The ones called “tankies” don’t believe Stalin never made mistakes or did nothing wrong. We uphold current and formerly existing socialism, such as the USSR, as genuinely progressive movements, and leaders like Stalin as socialist leaders.
Comparing Trump to Stalin is funny, actually, because no matter the mistakes and errors Stalin made over his decades as the leader of the soviet union, he was never a genocidal imperialist. Looking at what the US Empire, helmed presently by Trump, is doing in Palestine, Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, and the entire global south, it’s obvious that Trump is far more of a negative impact on the world.
Of course, Stalin made mistakes, and committed errors, but as the leader of the soviet union helped facilitate doubling of life expectancies, tripling of literacy rates, huge scientific and industrial advancement, free education and healthcare at an expanded access, and more. The soviet union was dramatically better for the workers and peasants than Tsarism, and was better than modern-day capitalism.
Equating the soviet achievements and mistakes entirely to Stalin is also more of a liberal, “great man” critique. Stalin was a leader, yes, but the tremendous gains made by socialism were built by billions of workers and peasants. So too were mistakes and struggles run into along the way. Trying to blame all of the failings of socialism on Stalin, Mao, Castro, etc. is to also place all of their successes on their shoulders. Both are equally wrong frames of analysis.
So yes, “tankies” are just those that uphold existing socialism, not your strawman.
As this is a cultural artifact I’m sure there are many ways of interpreting it, but I thought tankies were the people who think it’s right to suppress imperial-backed anti-democratic coups by any means necessary, and that it originated from the events of the Hungarian Revolution.
I also think Marx could have gone a little harder, I’m just not going to pretend that the few states that pretended to try communism didn’t also do horrible shit.
Denouncing all existing socialism, present and historical, doesn’t meaningfully put you to the left of western liberalism unless you’re actively building socialism in another way.
I also think Marx could have gone a little harder
In what way?
I’m just not going to pretend that the few states that pretended to try communism didn’t also do horrible shit.
No communist party over a socialist state has claimed to have reached communism, nor do so-called “tankies” deny that there are struggles, flaws, and problems run into by existing socialism. These flaws come from existing in reality, and to use the ideal version of socialism, perfect, free from any blemish or struggle, as a club against existing socialism is a deeply western tendency.
It stems from the historic failures of western communists to actually succeed in revolution, coupled with the chauvanism culturally instilled in us westerners that tells us that nobody can be better than us, no matter how bad we are.
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The ones called “tankies” don’t believe Stalin never made mistakes or did nothing wrong. We uphold current and formerly existing socialism, such as the USSR, as genuinely progressive movements, and leaders like Stalin as socialist leaders.
Comparing Trump to Stalin is funny, actually, because no matter the mistakes and errors Stalin made over his decades as the leader of the soviet union, he was never a genocidal imperialist. Looking at what the US Empire, helmed presently by Trump, is doing in Palestine, Venezuela, Iran, Greenland, and the entire global south, it’s obvious that Trump is far more of a negative impact on the world.
Of course, Stalin made mistakes, and committed errors, but as the leader of the soviet union helped facilitate doubling of life expectancies, tripling of literacy rates, huge scientific and industrial advancement, free education and healthcare at an expanded access, and more. The soviet union was dramatically better for the workers and peasants than Tsarism, and was better than modern-day capitalism.
Equating the soviet achievements and mistakes entirely to Stalin is also more of a liberal, “great man” critique. Stalin was a leader, yes, but the tremendous gains made by socialism were built by billions of workers and peasants. So too were mistakes and struggles run into along the way. Trying to blame all of the failings of socialism on Stalin, Mao, Castro, etc. is to also place all of their successes on their shoulders. Both are equally wrong frames of analysis.
So yes, “tankies” are just those that uphold existing socialism, not your strawman.
As this is a cultural artifact I’m sure there are many ways of interpreting it, but I thought tankies were the people who think it’s right to suppress imperial-backed anti-democratic coups by any means necessary, and that it originated from the events of the Hungarian Revolution.
Yep, I wrote about that more in-depth here. What I’m talking about is the modern usage of the term, especially here on Lemmy.
It’s a pejorative for anyone to the left of the western liberal using it.
That is incorrect.
I’ve yet to be called a tankie.
I also think Marx could have gone a little harder, I’m just not going to pretend that the few states that pretended to try communism didn’t also do horrible shit.
Denouncing all existing socialism, present and historical, doesn’t meaningfully put you to the left of western liberalism unless you’re actively building socialism in another way.
In what way?
No communist party over a socialist state has claimed to have reached communism, nor do so-called “tankies” deny that there are struggles, flaws, and problems run into by existing socialism. These flaws come from existing in reality, and to use the ideal version of socialism, perfect, free from any blemish or struggle, as a club against existing socialism is a deeply western tendency.
It stems from the historic failures of western communists to actually succeed in revolution, coupled with the chauvanism culturally instilled in us westerners that tells us that nobody can be better than us, no matter how bad we are.
When did they claim this?