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

        My point isn’t “socialism in real life is bad, but was only forced that way because of imperialists.” My point is that I support socialism, including the development of state power required to protect socialism from sabateurs and imperialists, knowing that no implementation of state power has ever been free of sin. I acknowledge the necessity of protecting socialism, and the immense gains made by these systems for their working classes.

        The fact of the matter is that imperialist countries do exist, and any socialist country must therefore develop means to protect itself. This is an internally driven necessity from solving the contradiction between imperialist and subjugated countries. It isn’t something imposed from the outside, but the inside reacting to conditions it is in.

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

            No? It seems like you’re deliberately refusing to see the point. Socialism is good and defending itself is necessary. You’re taking a mechanistic approach.

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

                Your point was that socialist states that protect themselves aren’t “proper,” and are posturing as though they are terror regimes.

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

                    This community likes to remind everyone that no communist country was allowed to just be communists in peace. So there was no “proper” communist country.

                    This was your claim. The harm is a result of building communism, the internal necessity of protecting socialism is an internal reaction to opposed forces. You’re erasing dialectical materialism. We do not live in a world without imperialism, or reactionary forces. This doesn’t mean building up socialism wouldn’t be nicer if imperialist countries didn’t exist to sabotage them, but at the same time we must recognize that these problems are universal to building socialism and not merely the products of external circumstance. This is “proper” socialism, warts and all, that gradually resolves its contradictions and works towards the development of communism.