History is worth looking at, in sectors of the left, particularly within the Western left, there’s a trend to dismiss past socialist experiments, at best these critics debate whether these experiments were “true” socialism or not. However, the point remains that these experiments attempted to organize society differently from capitalism, what we need to learn from is that each succeeded to some extent. They stood as threats to global capitalism, which is why the priests of the #deathcult, and its worshippers, keep demonizing them. Yet, on the progressive side, left-wing anti-communists also to often blindly reject these experiments, dismissing them as perversions of their “idealized” socialism, claiming there’s nothing to learn from them.
Then the capitalist establishment pushes and supports this with glowing reviews of books that condemn real socialism, backed by #mainstreaming institutions. For example, on this path much radical/progressive literature on the Bolshevik Revolution tends to glorify its early years but condemns the period afterward, romanticizing the shift and condemning the troubling steps taken to consolidate the revolution in reaction to the very real and strong backlashes.
How can we change and challenge this? These left-wing anti-communists tend to lack any nuance in their criticisms, they ignore the complexities and harsh “spiky” realities that revolutionary movements’ had pushed over them in the early 20th century. The Bolsheviks, for example, had to build a strong army and internal security apparatus in reaction to western invasions, ration due to widespread economic sanctions. Criticizing these actions, while valid, is not helpful without understanding the very uneasy context, only blindly criticising, this time, shows a lack of appreciation for the recurring challenges any real revolution will face.
Then the “fluffy” left lionize revolutions that failed because these revolutions never had to contend with the practical challenges of building a stable alternative. This glorification ignores, the violent backlash and the hardships that successful socialist experiments have to endure and the real, tangible benefits they provided to their societies.
So we do need to criticize socialist experiments with evidence, good faith, and an understanding of the circumstances they happen in. Honest progressives engage in nuanced criticism, unlike those who blankly condemn these movements. It’s worth defending some of the heritage of socialism, while acknowledging its strong vertical flaws, to learning from these lessons. At best, Marxist spaces provide the most scathing and honest criticisms of socialist experiments, aiming for constructive dialogue and improvement rather than wholesale rejection. This balanced approach is infinitely better than denouncing these experiments under superficial pressure from #blinded capitalist propaganda.
Left-wing anti-communism is a trend to dislike and disregard almost every socialist experiment. Over the last 40 years, on this path of #mainstreaming, the neoliberal world-view replaces trust with fear, when we try to discuss solutions, So it’s needed to challenge common sense #neoliberal views and advocate for basic nuanced, evidence-based perspectives. Let’s learn from this history, please.
