this post was submitted on 31 Dec 2025
151 points (88.7% liked)

Flippanarchy

1860 readers
412 users here now

Flippant Anarchism. A lighter take on social criticism with the aim of agitation.

Post humorous takes on capitalism and the states which prop it up. Memes, shitposting, screenshots of humorous good takes, discussions making fun of some reactionary online, it all works.

This community is anarchist-flavored. Reactionary takes won't be tolerated.

Don't take yourselves too seriously. Serious posts go to !anarchism@lemmy.dbzer0.com

Rules

  1. If you post images with text, endeavour to provide the alt-text

  2. If the image is a crosspost from an OP, Provide the source.

  3. Absolutely no right-wing jokes. This includes "Anarcho"-Capitalist concepts.

  4. Absolutely no redfash jokes. This includes anything that props up the capitalist ruling classes pretending to be communists.

  5. No bigotry whatsoever. See instance rules.

  6. This is an anarchist comm. You don't have to be an anarchist to post, but you should at least understand what anarchism actually is. We're not here to educate you.

  7. No shaming people for being anti-electoralism. This should be obvious from the above point but apparently we need to make it obvious to the turbolibs who can't control themselves. You have the rest of lemmy to moralize.

Join the matrix room for some real-time discussion.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
db0@lemmy.dbzer0.com
151
czechmate (quokk.au)
submitted 1 week ago by Deceptichum@quokk.au to c/flippanarchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
153 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Socialism was established in Russia, public ownership was the principle aspect of the soviet economy and the working classes were in control of the state. Correctly analyzing the situation is vague, as it necessarily is due to being a short lemmy comment. However, some examples of this, and their connection to Marxism, are as follows:

  1. Recognition of World War I as an inter-imperialist war, therefore leveraging the unpopularity of the war and the weakness of the Russian state to successful revolution

  2. Recognition of the peasantry as capable of allying with the industrial proletariat, which groups like the Mensheviks distrusted

  3. The establishment of a socialist state to defend the gains of the revolution, allowing the USSR to outlast the dozen+ capitalist nations invading it at its inception

  4. Proper engagement with the trade unions and other groups, combining legal and illegal work, without resorting to adventurist terrorism like the left SRs

  5. The recognition of the dialectical relationship between theory and practice, which groups like the left SRs rejected in favor of sponteniety

And more. Is it possible that revolution could have been won another way? Yes. Did it work, and was this method applied successfully in China, Vietnam, Cuba, and many more examples throughout the world? Also yes.

[–] unfreeradical@slrpnk.net 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I am sorry, but you are returning nonsense apologetics.

Russian workers obviously never controlled the economy.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

They fundamentally did, repeating that they didn't like a mantra isn't a point, nor is said mantra justified by claiming it's "obvious." Again, public ownership was the principle aspect of the economy, and the working classes were in control of the state. This is socialism as it exists in the real world, in concrete form. Both Is the Red Flag Flying? The Political Economy of the Soviet Union by Albert Syzmanski and This Soviet World by Anna Louise Strong are good places to start with looking at how the economy of the soviet union functioned.

An excerpt from the latter:

Several elections which I attended will show concretely how soviet democracy functions. Four election meetings were held simultaneously in different hamlets of Gulin village, which had no assembly hall big enough for all. One of these meetings threw out the Party candidate, Borisov, because they felt that he neglected their instructions; they elected a non-Party woman who had displayed energy in improving the village and were praised by the election commissioner—himself a Party member—for having discovered good government timber which the Party had neglected. The central meeting in Gulin expected 235 voters; 227 appeared and were duly checked off by name at the door. There ensued personal discussion of every one of nine candidates, of whom seven were chosen. Mihailov “did good work on the roads.” The most enthusiasm developed over Menshina, a woman who “does everything assigned her energetically; checks farm property, tests seeds, collects state loans.” Dr. Sharkova, head of the Mothers’ Consultation, was pushed by the women: “We need a sanitary expert to clean up our village.” The incoming soviet was instructed to “increase harvest yield within two years to thirty bushels per acre, to organize a stud farm, get electricity and radio for every home, organize adult education courses, football and skiing teams, and satisfy a score of other needs.

It may not be your preferred model of socialism, but it was real, and qualitatively different from capitalism. Trying to claim it isn't the same as the "pure" socialism in our heads doesn't change that material reality, socialism isn't mystical but a material process.