin wasn’t a saint either, most orgs put him at 70/30 good/bad, so “adoration” isn’t the correct term.
We “tankies” do have a solid and grounded understanding of communism and fascism, I even created an introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list to help others learn theory as well. Communism is entirely different from fascism, in that communists support the working class using the state to oppress fascists, capitalists, and landlords for the good of the working classes, while fascists use the state to entrench bourgeois rule and crush worker organizing. The soviet union was unquestionably socialist in structure.
Cowbee my sourced savior 🙂↕️
Thanks comrade 🫡
Removed by mod
Marxism-Leninism is the synthesis of Marxism with Lenin’s revolutionary advancements on Marxism, chiefly his analysis of imperialism and organizational theory. It’s very well-understood.
It’s Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, and it’s still dominated by the proletariat. Public ownership is the principle aspect of China’s economy, and capitalists are held on a tight leash to focus on developing the productive forces. The large firms and key industries in China are publicly owned, it’s only the small and medium firms that are private.
I’ve explained how the working class is in control of the state, you don’t have to trust the government, you can trust the people themselves. The form of democracy and the mode of production in China ensures that there is a connection between the people and the state. Policies like the mass line are in place to ensure this direct connection remains. This is why over 90% of the Chinese population supports the government, and why they have such strong perceptions around democracy:
China does have billionaires, yes. China is in the developing stages of socialism. Between capitalism, which is characterized by private ownership being the principle aspect of the economy and the capitalists in control of the state, and communism, characterized by full collectivization of production and distribution devoid of classes, is socialism, where public ownership is principle and the working classes in control. China in particular is working its way out of the initial stages of socialism:
The reason China has billionaires is because China has private property, and the reason it has private property is because of 2 major factors: the world economy is still dominated by the US empire, and because you cannot simply abolish private property at the stroke of a pen. China tried that already. The Gang of Four tried to dogmatically force a publicly owned and planned economy when the infrastructure best suited to that hadn’t been laid out by markets, and as a consequence growth was positive but highly unstable.
Why does it matter that the US Empire controls the world economy? Because as capitalism monopolizes, it is compelled to expand outward in order to fight falling rates of profit by raising absolute profits. The merging of bank and industrial capital into finance capital leads to export of capital, ie outsourcing. This process allows super-exploitation for super-profits, and is known as imperialism.
In the People’s Republic of China, under Mao and later the Gang of Four, growth was overall positive but was unstable. The centrally planned economy had brought great benefits in many areas, but because the productive forces themselves were underdeveloped, economic growth wasn’t steady. There began to be discussion and division in the party, until Deng Xiapoing’s faction pushing for Reform and Opening Up won out, and growth was stabilized:
Deng’s plan was to introduce market reforms, localized around Special Economic Zones, while maintaining full control over the principle aspects of the economy. Limited private capital would be introduced, especially by luring in foreign investors, such as the US, pivoting from more isolationist positions into one fully immersed in the global marketplace. As the small and medium firms grow into large firms, the state exerts more control and subsumes them more into the public sector. This was a gamble, but unlike what happened to the USSR, this was done in a controlled manner that ended up not undermining the socialist system overall.
China’s rapidly improving productive forces and cheap labor ended up being an irresistable match for US financial capital, even though the CPC maintained full sovereignty. This is in stark contrast to how the global north traditionally acts imperialistically, because it relies on financial and millitant dominance of the global south. This is why there is a “love/hate” relationship between the US Empire and PRC, the US wants more freedom for capital movement while the CPC is maintaining dominance.
Fast-forward to today, and the benefits of the CPC’s gamble are paying off. The US Empire is de-industrializing, while China is a productive super-power. The CPC has managed to maintain full control, and while there are neoliberals in China pushing for more liberalization now, the path to exerting more socialization is also open, and the economy is still socialist. It is the job of the CPC to continue building up the productive forces, while gradually winning back more of the benefits the working class enjoyed under the previous era, developing to higher and higher stages of socialism.
In doing this, China has presented itself to the global south as an alternative to the unequal exchange the global north does with the global south, which is accelerating the development of the global south. China is taking a more indirect method of undermining global imperialism than, say, the USSR, but its been remarkably effective at uplifting the global working classes, especially in China but also in the global south.
For further reading:
Qiao Collective’s Introductory Socialism with Chinese Characteristics Study Guide
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics ProleWiki page
Socialist Market Economy ProleWiki Page
People’s Republic of China ProleWiki Page
More rhetorical gibberish from yourself, you pull the “tankie” thought termination card to excuse yourself from engaging in discussion.
I have. Are you trying to make this a reading competiton? Not that this would prove anything, but I’ve read at least the following from Marx alone:
Not to mention various small other bits here and there, or the works of Engels, Lenin, and other Marxists I’ve read. Your argument that I haven’t done the reading doesn’t work, I’ve clearly done so, which is why your thought-terminating argument doesn’t work.
Marx was a revolutionary, and supported socialist democracy. From Marx:
Revolution is necessary to fully transform society into a socialist one.
More gibberish. Marxist-Leninists love democracy for the working classes, you should read Soviet Democracy and This Soviet World. The soviets had a well-developed system of socialist democracy.
You have no points, only posturing and rhetoric. Fascism and socialism are entirely incompatible and have historically served opposed classes, Blackshirts and Reds is an excellent overview of this.
You’re losing