• ohulancutash@feddit.uk
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    1 day ago

    There was rampant poverty in the USSR too. As there is in China. They don’t seem too winning in N Korea either.

    • Zombie@feddit.uk
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      1 day ago

      Nice whataboutism there. But as you seem to be under the illusion that these countries are not capitalist (and presumably therefore communist, considering the countries you chose and the usual dogma that comes with them) let’s have a look.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

      First, let’s define communism. Luckily the world wide web has done that already for us.

      Communism (from Latin communis ‘common, universal’)[1][2] is a political and economic ideology whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange that allocates products in society based on need.[3][4][5] A communist society entails the absence of private property and social classes,[1] and ultimately money[6] and the state.[7][8][9]

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism

      The legacy of the USSR remains a controversial topic. The socio-economic nature of communist states such as the USSR, especially under Stalin, has also been much debated, varyingly being labelled a form of bureaucratic collectivism, state capitalism, state socialism, or a totally unique mode of production.[260]

      some leftists regard the USSR as an example of state capitalism

      Maoists also have a mixed opinion on the USSR, viewing it negatively during the Sino-Soviet Split and denouncing it as revisionist and reverted to capitalism.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union#Legacy

      So the USSR was not communist, but rather somewhere between capitalist and its own thing.

      Modern-day China is often described as an example of state capitalism or party-state capitalism.[290][291]

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/China#Economy

      Not communist by any stretch of the imagination.

      North Korea is a totalitarian dictatorship with a comprehensive cult of personality around the Kim family.

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea

      Not communist.

      Capitalism is a shit system for vast swathes of the population and results in poverty, exploitation, and death.

      Is communism the answer? I don’t know, it’s never truly managed to take off anywhere without either being corrupted from within or attacked from without. But capitalism most certainly needs to go in the bin.

      • ohulancutash@feddit.uk
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        9 hours ago

        The Soviet Union was capitalist. Right-o.

        By the way, congratulations on finally getting Wi-Fi on your planet.

        The “Lucy” argument isn’t as compelling as some tankies seem to think. We’ve had plenty of communist regimes. They’re all abominable. No good holding the football out and saying “but this time it’s real communism”. Communism is rancid because people are rancid.

      • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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        1 day ago

        The USSR was socialist. Public ownership was the principle aspect of the economy, and society was run by the working class. It was not yet communist, but it was certainly socialist. The PRC is also an example of socialism, public ownership is also the principle aspect of the economy, same as the DPRK. The extent to which markets play a role varies greatly in these countries, but markets are not synonymous with capitalism, and socialism is not defined by the absence of private property just as capitalism is not defined by the absence of public property.

        I suggest you avoid using wikipedia if you’re trying to get a Marxist perspective on existing socialist states past and present. They aren’t written by Marxists but by anyone, and opinions presented by the authors should not be confused for Marxist analysis. If anything, they have an overwhelmingly liberal bias, and should be aconowledged as such.