• eatCasserole@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I see China building renewable energy capacity, and crazy fast trains, faster than the rest of the world combined.

      I see Cuba, a tiny island nation, still independent after 64 years of brutal US sanctions.

      I see Vietnam, a popular retirement destination for American ‘expats’.

      I see Russia, being fairly shitty and also 100% capitalist for 25 years.

      Hmm, seems like you may have been told a bunch of times that communism is bad but never really looked into it.

      • Soulg@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        China is extremely capitalist lmao

        I’m not fucking defending capitalism or demonizing communism, it’s just never worked. I see absolutely zero reason to expect any difference if we tried it in the us

        • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          China is Socialist with Chinese Characteristics, the CPC practices large and extensive levels of State Planning and the People’s Democracy structure means the Capitalists in China do not control nor guide the State.

          Capitalism exists in China as a concession, it isn’t some fully Socialized state, but it is a transitional economy.

          Read China Has Billionaires.

        • eatCasserole@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Nuh-uh, Xi pressed the big red communism button and now all the capitalism is gone!

          [is joke, obviously that’s not how it works]

          “It’s just never worked” is ignorant though. Every nation that has tried to dump capitalism has has successes and failures, and there are many factors that contribute to each. Economies are extremely complex and you simply can’t say anything intelligent without getting at least a bit more in-depth than “works/doesn’t work”.

    • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      So large increases in literacy rates, life expectancy, home ownership, education access, healthcare access, and democratization of society is “devolving into a shitshow?”

      Do you think Russians were better off under the thumb of the Tsar? Do you think Cubans were happier as slaves in Batista’s US-backed slave-state? What point are you genuinely trying to make?

      • Soulg@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        First part is a result of industrialization.

        Second part, no they weren’t, but that just means that they were worse off before, not that they were great afterwards.

        I genuinely think the idea of communism is great, but human nature will ensure that it will never be successful. There will always be someone who gets greedy and takes more for themselves in the pursuit of wealth and power.

        • Cowbee [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          First part is a result of industrialization.

          Partially, the other huge part is that the products of production were funneled into safety nets and state projects like railways and universities, providing free education and healthcare, and not corporate profits.

          I genuinely think the idea of communism is great, but human nature will ensure that it will never be successful. There will always be someone who gets greedy and takes more for themselves in the pursuit of wealth and power.

          What’s considered “Human Nature” changes alongside Mode of Production. It isn’t Human Nature to be greedy, greed is more often expressed within Capitalism.

          Additionally, wealth disparity went way down in the USSR. It wasn’t a case where some few individuals profited massively and others lived in squalor, wealth disparity skyrocketed after it collapsed.

          Are you familiar with Marxist Theory? You have a decidedly Idealist take, rather than Materialist.

        • human nature will ensure that it will never be successful

          Human nature is to be kind and helpful. Humans are social creatures. We wouldn’t have survived for thousands of years if everyone said “fuck you got mine”.

          Even if that were true, you are saying we should continue with the system that rewards stuff like greed, rather than try to have a system that doesn’t. “Human nature” is an argument for socialism/communism.