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I'm not feeling rage or hysteria, but I find a number of issues with this "test" that could easily cause frustration with anyone who has major criticisms of capitalism. My response is long not because of some irrational anger, but because things are complex and nuanced.
You consider yourself to be "fairly progressive"? I'm going to give you an analogy. It's not great, but it hits on a few major issues relevant to your "test". Imagine a MAGA fan asked you in 2026 to "name a thriving woke government agency" or "a government agency that still advocates for DEI" to make a point about your ideals. How does that sound to you?
First, you'd like argue that the term "woke" and "DEI" means different things to different people. That the term has been transformed into some deranged negatively charged approximation used as almost a slur colloquially. The same is true for "communist/ism" and "socialist/ism". The current US "powers that be" have taken ownership of terms originally used by progressives. Woke was an "eyes open" state of awareness of the systemic racism baked into society. Now it is often considered "naively believing that forced equality makes things better". DEI was an attempt to correct these systemic issues by encouraging or even enforcing diversity in groups of people who make decisions and influence decisions. Now it, and I'd argue "Affirmative Action" as well, is starting to mean a movement to "give power/opportunity to people because they are minorities whether or not they are sufficiently qualified". Understand, I'm not in agreement with the transformation of these terms or the sentiment of the new "meanings" but I see them being used in the US in this manner more often. This makes every conversation confusing if you want to have a legitimate discussion of the ideas. It doesn't help that the terms socialism and communism were never concrete terms to begin with.
Second, you'd be aware that there is literally a powerful force actively attempting to purge the original concepts of "woke" and "DEI" from government agencies. The current administration is working very hard to sabotage any agencies that recognize inequality or try to diversify. The administration has likely broken the law in its efforts to oust any agency leadership who promote these concepts. The administration wants to make the lives of any workers who agree with those concepts very difficult. Any agencies that are based on those core concepts are being spun down or turned into shells that somehow still have a name that implies they haven't changed but in reality their leadership is working to ensure that the agency now serves the opposite function.
That's what it is like being openly socialist or communist in today's world. Everything bad is "socialist" or "communist" - it has been since the revolution in Russia. People have a knee jerk reaction on hearing those words. It's strongly associated with North Korea, Stalin, and the CCP. Endless stories of violent authoritarianism, surveillance states, and the suppression of free speech. Tons of media - Animal Farm, 1984. As an aside, consider the violent suppression of climate or pro Palestine protesters, or the use of surveillance technology to spy on citizens... in capitalist nations.
Back to my point - if you are advocating for socialism, the West will work diligently to prop up existing capitalist leadership to prevent your success, possibly even help them rig elections. Propaganda will be spread among your population. If you manage to get elected, expect to be labeled extremist or even terrorist. Expect embargos, sanctions, and other economic warfare. Expect actual terrorists funded by the West to attempt to sabotage your nation. Expect or attempt to perform coups. Lobbyists would be throwing money you desperately need at your nation if it would just capitulate. Yes, even citizens might work against you because they are quite wealthy and powerful and your going to upset that. Or maybe honest citizens who've heard capitalism is great and socialism is bad and they don't want to live in a bad nation. What's the most effect method to survive a situation like that? You are under siege, paranoid, distrustful, woefully outmatched. Use your authority to defend your ideals and your hold on the government, sell out and become corrupt, or get squeezed out by a political opponent (or ally, trust noone) that is working for and funded by the West looking to restore their influence over your nation. Now you have a dictatorship.
You made a lot of assumptions about me in your comment. I’m not going to bother with them, because that’s honestly your job to handle.
I don’t equate communism with (democratic) socialism. I consider myself a democratic socialist, and that’s part of the reason I consider myself progressive. The main difference is that democratic socialism makes room for multiple political parties, while communism accommodates only one. This is the essence of tyranny. No progressive should advocate for communism, because communism is another form of authoritarianism: subjugation to state rule.
I have my problems with “woke” culture, just as I do with conservative culture. But most of my problems with woke culture have to do with their rhetoric and means of achieving their goals, rather than the goals themselves. A racially mixed workplace is something I highly value; achieving it by means of affirmative action is not something I support, because I think 50+ years of it have shown that it doesn’t really work. Yes, it has been shown to improve interracial relations in the workplace, but it has also been shown to cause workers to question the competency of coworkers that benefit from it, and make those who don’t feel discriminated against. This is not what it was intended for. It was supposed to counter inherent racist biases in corporate hiring systems. Instead, it’s become a system that is the very least viewed as a loophole for non-white employees. Obviously, not every case is an example of a non-white employee gaining an unfair advantage over a white employee, probably only a small fraction qualify as such, but as a system it has created the perception that Whites are being discriminated against. And its proponents have done virtually nothing to address that. That needs to change. I’m not saying the spirit of affirmative action needs to end, but its implementation need to change.
If and when you respond, I would encourage you to not make assumptions about my stance. I don’t fit into the political boxes neatly.
It seems to me that the problem stems from you thinking communism necessitates authoritarianism. Communism is an economic system. You say you consider yourself a democratic socialist, while there is obviously a bit more nuance, in the absolute basics, that is saying the economic system you believe in is socialism, and the system of governance you believe is a democracy. Someone saying they are a communist would be the same situation as you saying you are a socialist, it's true but it doesn't state your full political beliefs. I obviously don't speak for the person you are responding to, nor can I assume that they have the same belief about this subject as I do, this is simply my interpretation of the disagreement, and my stance on it.
Additionally, I would like to respond to your earlier mention of asking a communist to give you an example of a communist country that worked out in the end. The reason many people respond negatively to this is because of the history of communism, especially in relation to the US which is where much of Lemmy is from. The US has a history of intentionally destabilizing communist(and socialist) countries, as communism is inherently a threat to a country so heavily built on massive corporations. Because the US and other countries make such a point of preventing communism from succeeding, it can be frustrating when a lack of successful large scale communism is used as proof that communism can't work. Additionally, because this same argument is used so often, it can really begin to grate on someone's nerves after being asked it over and over again.
I have tried my very best to not make any assumptions about you, other than the political ideology you stated you had, but if I accidentally did, please tell me. I do not wish to offend you, and rather just want to provide my input on what you have said.
It doesn't technically necessitate it, it just makes it very likely to happen, due to its insistence on there being only one political party. Communism isn't just an economic system, it's predicated on a government-run economy in a way that most other economic systems aren't.
If they mean socialist, they should say 'socialist.' Most people understand this to mean that you're for things like free education, medical care, etc. When you say you're a communist, at least in the West, you're signifying to others that you either like or support governments like the USSR and CCP. I understand what you're saying about there being some overlap in the terms, but the main distinction to me is that communists believe in a single political party system of government, whereas socialists don't.
While the U.S. has certainly put a lot into preventing communism from spreading, it hasn't always succeeded. I would argue that the communist states that do exist demonstrate its main problem quite clearly: a single political party system puts a government on the fast track to authoritarianism. Multiple political parties mean there is always an opposition to a government that becomes authoritarian; it's not a fool-proof defense against it, but way better than with only one party.
No, you didn't make assumptions, and I appreciate your cordiality.
I unfortunately don't know how to do the fancy qoute thing, so this won't look as organized as yours.
"due to its insistence on there being only one political party." Firstly, I disagree about communism needing to have only 1 political party, and to be honest don't really why that would even have to much of an effect on it. Sure, it makes sense that communism would begin with 1 party in many cases, as it pretty much always requires a revolution of some kind, but if left time, that party would likely split over other issues. The other reason I could see this, is if the country is in a 2 party, or similar system, where 1 party is the communist party, and the other is an anti-communist party of some kind.
"it's predicated on a government-run economy in a way that most other economic systems aren't." I would also disagree about it requiring a government run economy, though that has more to do with my personal political beliefs, than communism. What I more so disagree with is the bit about other economic systems requiring a government run economy. I feel that if there is a government, and an economy, one will be run by the other.
"If they mean socialist, they should say 'socialist.'" Really, I was more so using this as an example of the difference between an economic system and a government system, not saying they were the same.
"When you say you're a communist, at least in the West, you're signifying to others that you either like or support governments like the USSR and CCP." I do agree that this is a common perception in the west, it just isn't true. I am a communist, I don't like or support the USSR or the CCP, I have never met another communist in person that supports either. These people obviously do exist, they just aren't nearly as common as most people assume.
"the main distinction to me is that communists believe in a single political party system of government, whereas socialists don't." I already said why I disagree with this, but I should probably say that to me, and I believe most other communists, the difference is that communism has no money or similar system, and socialism, like you said, has government funded systems such as health care, education, etc.
"While the U.S. has certainly put a lot into preventing communism from spreading, it hasn't always succeeded." I agree that the US hasen't always fully succeeded in stopping communism, but it(or another government) has always succeeded in greatly harming communist countries.
"a single political party system puts a government on the fast track to authoritarianism. Multiple political parties mean there is always an opposition to a government that becomes authoritarian; it's not a fool-proof defense against it, but way better than with only one party." I fully agree with you here.