164
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2024
164 points (97.1% liked)
politics
19089 readers
2200 users here now
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
The only danger I see in communism is that no matter how benevolent it starts, communism will always (eventually) become a dictatorship. If we could somehow take human greed out of the equation, communism could be really nice for everyone. As long as humans are in charge, communism will suck for nearly everyone.
From my understanding, one of the aspects to creating a communist nation is to create a dictatorship in order to throw out the existing political system before then rightfully ceding power to the proletariat. That last step never actually happens in reality, however.
One of the challenges in Leftist philosophy is “What is the road from here to there.”
Lenin argued that the only feasible way to attain the desired leftist ends was via rightist means. Lenin learned the hard way that this simply cannot work, because once you’ve consolidated power like that, it doesn’t take much - a small group or just one ambitious person (like Stalin) - to seize and keep power.
Any leftist ends must be gained by leftist means; with popular support, and without allowing wealth or power to ever become further concentrated.
I can see that working when creating a new state, but is that feasible to transition towards when there are already existing power structures? Powerful groups like to hold on to and grow their power, and they're not likely to give it up voluntarily.
It seems like an insurmountably difficult situation no matter how you approach it, unfortunately.
Why? Can you provide an accurate definition of communism, and a theory as to why you think it cannot be done without becoming a dictatorship? Can you provide an accurate definition of capitalism, and why you think it is more free?