I would like to know what communist tendency you follow, why you follow it and who best represents your tendency of communism weather it be a modern day country like China or a country like the USSR?

The answer to this question myself is that I am a Marxist-Leninist. I follow Marxism Leninism because it gives power to the working class rather than the bourgeois and aims for a classless money less society this is achieved through following Marxist Leninist theory and analyzing the conditions in the country you are trying to achieve Marxism-Leninism in. Those who best represent Marxism Leninism for me are Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Hoxha.

  • cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml
    30·
    11 days ago

    I think most of us here are Marxist-Leninists. The reason for me at least is fairly simple: it’s the most scientific (in the sense that it looks at the world through a materialist lens and analyses it rationally, systematically and holistically) and it demonstrably works when used to guide revolutionary practice.

    The second part is particularly important because if your ideology doesn’t work in the real world then what good is it? I’m paraphrasing here, but: “The point isn’t just to analyze the world, it’s to change it.” Only Marxism-Leninism has managed to produce successful revolutions that create stable socialist societies which have improved the level of human well-being beyond what any capitalist system would be capable of doing in the same circumstances.

    Marxism-Leninism is also flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances and to incorporate a newer and better understanding of how the world works. Dogmatism is the death of science. I find that China has some great phrases that express the scientific approach to socialism, such as: “Crossing the river by feeling the stones” and “Seeking truth from facts”. We observe the world as it is to form theories, proceed forward through trial and error, adopt what works and discard what doesn’t.

    This also means we should be open to learning from many different sources, so we should not attach ourselves to one particular person or country (though obviously some have been objectively more successful than others, and we should study why that is and learn how we can replicate their successes and avoid their mistakes).

    • LeninZedong@lemmygrad.ml
      14·
      11 days ago

      One could argue that Juche has worked, but I would honestly need to research more about it to determine if it is its own distinct philosophy or if it is Marxism-Leninism in Korean material conditions (I would also need to determine how much Juche influenced their survival against American imperialism). Other lines are not so lucky: Maoism claims no currently-existing socialist countries, orthodox Marxism claims literally nothing (except the Paris Commune, I guess), and other niche camps are hardly worth talking about.

      I agree with cfgaussian in their assessment of Marxism-Leninism: It is the most scientific communist tendency based on observable results (the currently-existing socialist countries and past ones show that it can succeed and has succeeded) and the theoretical strength (meaning how much it is able to answer questions regarding the word and combat criticism). I am a Marxist-Leninist not simply because it is the only road I see to creating a better life for all people, but also because it answers questions in a way that liberal and social-opportunist ideologies fail to answer scientifically (seriously, authoritarianism and totalitarianism are seldom used in consistent ways and are often so vague and mired in idealist understandings of politics that they hardly amount to anything more than pseudoscience posturing as science).

      Supporting the USSR and modern PRC is not contradictory to me; they both count as socialist experiments enabling the worker’s liberation movement to better understand what mistakes to avoid and how we can succeed as a socialist society. I do not think that the market reforms in China were a betrayal of socialism, and I think the PRC is the greatest ally to socialism that we currently have (in terms of influence). I would also say that the PRC’s survival into the current day (as a socialist country, not a capitalist one like ultras would like you to believe) shows that the way of the PRC is the one we should look towards for inspiration in constructing a socialist country (though I am not well-informed on the economy of Stalin-era socialism, so I have to look into that to say whether or not I would be on board with it).

      However, I am a bit weirded out by your mention of Hoxha. Could you explain why you include Hoxha there (and not Marx or Engels)? From my experience, only Hoxhaists bother upholding Hoxha.

      • cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml
        17·
        11 days ago

        I admit that i am not very knowledgeable on the topic of Juche, but from what i can tell it seems like an adaptation of Marxism-Leninism to the specific conditions of the DPRK post Korean War. An ideology doesn’t need to be called Marxism-Leninism (or even mention Marx and Lenin) to be essentially Marxist-Leninist in its world outlook. Another good name for Juche might be “Socialism with Korean Characteristics”.

        • LeninZedong@lemmygrad.ml
          8·
          11 days ago

          I do wonder why Jucheists emphasize the fact that it is its own ideology (though they admit it is a sister ideology to Marxism-Leninism, I think). The focus and wordage used is definitely different, but eh, I do not know. Thanks for the recommendation, by the way.

          • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmygrad.ml
            92·
            10 days ago

            Juche socialists believe the juche idea to be a universal advancement on Marxism-Leninism, even if they accept Marxism-Leninism as correct.

            • LeninZedong@lemmygrad.ml
              3·
              10 days ago

              So would it be like Maoists viewing Mao’s contributions as a universal advancement of Marxism-Leninism (they are not)? I guess it might differ if Jucheists actually think Marxism-Leninism is outdated or not. Any Jucheists here to state their opinion?

              • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmygrad.ml
                32·
                10 days ago

                Kind of. One key difference is that juche socialists tend to support other AES just like Marxist-Leninists, while Maoists tend not to.

                • LeninZedong@lemmygrad.ml
                  2·
                  10 days ago

                  I feel like Jucheists are primarily relegated to the DPRK and some small online places. Oh, I knew that Maoists denounce AES countries, but my understanding of their stance on AES was unclear until you answered (honestly, I am somewhat surprised they support other AES countries outside of the DPRK).

                  • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmygrad.ml
                    32·
                    10 days ago

                    Maoists usually don’t support modern AES, though some of the Sison school do. As for Juche, it’s also because Juche doesn’t add anything to Marxism-Leninism that stands against AES.