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Communist countries inevitably end up in tyranny because expecting a ruling caste (party members) not to abuse that power is naive.

icebraining 12y ago
Yes, but you see, not all communists support the single party system. The single-party system is mostly a result of the Marxist-Leninist ideology, which is the most popular (at least in terms of actual implementations) but not the only communist ideology. The fact that the Bolsheviks won over the Menchviks during the 1917 revolution did much to strengthen that position. In the end, it's hard to claim that "communism" will lead to a certain outcome, because there's a different version of the ideology for every adherent - as demonstrated by their fervor in killing each other.
- mcantelon 12y ago
  Ah, good to know. Are the Trotskyists the predominant opposition to Marxist-Leninism? Looking at WikiPedia it seems like their "deformed workers state" identifies the problem of party rule within communist states. I remember from during my activist days that the Trotskyists were regarded as fanatics by most communists and anarchists, but the underlying idea that Marxist-Leninism is flawed definitely jibes with history.
  - icebraining 12y ago
    Well, as far as I know, Trotskyism doesn't oppose the Marxist-Leninist concept of the single-party state ("democratic centralism"), while maintaining an "inner-party democracy". Trotsky himself had committed to the side of the Bolsheviks, and didn't so much oppose Lenin's ideas, but Stalin's, though he also disagreed with the former about the need to expand the revolution to other countries. In general, Marxism-Leninism, Trotskyism, Stalinism, Maoism, etc are all more-or-less aligned ideologies with an authoritarian bent, and were opposed initially by the Mensheviks, and later by various Libertarian Marxist and Socialist movements[1], and of course by the anarchists. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Marxism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Marxism
vacri 12y ago
Vietnam doesn't seem particularly tyrannical, no more than its non-communist neighbours, and has been opening up more and more of late.

icebraining 12y ago

Yes, but you see, not all communists support the single party system. The single-party system is mostly a result of the Marxist-Leninist ideology, which is the most popular (at least in terms of actual implementations) but not the only communist ideology. The fact that the Bolsheviks won over the Menchviks during the 1917 revolution did much to strengthen that position. In the end, it's hard to claim that "communism" will lead to a certain outcome, because there's a different version of the ideology for every adherent - as demonstrated by their fervor in killing each other.

mcantelon 12y ago
Ah, good to know. Are the Trotskyists the predominant opposition to Marxist-Leninism? Looking at WikiPedia it seems like their "deformed workers state" identifies the problem of party rule within communist states. I remember from during my activist days that the Trotskyists were regarded as fanatics by most communists and anarchists, but the underlying idea that Marxist-Leninism is flawed definitely jibes with history.
- icebraining 12y ago
  Well, as far as I know, Trotskyism doesn't oppose the Marxist-Leninist concept of the single-party state ("democratic centralism"), while maintaining an "inner-party democracy". Trotsky himself had committed to the side of the Bolsheviks, and didn't so much oppose Lenin's ideas, but Stalin's, though he also disagreed with the former about the need to expand the revolution to other countries. In general, Marxism-Leninism, Trotskyism, Stalinism, Maoism, etc are all more-or-less aligned ideologies with an authoritarian bent, and were opposed initially by the Mensheviks, and later by various Libertarian Marxist and Socialist movements[1], and of course by the anarchists. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Marxism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_Marxism

vacri 12y ago

Vietnam doesn't seem particularly tyrannical, no more than its non-communist neighbours, and has been opening up more and more of late.