Why do no 'real' Communist states exist?

Description written by an evil AI:

In this engaging video, we address a pressing question: why have countless revolutions failed to create a successful communist system despite centuries of trying? We explore the complexities of transitioning from an ideology to a practice, focusing on the inherent difficulties that communism presents.

Drawing parallels to building an upside-down pyramid, we discuss the inevitable collapse into authoritarian regimes, a phenomenon frequently observed throughout history. This conversation presents a nuanced understanding of communism as a theory and its implementation challenges.

Tune in to this captivating discussion and expand your understanding of one of the world's most debated ideologies.

[nickdesimone]

Is there a discussion around the amount of effort and money dumped into sabotaging any communist/socialist experiment?

[saahiliyer]

It’s for the exact same reason why all the revolutions in the name of democracy and freedom failed.

It’s not that democracy and freedom are bad or pie in the sky. We didn’t just say “welp, so much for that, our natural place is as serfs under the yoke of our masters”.

Recognize that the process of revolution has a point where it’s incredibly alluring for the people who find themselves on top to emulate the prior authoritarian/absolutist regime because all the institutions are set up for it. The board is set so it is vastly easier to slap a new coat of paint and replace the piece at the top instead of redesigning everything from the ground up.

The Soviets saw the vast apparatus of Tsarist Russia laid out and just kept it rolling. The Maoists did the same with the Chinese imperial institutions. Post colonial nations only have the colonial institutions at their disposal which are designed to perpetuate a colonial system with a preference for resource extraction above all else.

But as much as it is folly to think institutions can change over night, it is equally folly to think institutions can never change. It just takes a huge amount of effort from people across social strata who are willing to set aside personal gain for the greater good.

[MollsBolls]

Well no, a communist state cannot exist because communism is stateless. You can have a socialist state, and you can have a socialist state backed by a communist supporting government. And also there are many socialist states today, there's cuba, vietnam, laos, china (if you count them) etc.

[chinaisutopia]

1 bedroom apartments for 20 year olds.
2 bedroom apartments for 30 year olds.
Houses for 40 year olds.
Mansions for 50 year olds.
Villages for retirees.

[dominicbegay]

🤓☝️ um actually ideology isn't viable irl

[arcuscerebellumus]

Nice straw man.

I imagine that first 100 years out of 300(ish) it took to transition away from feudalism this argument worked quite well for infeasibility of bourgeois "system"... To whish we are currently subjected, fyi.

Oh, and "communist states" never existed - period! The word you are trying to use is "socialism", which by definition is transitory. And the reason they all stagnate and/or collapse is mostly because of the current systems resistance - not because of "ideology".

[benjaminrobinson]

This is either incredibly naive or incredibly deceptive. Yes, there have been internal faults in socialist experiments, but the majority of problems stem from outside interference from capitalist nations. They sanction the hell out of any country that won’t allow neocolonialism, they overthrow or attempt to overthrow democratically elected socialist governments, they assassinate leaders and sow dissent. And let’s be clear: socialist systems work. They have historically made the lives of the people they serve markedly better from the colonial, feudal, capitalistic systems that preceded them. They provide every person with homes, food, medicine and medical care, education, transportation, etc. This is a myth meant to dissuade any attempts at making things better. It’s meant to dissuade people from looking to past examples of socialism for inspiration. To not even consider parts of those examples as viable.

[ankharahallstrom]

I'm a communist and I do agree that it's dumb for someone to say "that's not REAL communism". I won't get into the specifics of the differences between communism and socialism, but for simplicity's sake I'll refer to them as communist states, which they're known as.

I won't deny that communist nations have had problems (many of them greatly exaggerated by anticommunists), and you do make a good point that it's a challenge to build a communist society. Russia and China both went from feudalism to industrialization in a matter of decades, I'd say that's a success. Stalin and Mao did great things for their respective nations and there's a reason they're still loved by many. Right now, China is heading towards becoming the world's top superpower and has lifted 800 million out of poverty, Vietnam has a fast-growing economy, Belarus maintaining its socialist economy spared the Belarussians the agony that the rest of Eastern Europe had endured, the DPRK despite the troubles it's endured, remains a stable society (and it's often unfairly maligned). Sadly, the corporate oligarchs of Wall Street and London have been trying crush small communist and socialist nations. Such as the embargo against Cuba and how the media who once liked Yugoslavia suddenly switched to demonizing Slobodan Milosevic.

I apologize for the lengthy comment. I just wanted to share my thoughts on this.

[gerbil]

Attack another strawman. It looks so intelligent.

[Uranium-kohu]

Clearly hasn’t read any Marxist theory lol.

[Nevimcoxd]

Someone didn’t hear about anarchist praxis and unity of means and ends.

[comiccid]

Is he asserting that communism immediately turns into a dictatorship? Because the same thing can be said about capitalism with Syngman Rhee, Park Chung Hee, Shah of Iran, Pinochet, Bautista, etc. and there is the United States which is the archetype of capitalism that is known for backing coups and supporting dictatorships, and definied to be the greatest threat to global democracy. Also the examples of Stalin, Mao, etc. they made their own attempts to communism as what they practiced was Stalinism and Maoism, when Marx and Engles were very pro-democratic. That's why those forms of "communism" were never defined as communism and why they are referred as Stalinism and Maoism. In order to see what communism is then let's see democracy applied.

[UniversalistSon]

They tried to create a MARXIST system (there are differences) and often they became Fascist actually. Social democracy in ways could be called a successful socialist system, even though yes they are mixed economies but no they’re not actually fully capitalist either.

[silverstar]

This is exactly what I've thought.

[bazartv.]

Explanation why Communism failed: In order for Communism to work, every person should be equal in their rights and abilities. But people with more rights and abilities, the rich, for example don't want to give up their wealth.

[superjmanm]

It was real communism and it worked every time

[Gmiub]

Why does the guy kinda look like Dr Wilson from House MD

[burakki]

god I hate it when people who haven't read anything any theory talk about communism

[superbeltman]

I can't respect anyone who uses tankie unironically, liberals:tankie:socialists as conservatives: woke: liberals

[waspwrap]

First of all, capitalism is much more likely to transition into dictatorships, monarchies, imperialism, etc. Second of all, communism is arguably, succeeded, just look at GDP growth rates in the Soviet union, along with many socialist programs in Cuba, Burkina Faso, Vietnam, Albania, and Chile, that arguably expand a democracy and life expectancy.