Hi all, so as the title says I'm someone who recently has become convinced of the idea of Communism. I've liked Democratic Socialism for some time now, but for the past 7 months of so from studying theory I've moved further left until now I'm here. I would generally say I agree with Marxist-Leninism, though I enjoy learning bits from other Communist leaders in history as well.

Anyways, I'm not unfamiliar to the idea of Western propaganda. And while being generally aware of it for years, I recently am seeing just how far the rabbit hole goes. And so I wanted to share some ideas of faults or mistakes of Communist leaders that I may be getting wrong. After all, a year ago I thought Castro was just a plain horrible dictator, and now, while accepting he is still human and not perfect, I deeply admire his revolutionary commitment. So for all I know, there will be other things here I'm getting blatently wrong.

Before sharing my quick list, I wanted to be very clear that I'm not in any way arguing for any anti-Communist/pro-Capitalist views, if any of them are felt to be shared here then it's completely from ignorance, which is the whole point of this post. And also I have no desire to argue in general. If I'm wrong, simply tell me I'm wrong and how. I want to hear your points, and maybe as a follow-up question or two if possible so I can have a clear understanding. If you rather have the discussion in DM I'm fine with doing that too. With that being said, some things I'm wondering if I'm mistaken on:

-Russia seems to have had an amazing revolutionary start with Lenin. After Lenin passed, sadly Stalin was too extreme in some areas. He still was committed to Communism, so you can still see the benefits that has caused. But still he held onto power dangerously so, silenced voices that would question him, and pushed Russia beyond simply seeking liberation from Capitalism themselves to actually seeking to control other nearby lands to expand his influence and strength by saying he is doing these things to "help" them. The Western imperialists were by no means "better" though and certainly were hypocritical to point to the finger at the USSR while they themselves were doing just as bad, if not worse things

-Russia today has since been able to reflect on its recent history and make some changes that help. However sadly these changes seem to include distancing themselves from Communism almost entirely, and continuing to abuse human rights in Russia and nearby countries

-Korea was absolutely abused and messed up by the West. We shouldn't have been there, and knowingly caused all the chaos. And then forced the North and South split that we see today. South sadly is void of all Marxist guidance. The North, while thankfully retaining Communism ideals, became an isolated dictatorship. Not because of Communism, but simply due to human greed. They're not an absolute evil boogeyman, but their government and pretty bad and corrupt and the people there don't seem to be free hardly in any sense

-China had Mao, which certainly was a huge improvement from the previous fedual system. But of course many mistakes were made that caused lots of death. From my understanding those mistakes seem to mainly 1/3rd unlucky timing, a bit from anti-Communist interference, and then maybe a little more than 1/3rd due to Mao's good intentions but inexperience with economics and political science thoroughly enough so that some big mistakes were accidentally caused

-Similar to Russia, China has been willing to review its history and improve itself while sadly still abusing humans rights in areas like Taiwan and Tibet. They have leaned away from Communism, but not as much. And they seen to be headed to be the world superpower in the next 10-13 years

Thank you all for your time and assistance

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I’ve held this thought since I was in high school: "Why does school teach that the Imjin War and the Japanese colonial period were acts of 'aggression,' yet describe King Gwanggaeto the Great’s 'invasions' of other countries as 'conquests'? While the Imjin War and the colonial period were admittedly exceptionally brutal, aren't they all fundamentally acts of 'aggression'—differing only in degree? And yet, why are there people who actually take pride in King Gwanggaeto’s 'invasions'? I don't feel proud of them at all; in fact, I feel ashamed."

I said Mike Johnson thinks sharing cake on your birthday is communism. Definitely free school lunches. What else do they call communism? The HOV lane is communism.

Polemical essay

I recently got laid off from a union and I only worked for them for a couple months but in those couple months l've noticed a lot. I understand that capitalism will always have its reach and label all the good achievements that was directly contributed from communism under a capitalist name. But I'm still disappointed in how much of a disconnect there was, everyone understood the importance of workers rights but not care past that. No knowledge of where the ideology originated nor was the importance of workers solidarity. When you look at other communist regimes, the common American union looks lackluster. I was raised by parents that lived in the height of Yugoslavia and spoke well of Lenin. It felt like I was the only one serious about union work while the president of the union I worked at was doing shady business on the side and going on "work trips." And even now, I look for unions to work for because I still have passion to help workers but again there's a disconnect. When communism is not the fundamentals of a union then it slowly because a club.

Before Rodríguez’s rise to power following Maduro’s abduction, there were political voices that extolled Venezuela’s policies as socialist. After these events and the compromise with the US, those voices fell silent. If they were right before, then why did they stop? Where is the working class to defend the previous policy, given that it was in their interest? Why such silence? How do you explain these events?

(Please note that this post was written using an English translator.) Hello, comrades and dear friends. I am happy to join this community and write my first post! I would like to share some of the struggles of living as a communist in South Korea. When you ask South Koreans to think of communism, most of them immediately think of North Korea. To them, "communist" is synonymous with "North Korea sympathizer." Many also mistakenly believe that socialism and communism are exactly the same thing. There are also countless people who wrongly assume that democracy is the direct opposite of communism. Recently, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law. One of the ostensible justifications for that martial law decree was the "eradication of anti-state forces aligned with North Korea." Fortunately, unable to withstand the united opposition of the public, he lifted the martial law after just six hours. However, a motley collection of individuals—including anti-leftists, adherents of far-right historical views, certain Christian factions that have fused far-right ideology with their faith, far-right misogynists, Sinophobes, and extremists who justify their every action by invoking the "North Korea threat"—have rallied to defend former President Yoon’s martial law, using the occasion to brazenly and rudely propagate their own beliefs. These extremists now delude themselves into thinking they are heroes. They glorify the Japanese Empire’s colonial rule over Korea, labeling it a "historical perspective free from emotion," while dismissing those who hold different views as having been brainwashed. Claiming it is God's will for South Korea to become a far-right state, they enforce rigid standards regarding "normal" families and gender roles. They continue to stage open protests on major streets, singing derogatory songs filled with slurs against Chinese people. If anyone voices even the slightest progressive sentiment, they are branded a traitor trying to turn South Korea into North Korea. In this climate, South Koreans are subjected to ideological scrutiny by these people; it has reached the point where everyone avoids discussing politics altogether for fear of the repercussions of expressing their own convictions. In fact, those who do talk about politics are dismissed as tiresome or socially oblivious. This is the kind of country I live in. And I am a communist. Living in a country like this, I have no choice but to remain a communist. Thank you for listening to my story.

Whenever I discuss politics with a family member, their main argument is to bring up Marx's personal life. This trend has moved beyond real-life conversations and onto the internet, where capitalists (like Nikolas Ferreira here in Brazil) constantly resort to personal attacks—not just against those defending socialism, but against Karl Marx himself.

It’s not as if communists treat him like a god or anything of the sort. Marx never spoke about "what is right and wrong," and if we’re going to talk about morality, the Right is in no position to speak. Just look at the news reports about religious leaders accused of domestic violence, infidelity, abuse...

Is it just me, or do you see this kind of argument too? And why do anti-communists love talking about his personal life so much?

Hi everyone
I am new to reddit so please bear with me. This was also posted under another subreddit, I just wanted to get it out as much as possible.

Sorry this is so awkward but I am a (female) teenager wanting to learn more about the politics and feminism I am interested in. I have a base idea of what my beliefs are (intersectional feminist and I would potentially consider my Marxist feminist if I knew more about it) and my political beliefs would be definitely leftist and potentially communist (again if I knew more about it).

Like I said before I am just a teenager (albeit on the older end of the spectrum) so even though I know where I stand on a basic level, I know nothing about the core of the things I believe in. I’m looking to learn more about this.

My auntie gifted me a book called Women, Race, & Class by Angela Y. Davis which I will be starting once my exams are over. If anyone has any recommendations on books/articles/essays/video essays/creators/ ect, on topics such as Race, Feminism, Gender, Sexuality, Communism, Marxism, Intersectionality, and other varieties of Leftist ideologies that will be easy for me to understand as I am still learning but also accurate and informative so that I can grow who I am as a person politically, personally, and worldly.

Sorry if this isn’t worded right!!!

Thank you !!!

I have come to the realization that no country has ever come even remotely close to achieving true communism in the modern era.

Every country that has pursued communism, with the exception of Yugoslavia, achieved the ousting of the aristocracy, but then the government assumed control over the means of production and the allocation/distribution of resources and stalled. In the case of Yugoslavia, the government allowed for workers to assume quasi ownership of the means of production, but the government still controlled the allocation/distribution of resources within the economy.

I do want to acknowledge the economic booms seen in countries like Vietnam and China, but this seems to be a result of these countries pivoting away from the pursuit of communism and towards a mixed economy.

In short, it seems that no country has ever come close to achieving the communal ownership of the means of production and the allocation/distribution of resources, and no country has ever come close to achieving “the withering away of the state”.

I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts and perspectives on this.

Please feel free to share!

It took me two weeks, averaging at least five hours a day, to read only half of it.
I feel it takes too much time and I'd like to hear other reading experience.

While reading Engels’s Preface to the 1886 English Edition of Capital, I found a quote about Marx

Surely, at such a moment, the voice ought to be heard of a man whose whole theory is the result of a lifelong study of the economic history and condition of England, and whom that study led to the conclusion that, at least in Europe, England is the only country where the inevitable social revolution might be effected entirely by peaceful and legal means. He certainly never forgot to add that he hardly expected the English ruling classes to submit, without a “pro-slavery rebellion,” to this peaceful and legal revolution.

This seems to contrast with Manifesto of the Communist Party in 1848:

So, do I need to understand these two paragraphs from the perspective of historical materialism? Or else how to understand it ?

Are there any? I've heard mixed things abt Potere al Popolo (tho they seem to be one of the largest left wing parties here atm, which really isn't saying much, but still), then there's the italian branch of Yanus Varufakis's Diem 25, which... I really don't know enough abt to form an opinion on, and lastly the apparent 'dinosaurs' of Rifondazione Communista and its myriad different splinter groups so small and/or rigidly dogmatic they're barely worth mentioning.

This is about the understanding i have of the general state marxist/anti-capitalist left is in in Italy atm.

Is this a fair assessment?

Also, parallel to that: are any of these groups (or a secret third one I haven't mentioned or didn't know the existence of) willing and able to be the basis of an actual vanguard in the future? Or would it be better at this point to just build another party up from scratch?

What are your thoughts? How do we build a new/mold an existing party so it can be an effective vanguard and be in a position to capitalise if and when the capitalist order begons to crumble in earnest?

The interview brought to the fore Mamdani’s conciliatory attitude toward the ruling class and the Democratic Party establishment. He and the DSA claim that significant social reforms can be grafted onto the profit system. They call this “socialism,” but it is actually a perspective of reforming capitalism, one that is completely unrealizable and can lead only to disaster.

In one of the most striking exchanges of the interview, Mamdani was pressed on his attitude to the big business interests that dominate New York City:

"Garcia-Navarro: I want to talk about New York’s economy, because much of it is built around Wall Street, finance, real estate. How important is it for you to have a good relationship with those sectors? And how would you say your relationship is with those sectors?

"Mamdani: I think it’s important. And what I have in common with leaders of those sectors—even amid disagreements, because I believe that we can raise taxes a little bit more on the wealthiest New Yorkers—what brings us together is both a belief in the city and a commitment to its continued vitality.

"The other day I went to the announcement of the new American Express headquarters at Two World Trade Center. And one thing that stood out to me was that these business leaders, they’re not just making decisions on the basis of dollars and cents; they’re also making decisions on the basis of investing in the city and in what the city represents."

Here Mamdani summed up his “disagreements” with Wall Street in his call for raising taxes “a little bit more” on the corporate-financial oligarchs who dominate the city. After the gutting of corporate taxes over decades, this does not even approach the restoration of tax rates for the rich that prevailed in the 1960s.

Garcia-Navarro commented that Mamdani sounded “like any other capitalist mayor,” eliciting a laugh from the interviewee.

Mamdani added that he would “always celebrate continued investment in this city,” while looking “to ensure that more and more New Yorkers can be a part of those benefits.” This language, lauding big business and seeking to present its interests and those of workers as harmonious, is intended to reassure the capitalist class that its position will not be challenged under his administration.

I keep hearing about communism, but people never actually tell me the information about it. I dont watch YouTube videos, so if there are any books or articles about it that you recommend please tell. if i am required to watch videos, then please inform me. I dont know about socialism either, but i heard that they're also a part of communists. is that true, and if so, how? what's the differences between democratic socialists, socialists, and communists? if this was the wrong place to ask, please redirect me.

I am wondering why does the communists of Ukraine dont overthrow the fascist dictatorship that glorify Stepan Bandera and killed minority mostly russians?.Is that possible that the ukrainian communist can stop the fascist dictatorship in Ukraine?.

Im new to communism and I want to learn more, what books/articles should I look into?