The people before us weren’t perfect. Their mistakes are blueprints to learn from and build a better world

  • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
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    2 days ago

    The first part is unquestionably true, revolution is the exertion of the authority of one class upon the rest. The latter parts are entirely wrong, or misguided.

    Socialist countries put the working classes in charge. The goals are not lost, it’s that the goal of a working class state is the same as the general class goal of the working classes, the collectivization of production and distribution. This goal is not lost whatsoever, but it does require protecting against opportunists, as well as the former ruling classes, as they still exist and cannot disappear overnight.

    The Nordics on the other hand are imperialist countries. They bribe their working classes with the spoils of exploiting the global south. This kind of class collaboration is why social democracy is often called social fascism by critics, as it’s collaboration and agreement to perpetuate imperialism in order to have cushy safety nets. Without imperialism, the Nordics would need to turn socialist in order to retain their safety nets.

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

        It’s not “intellectually inaccurate,” it’s the Marxist understanding of class. The vanguard do not form a second class, they are of the proletariat (and peasantry, if applicable). Administration is not a class, but a type of labor that is necessary for production and distribution. The leaders of the Cuban, Korean, Russian, Chinese, etc. were proletarian intellectuals. Intellectuals are not a class of their own, they are a subcategory of every class, and the job of the political party is to create intellectuals and bring that class up to the level of the intellectuals in terms of thought.

        Further, the masses are not stupid. Blaming individuals for systemic exploitation is extremely classist. The idea that there is no wisdom in the people, and that they instead are helpless to fall for whoever speaks to them most convincingly is absurd and ahistorical. Political parties do not command the people, the people command the parties, and the parties are there to guide the people. All legitimacy for the vanguard comes from its direct connection with the masses.