Genuine question so please don’t hate on me. It seems to me that china now is more of a mixed market than a planned economy. Billionaires and class disparities definitely still exist in China and it seems like american communists almost romanticize china while ignoring obvious flaws in its system, only because they (rightfully) hate america and america hates China. China also supplies all of the world’s exploitative corporations with the vast majority of their goods. While China is probably better than the capitalist economies of the west, I don’t understand why a lot of people seem to hold it in the same regard as the USSR.

  • OldMole [he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    China has one major advantage over the USSR: it hasn't failed yet. I don't think achieving historically highest stages of socialism is an inevitability in China, there is still a huge battle to be won, but they are the ones going fastest on a route to it currently.

    On the other hand, I think the reason some leftists idolize China is because it gives them an imagined path to communism, where it is simply imported from China and they don't have to do the work or make the sacrifices. While this can be a source of hope, which is something we all need in these times, I think it is ultimately passivating and harmful.

    • shoe [he/him]
      hexagon
      ·
      edit-2
      3 years ago

      I definitely agree with this. I don’t think socialism will ever be or can ever be just imported from china to the US, honestly.

      • Horsepaste [they/them]
        ·
        3 years ago

        correct, socialism must be based on the material conditions of each country / culture that develops it.

        • kristina [she/her]
          ·
          3 years ago

          idk id say it worked well for the development of those countries. the collapse sucked.

          • Collatz_problem [comrade/them]
            ·
            3 years ago

            It basically directly correlated to how much internal revolutionary forces were present. So Yugoslavia did the best, Czechoslovakia/Bulgaria/East Germany were in the middle while Poland and to a lesser extent Romania were barely functional.

            • kristina [she/her]
              ·
              edit-2
              3 years ago

              not a terrible analysis. though czechoslovakia had a very extensive partisan group that was almost entirely communist, some of my relatives were in it! theyd mostly be killing fascist slovak collaborators in the mountains heres a song btw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o98d_GouBPQ

              • Collatz_problem [comrade/them]
                ·
                3 years ago

                Well, Poland also had Gwardia Ludowa and PKWN, and their members basically built a new Polish state, but they still had much less influence than communist partisans in other Eastern European countries.