Even from people that never lived in a communist state

  • geissi@feddit.de
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    6 months ago

    A country […] under a revolutionary socialist government is still communist

    I would argue that in a world where the terms are not synonymous, socialist countries are in fact socialist, not communist.

    at least in so far as its following the roadmap

    Following a roadmap to some target literally means that you have not yet achieved that target.
    The argument is not that their are no communists, the argument is that they have not established actual communism, therefore the states they govern are not communist states.
    Whether or not they want to establish communism does not factor into it.

    To claim otherwise would be akin to claiming that a company on a roadmap to profitability is already profitable, while actually still losing money.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      socialist countries are in fact socialist, not communist

      Countries that reform their private sectors in order to adopt socialist policies are pursuing communism.

      Countries that reform their socialist sectors in order to adopt privatization policies are not pursuing communism.

      Following a roadmap to some target literally means that you have not yet achieved that target.

      Right. You are implementing a policy that pursues a target.

      Whether or not they want to establish communism does not factor into it.

      “Mao wasn’t a communist in 1953 because his country hadn’t completed its first five year plan yet” is one hell of a claim.

      To claim otherwise would be akin to claiming that a company on a roadmap to profitability is already profitable

      It would be nutso to say Caryle Group isn’t interested in investing in profitable companies.

      And yet the entire strategy of growth investing is to identify companies with strong roadmaps and lend to them at higher return rates.

      So your analogy works, but not for the reason you’d expected.

      • geissi@feddit.de
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        6 months ago

        “Mao wasn’t a communist in 1953 because his country hadn’t completed its first five year plan yet” is one hell of a claim.

        One hell of a straw man, you mean.
        At what point have I denied that people are communists?
        Mao may be a communist and follow a philosophy called communism but China has not established a social order called communism as envisioned by communists.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          At what point have I denied that people are communists?

          socialist countries are in fact socialist, not communist

          Countries -> Large collections of People

          Not communist -> denying that these large collections of people are communist

          Mao may be a communist and follow a philosophy called communism but China has not established a social order called communism as envisioned by communists.

          Uh huh.