I was of the opinion tankie was just a term given to Russian or Chinese fans/apologists. People that think these governments can do no wrong which is just dumb and naive. And thinking they can do no right is just as naive. As oppressive as the Chinese government can be, they have been at least making some interesting choices in regards to science and technology recently. But people are getting labeled as tankie because of support for socialist ideas? Like government healthcare and social safety nets?

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 10 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Nobody genuinely thinks the USSR or PRC can/could do no wrong, but the strawman image of someone who believes that is used as a club against those that uphold them, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, DPRK, etc. as validly socialist countries working towards a better future. Healthcare and safety nets are social programs, not socialism, but that's a different conversation.

The point is that those that uphold existing socialism are labeled "tankies," and I uphold existing socialism, warts and all, as genuinely progressive movements.

[–] billwashere@lemmy.world 4 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Wow that description as “extremely patient and gives very detailed explanations/arguments” is kinda on the nose isn’t it. Good on you for having the time and patience to help educate people.

In my opinion any country legitimately trying to better their people is a good thing. At least way better than trying to enrich the same 10 billionaires over and over again.

I’d consider myself more of a fan of social democracies. Ultimately the problem seems to be that no one is truly altruistic or even future thinking. As a species we are greedy, short sighted, with tiny short attention spans.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 8 points 13 hours ago

Thanks for the kind words! One thing I want to say, though, is that it's less that humans are greedy, and more that we are shaped by the way we live, produce, and distribute. Capitalism expresses and reinforces greed, we aren't intrinsically greedy. Social democracy, ie capitalism with large safety nets, is unfortunately both unsustainable and also relies on imperialism to subsidize the safety nets, which is why socialism itself is necessary.