cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/1803761
Original title (which I find a bit too click-baity):
Socialism: Let’s Not Resuscitate the Worst Mistake of the 20th Century
I read and commented over there, but I will add: this really drives home the importance of creating ground-up power structures that are not dependant on and exist in opposition to the state. When the goal becomes statism, the result is never not a state.
So I am a little confused about what the author is saying here. He seems to be saying let’s not repeat the past mistakes of socialism but let’s do socialism again but make it work this time? This just seems like another person saying we haven’t actually had a socialist system yet so we should try to actually try it. I don’t know. Can anyone clarify this one for me or at least offer their interpretation.
I’m guessing that when you hear “socialism”, like most people you think of state socialism. USSR, China, etc, as well as the various political parties trying to implement socialist policies through the electoral process. The socialist movement has always had a significant anarchist faction as well. Basically, things went like this:
- State socialists: Right, we’re going to do state socialism
- Anarchists: That’s going to go very badly, let’s do anarchism instead
- State socialists proceed to do state socialism, and it goes very badly
- Anarchists: Okay, now that we all have the benefit of historical hindsight, let’s do anarchism now?
- State socialists: No, we’re going to do state socialism again
- Anarchists: Oh for fuck’s sake
