• Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    edit-2
    il y a 1 jour

    There’s a few critical misunderstandings you have.

    Revolution is not simply change. Revolution is the conquest of state power by one class against the previous. Both FDR and Reagan serve the capitalist class, neither was a revolution but instead a shift in how capital dictates.

    Further, you are entirely erasing imperialism. The New Deal grew alongside the US Empire. It was a way to export the contradictions within society to the global south. With the 50s onward, the US Empire was the world hegemon, super-exploiting the global south for super profits. Domestically, ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples were crushed, alongside LGBTQIA+ people. Internationally, the global south was horrendously butchered for profit. It is through the exploitation of the global south that both capitalism and a large welfare net remained.

    The rise of Reagan was the triumph of imperialist capital reaching a new stage. Neoliberalism is the imperialism of the modern era, where finance capital has shifted from simple capital export to neocolonialism and unequal exchange.

    “Healthy, well-regulated capitalism” cannot exist, nor can it be complementary to socialism. Markets can play a part in either system, but the question of who society serves is determined by which class controls the state and the commanding heights of the economy. China has a socialist market economy, and leverages this to uplift the people. Finland, the other user’s previous example, has a capitalist economy, and uses it to plunder the global south and bribe their domestic working class.

    Socialism is not welfare. Socialism is not the public sector. Socialism is a system, as capitalism is. There is no such thing as an “elected revolution.”

    What is critically necessary is revolutionary organizing for the purpose of overthrowing the old, capitalist state apparatus, and creating a new worker state. This has been done around the world successfully many times before, and we need to learn from their efforts. Not simply hide imperialism and hope to share in the spoils of it.

    • A_be_seedy@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      il y a 23 heures

      Do you mind defining:

      -Capitalism (or the US’s economy, taking into account utilities, imperialism, and government sectors such as military/oil)

      -Socialist Market Economy

      • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        il y a 23 heures

        Capitalism is a mode of production and distribution where private ownership is the principal aspect of the economy (ie rising, dominant, and in control of the commanding heights), and the capitalist class controls the state. Imperialism as a stage in capitalism is where bank and industrial capital monopolize and consolidate, creating finance capital, which pivots to export of capital rather than simple commodities. Since the state is capitalist, the public sector serves the capitalist class above all else.

        Socialism is a mode of production and distribution where public ownership is the principal aspect of the economy, and the working classes control the state. The socialist market economy is a form of developing socialism where marketization is employed in a controlled manner to support the development of the productive forces, which are the bedrock of developed socialism. Just as public ownership in capitalism is not socialism, private ownership in the context of a socialist system is not capitalism either.

        • A_be_seedy@beehaw.org
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          il y a 13 heures

          Just as public ownership in capitalism is not socialism, private ownership in the context of a socialist system is not capitalism either.

          Well, if you declare it.

          Please explain how utilities are seen between the 2 different systems. Utilities seem to both operate on the same principals in the US and China, in such, that the people elect a government who then sets the price while heavily regulating for maximum efficiency

          • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            il y a 5 heures

            In both capitalism and socialism, the state exists to support the ruling class, capitalists in capitalism and workers in socialism. To a certain extent, both capitalists and workers need utilities to continue society, but the nature of how they operate in different systems is stark. In the US, for example, fossil fuels dominate the energy market, because wealthy capitalists are antagonistic towards green energy as they derive their wealth from fossil fuels. In China, renewables are expanding at a staggering rate. The ultimate purpose of utilities in capitalism is to maintain and expand capitalist profits, while the ultimate purpose of utilities in socialism is the well-being of all.

            Elections are not the same as class control. No matter who you elect in the US, there will only be servants of capital. No matter who is elected in China, there will only be servants of the workers. Both systems can only be changed by revolution or counterrevolution, individuals working within either system cannot reform it to the other. The question of class struggle is one settled through force, not the ballot box.

              • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                il y a 5 heures

                There is corruption, but it’s regularly purged and kept in check by a combination of whole-process people’s democracy, and the practice of democratic centralism within the CPC. Corruption existing is just a problem systems have to deal with.