Communism is a post-socialist society where there is no state in the Marxist conception. The Soviet Union was socialist, run by a communist party. Stalin may have agreed with Marx on that, but did not invent it.
At some point, when the original definition is overwhelmed by the self described example, I think it warrants a change in definition.
Both the east and the west called the soviet union and Maoist china communist, when it was far from it based on the original definition. They were little more than authoritarian oligarchies reigning over a socialist economic system.
Just like in the west, many democracies were mostly oligarchies reigning over capitalist economic systems.
The Soviet Union and China are both examples of socialism, rub according to Marxist principles. They were called communist because they were run by communist parties with the intention of developing into communism, not because anyone thought they weren’t genuine. Both the Soviet Union and PRC were what Marx described as “lower-stage communism,” or what became known as the transitional phase known as socialism at the time of Lenin.
But communism as the GOP defines it, is the Stalinist model of the appearance of socialism though communism state control.
Communism is a post-socialist society where there is no state in the Marxist conception. The Soviet Union was socialist, run by a communist party. Stalin may have agreed with Marx on that, but did not invent it.
At some point, when the original definition is overwhelmed by the self described example, I think it warrants a change in definition.
Both the east and the west called the soviet union and Maoist china communist, when it was far from it based on the original definition. They were little more than authoritarian oligarchies reigning over a socialist economic system.
Just like in the west, many democracies were mostly oligarchies reigning over capitalist economic systems.
The Soviet Union and China are both examples of socialism, rub according to Marxist principles. They were called communist because they were run by communist parties with the intention of developing into communism, not because anyone thought they weren’t genuine. Both the Soviet Union and PRC were what Marx described as “lower-stage communism,” or what became known as the transitional phase known as socialism at the time of Lenin.