this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2025
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Socialism

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#Welcome to /c/socialism

Socialism as a political system is defined by democratic and social control of the means of production by the workers for the good of the community rather than capitalist profit, based fundamentally on the abolition of private property relations.

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Socialism, as a movement, confronts these different systems of oppression as mutually conditioning, intersectional, and/or dialectically related within the current hegemonic order. It seeks to overcome oppression in a holistic manner without neglecting any particular axis so that it might be eliminated and genuine social emancipation may be realized. We recognize that Socialism cannot be achieved while structural oppression continues and workers are divided.

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Challenging the purists: the Marxist debate over China’s path (socialistchina.org)
submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

By only focusing on theoretical ideals, critics overlook and often fail to consider the dialectical nature of Socialism, which cannot be reduced to static definitions; but rather, its relevance and survival depend on its ability to reform and adapt.

This is pretty much why i don't consider ultras as marxist, they lack the fundamental philosophical framework of marxism and rather than developing it, they take Marxist writings as ghospel.

Benjamin saw that this exact separation created a ‘terrible social isolation’ of the ‘NEP man,’ as their wealth did not translate into political influence.

This analysis is pretty spot on, Jack Ma instantly comes to mind.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago

exactly

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago

Domenico Losurdo’s understanding of the NEP is consistent with that of the prominent German philosopher Walter Benjamin. During his 1927 visit to Moscow, Benjamin noted that the NEP created a separation between economic wealth and political power, with the Soviet state maintaining full political control while still allowing private economic activity. Benjamin saw that this exact separation created a ‘terrible social isolation’ of the ‘NEP man,’ as their wealth did not translate into political influence. Losurdo uses Benjamin’s insight to argue that although market reforms were introduced it did not bring back the capitalist system, as the Communist Party still held on to power.

Missing this is the key to the fundamental misunderstanding of the China-critical supposed Communists. The US and its vassals have always been ruled by their wealthy elites, more clearly since the 80s and almost explicitly since around '08. Elections take place as the supposed expression of people's will, yet the successors fundamentally keep to the policies of their predecessors. In fact, this is a topic of joke among the populace, even as they keep calling their systems off governance democracies. Indeed, the main criticism a westerner can lob at China or other proletarian states is merely a revelation of their warped priorities, holding up their rubber stamp powers as true authority while ignoring all the means with which the governments China, Cuba, Vietnam, DPR Korea interact with, listen to and are held to account by their people.

Truly, it takes ignorance of the realities of the PRC and of theory to claim the CPC does anything short of upholding Marxism-Leninism.