Damn, ultra leftist Nixon was not something I was ready for this evening
Oh so that's why he chose rapprochement with China. He was true Marxist-Leninist! Critical support for UNITA, Khmer Rouge and brave Maoists of Afghanistan.
Nothing it’s one of Marxism strengths tbh. Tho not surprised to see an American president admonishing not dogmatically holding to something that has way outlived it’s relevance like oh say, the us constitution
Not that Marxism has outlived it’s relevance, read theory and all that, just goofy to think responding to material conditions is inconsistent or a failing of it. You get me
Clutching neoliberal dogma and refusing to adapt is all US leaders can do these days.
Mao is usually read to assert that class contradictions persist into the socialist mode of production - after the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat - and thus class struggle (the revolution) must continue during socialism. According to the Chinese side of the Sino-Soviet split, after Stalin, the Soviet Union took the opposite stance. Class struggle was unnecessary despite clear class distinctions between the masses and the upper rungs of the party. Nixon's third point is asserting that the Soviets were cloaking revisionism as anti-dogmatism. "Lenin could not have predicted our situation which is why you proles need to fall in line".
Most of the communist left has come around to this position more or less.
Yeah, the USSR was an amazing accomplishment, but pales in comparison to the achievements of the Chinese communists. Specifically in the ability of the party to resolve contradictions and continue to advance along a socialist path under massive pressure both internally and externally to slide into revision.
The inability of the Soviets to rally the post revolutionary working class around the party and the loss of party control over the military was really the primary reason they toppled so easily, but all the revision and refusal to address the internal contradictions didn't help.
That being said it's hilarious seeing an American president mention the internal contradictions in a socialist project as if they're unique to socialism and not acknowledging that capitalisms solutions (as he literally partook in many times) is just ultraviolence until the ruling class is back in dictatorial control.
nixon pointing at Lenin's NEP and Deng's economic reforms like :farquaad-point:
