Ep 59: Socialism, not Communism?

Returning to talking about socialist states with nuance. I explore examples of narratives of anticommunism on the left and why they exist. Some of it comes from anarchists with good points, other times from liberal leaning democrats being unaware nationalists (America good, others bad). I respond by sympathetically describing the positions of left authoritarians and cover some points they have to make while posing harder questions as lefties are stuck between big bad left-wing states of the past and the imperial capitalist ones we live in today. I use a bunch of writers responding to other people to discuss some of this, as well as a globalist responding to unrest in Hong Kong as a follow up to that.

Sources

Music: The Real Revolutionary by unknown

Socialism is not ‘communism’; Current affairs editor responds to Brent Stevens.

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/10/how-to-be-a-socialist-without-being-an-apologist-for-the-atrocities-of-communist-regimes
More College Commies Love Dictatorships, also happen to be assholes too.
https://freedomnews.org.uk/is-genocide-denial-anti-imperialist-now-how-tankies-are-taking-over-leftbook-and-the-london-student-scene An Irish ‘Stalinist’ responds to his trotskist critics. An old rivalry continues…
https://irishbroadleft.com/2019/07/09/trotskyism-today-and-cold-war-hysterics
News about China is fueled by American hegemony/capitalist interests
www.thesocialist.us/why-the-u-s-spreads-lies-about-china/ Growing socialist groups host US Imperial/anticommunist narratives at convention.
https://thegrayzone.com/2019/07/06/dsa-jacobin-iso-socialism-conference-us-funded-regime-change
Hong Kong unrest will not resolve deeper problems, says rich Singapore Diplomat.
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3018003/harsh-truths-hong-kong-protests-will-not-achieve-anything