Contradictions of Authoritarian Socialism

This article outlines the contradictions of authoritarian or state socialism, or the ways in which authoritarian socialist governments contradict their own values. As such, this article takes repression of dissenters, restrictions on media and movement, war crimes, invasion of other countries to protect socialist revolution and spying on citizens as justified. Even if as libertarian socialists, we have our own critiques of these concepts.

Why do this?

It might seem strange for us first worlders (given that most internet users are in the first world, and libsoc wiki is an online project) to critique third world efforts at socialism whilst under siege from the United States. While we want all embargoes, US state-sponsored terrorism (as seen in Cuba and China) wars and espionage to end and oppose war against any of these countries or any other country not aligned with the USA (like Iran or Syria) We are obviously aware that these critiques won't reach the people living in these countries, but that isn't our goal. We are not trying to promote US-sponsored 'regime change' anywhere nor are we trying to incite a libertarian socialist revolution in any of these countries (although we'd all like to see one) our goal is to reach Anglosphere leftists who want to recreate a government similar to that of Cuba in their own countries. We believe that Marxist-Leninists are responsible for a significant amount of misinformation online about the nature of these countries, we aim to offer a purely negative counter. If you would like to see the positive achievements of state socialism, the page for each individual country contains a list of positive and negative achievements.

China

• Xi Jinping, current Premier of China, has admitted that the country has a massive problem with corruption and has begun an anti-corruption campaign. The campaign 'netted' over 120 high-ranking officials, including about a dozen high-ranking military officers, several senior executives of state-owned companies, and five national leaders. More than 100,000 people have been indicted for corruption.
  • The Wukan Uprising in 2011 highlights just how deep this corruption goes, and that the Chinese government often sold off peasant lands without their consent to wealthy corporations.
  • Duowei (a pro-China newspaper in the USA) wrote in support of the campaign, arguing China in the previous decades was heavily challenged by widespread corruption, a widening gap between rich and poor, social injustice, and excessive focus on material wealth.
• China has a pretty bad record on foreign policy. We won't be covering China's debt deals and infrastructure buying. To China's credit, it is MUCH more peaceful than the USA's, UK's and France's efforts to create hegemony.
  • From 1974, China (along with the USA) supported Eritrean ML rebels against Socialist Ethiopia.
  • In 1975, China (with the USA and France) provided material support for anti-communist rebels in the Angolan Civil War that tried to overthrow the socialist government.
  • China tried to invade Vietnam in 1979, RIGHT after Vietnam had suffered brutally at the hands at the USA in the Vietnam War. Border skirmishes continued until 1991 where relations were normalised.
  • China ended support for the Communist Party of the Philippines in their insurgency in 1976 as part of its normalisation of relations with the Philippines.
  • China tried to invade Vietnam in 1979, RIGHT after Vietnam had suffered brutally at the hands at the USA in the Vietnam War. Border skirmishes continued until 1991 where relations were normalised.
  • China, along with the USA and UK, also supported Pol Pot as they waged a war against Vietnam and socialist Cambodia.
  • Since 1992, China has been closely cooperative with Israel on military matters.
  • Since 2003, China has supported the government of Sudan whilst carrying out anti-Arab ethnic cleansing and mass rape.
  • Since 2005, China has aided the old Nepalese government against Maoist rebels by donating military aid to the government and arresting Maoists smuggling in weapons from China.
  • In the 2010s, Chinese state-owned companies invested in gas pipelines in Canada over indigenous lands without the consent of indigenous people, leading to protests.

Cuba

Given that Cuba and its supporters often claim to be one of the most democratic countries in the world, we are going to include critiques based in media freedom and political repression, as media freedom is an important component of democracy.

• Che's Guevara's grandson, Canek Sánchez Guerara, said of the country: “The Cuban revolution has given birth to a bourgeoisie, to repressive apparatuses meant to defend from the people a bureaucracy very distant from that same people. But above all it has been anti-democratic because of the religious messianism of its leader”. He was disgusted by “the criminalisation of difference, the means of persecution of homosexuals, hippies, free thinkers, trade unionists and poets” and the installation of “a socialist bourgeoisie…falsely proletarian”. Commenting on changes in Cuba some time before his death Canek noted: "Sometimes we tend to judge reality from our desires, and that's a problem. I would like to see changes in Cuba, but that is not happening. In the collective imagination of Cuba, change is associated with the death of Fidel Castro. The political system on the island has behaved like a monarchy, and Fidel has ensured a monitoring of the succession, and that delays any change." He rejected the role that the regime were preparing for him as a high ranking military officer and lived most of his life in Mexico, where he died in 2015 after heart surgery.
• In January 2020, a former high ranking judge in Cuba (a communist and huge fan of Castro) leaked secret Cuban government documents that showed the regime had the highest incarceration rate in the world at over 90,000 prisoners, with thousands in prison on dubious charges. Documents reviewed by the New York Times showed 92% of individuals tried in the country are found guilty. Nearly 4,000 every year are accused of being "antisocial" or "dangerous", which are terms used by the government to charge those that have committed no crime but are viewed by the regime as a risk to the status quo. Those charges have a 99.5% conviction rate. These individuals face summary trials with no right to a defense or to present evidence, according to the former judge. The documents show individuals being sentenced for several years in prison under the category of "anti-social", which can include actions like not belonging to state associated civic organizations or being unemployed. The crime "description" is often identical, appearing to be copy and pasted by police.
• According to Reporters Without Borders, Cuba is one of the worst places for media freedom in the world. They claim: "Cuba has continued year after year to be Latin America’s worst media freedom violator ... The regime maintains an almost total media monopoly and the constitution prohibits privately-owned media. The few Cuban bloggers and independent journalists are threatened by the government and watched by security agents, who often take them in for questioning and delete information in their devices. Journalists regarded as especially troublesome are often arrested and jailed. The authorities also control the coverage of foreign reporters by granting accreditation selectively and expelling those regarded as too “negative” about the government."
• The Cuban government allows Israeli businesses to operate in the country, and Fidel Castro said in 2010 he believes Israel has a right to exist. (Note, both East Germany and North Korea severed ties with Israel, so it's not a survival thing)

East Germany

• In 1953, the government repressed striking construction workers who protested harsh working conditions.

North Korea

• North Korea has continuously been abducting South Korean and Japanese citizens throughout its existence.
• North Korea has a strong problem with human trafficking, the government essentially sells workers to countries like Russia and Qatar and there is a huge problem with women being trafficked as sex slaves into China.
• Since 1990, at least 18 North Korean diplomats have been caught smuggling rhino horn and ivory, though the real number is considered to be much higher.
• In a 2014 UN report, Syria, Myanmar, Eritrea, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia and Iran were all suspected to have bought weapons from North Korea.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

• From 1930 to 1952, the USSR pursued a number of policies of forced resettlement and deportations of entire ethnic groups based on racist propaganda. This included the populations of the Azerbaijanis in Armenia, Balkars, Chechens, Chinese, Estonians, Finns, Germans, Greeks, Inguish, Jews, Kalmyks, Karachays, Latvians, Lithuanians, Poles, Romanians, Tatars, Turks and Ukrainians. This occured despite the USSRs officially condemnation of nationalism and proclaimed internationalism, including the right of nations and peoples to self-determination. (Note, apologists will try to claim that this was due to World War II, despite several of these not occurring during World War II, be wary.)
• In 1933, the USSR recriminalised homosexuality between men after most of the medical community recommended viewing homosexuality as a normal and healthy thing.
• In 1938, a pedophile and rapist was made head of the secret police by Stalin.
• In 1956, the government murdered several Marxist-Leninist students who were peacefully protesting government policies.
• In 1962, the government repressed striking factory workers who wielded banners of Lenin by killing around 20 of them.

Vietnam

• In 1989, Le Quang Dao, a member of the Central Committee of the Party and the President of the National Assembly (also Vice Chairman of the State Council of Vietnam (1987–1992) and a general of the Vietnam People's Army during the Vietnam War) declared: “The dictatorship of the party has replaced the dictatorship of the working people as a whole … the result is a totalitarian regime based on privilege … a regime of social injustice that is driving the people to revolt.”

• In November 1991, Bui Tin, the editor of Nhan Dan, the organ of the Central Committee of the Party, while on a mission to Paris, broke with Hanoi's previous silence on the issue and provided testimony concerning the political and economic crisis in his country: “The current situation of the country is of great concern to everyone in Vietnam…. Bureaucratism, irresponsibility, egoism, corruption and fraud have spread under the insolent reign of privileges and prerogatives. What is still deeply and firmly rooted in the Communist Party of Vietnam, is Stalinist and Maoist tendencies that are simultaneously feudal and peasant-based, idealistic, paternalistic and authoritarian, extremely conservative and corrupt, completely alien to democratic ideas”

See Also

• Contradictions of Capitalism
• Contradictions of Conservatism
• Contradictions of Fascism
• Contradictions of Liberalism
• Contradictions of Social Democracy