The big kicker for db0 is that they consider planned economy to be “state capitalism” as well, which makes the very real differences between socialist market economies like China and Vietnam with more planned economies like the DPRK into nothing at all. These are all socialist systems, but even calling the PRC “state capitalist” and calling the USSR/DPRK “planned economy” would still be more useful than designating anything with a state that’s doing socialism as “state capitalism” (which, unless db0 has changed, is what they do).

I blame @edie@lemmy.encryptionin.space for getting ATAS! stuck in my head

Disappointing that db0 still behaves this way towards socialism, despite the overwhelming amount of evidence backing the liberatory nature of socialism, the horrendous backslide after its dissolution, and an absurd insistence that all socialism is somehow state capitalism.

Lemmy.ml trenches too unserious lately

.world is federated with .ml and dbzer0.

That’s the “Leninist” that always seems to hang around MeanwhileOnGrad. I’ve been hoping they’d continue their growth as they used to be anti-Marx and anti-Lenin, but it seems they are still stuck in western Marxism.

Yep, I agree, and thanks for the kind words! I still do it because people still get positive outcomes from it, even if MeanwhileOnGrad seems to focus on me a lot these days.

Purely off vibes, there are a few Makhno-heads that will pull that card, but the majority of the time it seems like it’s used more as a “gotcha” than anything.

Piefed is a very serious project.

Yep, it’s a bit bewildering, and it helps us understand what those actually building socialism in real life have gone through, the sheer depth of disinformation and slander. It really puts to rest the notion that simply arguing about the facts will magically let the truth win in the marketplace of ideas, this is a dirty struggle fought with class interests at heart.

Yea it really is silly. If they oppose me so strongly, why not directly reply instead of running away and stalking my account? Mind you, Rimu accused me of being part of a group organizing harassment of them.

I think I’ve just built up an immunity over time, though the last 2 days have certainly been more active.

I just followed an AB rest AB rest rest dumbell only routine. Takes ~30-45 minutes each morning, but works well!

Oh man Cowbee is one of those copy paste robots with dozens of alts. One message to them means you’re dogpiled.

Nah, I’m just a better poster. The only 3 accounts I have are all named Cowbee, and only on .ml, grad, and bear. Not a not either, guess dehumanization isn’t a bannable offense there.

Bonus: a certain history major calls Nazis “democratic socialists,” and seems to still be stalking my accounts even after getting Rimu to ban me so they wouldn’t see my comments anymore. Pretty silly behavior, very terminally online.

I’m shocked /s

No problem, thank you!

Mega mega mega THREAD

Yep, thanks! Parenti is a great way to dip your toes into “maybe the USSR wasn’t so bad after all,” but as far as history goes he’s actually more negative on it than modern historiography, based on the opening of the Soviet archives and primary sources. Parenti is an excellent writer, and is more of a “pro-Marxist” than a Marxist, if that makes sense.

Modern critique of the Soviet Union largely comes from China and other socialist countries that had to grapple with the loss of such a giant. Roland Boer’s work Socialism in Power: On the Theory and History of Socialist Governance is another great one that shows some of the problems run into by the Soviets, despite what they managed to accomplish, along with bits on the DPRK and PRC.

Albert Syzmanski’s books on economics and human rights are good, they give a good overview of what the Soviet Union was actually like, same with Anna Louise Strong’s works. I’m not aware of any work by Marxists that focuses on problems without contextualizing them, and it must be said that Parenti wrote this in the aftermath of the dissolution, causing some skepticism towards the entire project even if he upheld it.

Thanks so much! I have skimmed and used the various books made in epub format by comrade @edie@lemmy.encryptionin.space over on Comrade’s Library! I also have read the part of Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend hosted on Red Sails, and skimmed a lot of the rest, and found it fantastic at countering bourgeois mythos.