No shortage of “authoritarian” socialist states and libertarian communist projects. No shortage of authoritarian non-socialist states, either.
But authoritarianism implies a certain degree of internal resistance. One of the perks of “authoritarian” communism is that you have a large native population at your back, all pushing in the same direction. Communist projects tend to be anti-colonial in character and focused on the improvement of the lives of native peoples. Meanwhile, capitalist (and Market Socialist) projects tend to be extractionary and highly selective in who they benefit, leading to public backlash that necessitates a powerful police state to maintain control.
Oh snap, here we go conflating socialism and authoritarian communism again <- Guy who never learns
Tends to be a hollow pejorative.
No shortage of “authoritarian” socialist states and libertarian communist projects. No shortage of authoritarian non-socialist states, either.
But authoritarianism implies a certain degree of internal resistance. One of the perks of “authoritarian” communism is that you have a large native population at your back, all pushing in the same direction. Communist projects tend to be anti-colonial in character and focused on the improvement of the lives of native peoples. Meanwhile, capitalist (and Market Socialist) projects tend to be extractionary and highly selective in who they benefit, leading to public backlash that necessitates a powerful police state to maintain control.