“Authoritarian” is a meaningless word, usually attributed to those who support proletarian states against landlords and capitalists. The “Marxists” that call other Marxists “tankies” tend to be the extremely western chauvanistic types that wish to endlessly critique society, not change it.
To clarify, the overwhelming majority of Marxists support AES overall, except the very western, chauvanistic types that wish to endlessly critique society, not change it.
“Actually Existing Socialism,” countries like the PRC, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, DPRK, and former USSR. Countries that have shifted to a mode of production where the large and key industries are publicly owned, rather than privately owned. The vast majority of Marxists worldwide support these countries, to varying degrees and of course with nuances. The ones who claim the title “Marxist” yet condemn them and those who support them as “tankies” are the chauvanistic western type devoid of meaningful practice.
I’ve seen Marxists use the word too. It usually refers to authoritarian communists.
“Authoritarian” is a meaningless word, usually attributed to those who support proletarian states against landlords and capitalists. The “Marxists” that call other Marxists “tankies” tend to be the extremely western chauvanistic types that wish to endlessly critique society, not change it.
To clarify, I was referring specifically to Russia, China, and North Korea.
To clarify, the overwhelming majority of Marxists support AES overall, except the very western, chauvanistic types that wish to endlessly critique society, not change it.
What does AES mean in this context?
“Actually Existing Socialism,” countries like the PRC, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, DPRK, and former USSR. Countries that have shifted to a mode of production where the large and key industries are publicly owned, rather than privately owned. The vast majority of Marxists worldwide support these countries, to varying degrees and of course with nuances. The ones who claim the title “Marxist” yet condemn them and those who support them as “tankies” are the chauvanistic western type devoid of meaningful practice.