It’s lemmygrad, we’re the spectre. I’d bet at least half of the other instances out there block us, there’s only like 300 dedicated users on this instance, and they still can’t stop complaining about lemmygrad/tankies

  • @Drewfro66@lemmygrad.ml
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    191 year ago

    It’s an instance for Communists, specifically Communists who support AES (actually existing socialism). In short, we think that the USSR and PRC (among others), while not perfect, were legitimate attempts at building Socialism and better than Capitalism as it exists in the West.

    Other people don’t like that because, to them, Stalin was just Red Hitler and Xi Jinping is literally committing a genocide right now. Neither are true.

    • @Shikadi
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      1 year ago

      I don’t know if the user jonathan12345 in the rest of this thread reflects the rest of this community, but they’re basically putting words in my mouth and disagreeing with things I’m not even saying. I’m anti capitalism, but that kind of behavior definitely makes me think this isn’t a place I want to be a part of.

      • @Drewfro66@lemmygrad.ml
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        1 year ago

        Lemmygrad is a space for Communists who support AES. If you do not support China, you’re probably correct that this instance is not for you.

        But I think you’ll find it’s a fine place to engage as long as you keep questions about the legitimacy of past and present Socialist experiments to the !communism101@lemmygrad.ml comm.

        The fact of the matter is that, while China does have billionaires, it is not an Oligarchy in the same way the United States or Russia is because these people do not hold the power in society. In China, the Communist Party does; and while you might say that the CPC overvalues its own bureaucracy and the so-called “Labor Aristocracy”, it still more-or-less represents Working Class values. There are laws in place that mandate certain proportions of Communist Party membership and leadership come from certain positions and industries specifically to avoid it becoming beholden to the very-rich.

        • @Shikadi
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          31 year ago

          I’m not pro China, but that doesn’t mean I’m not open to learning about why you are pro China. Your response is constructive and brings to the table things I didn’t know and can now further research. From the perspective of someone who works for a US corp that does business with China, and who has co workers from China, workers best interests aren’t being protected at any reasonable level like they are in say Germany. But I also am aware that even though my working conditions are fine, the awful working conditions for other jobs in the US (some from the same company I work for) are covered up and hidden from the public eye as well

    • @Shikadi
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      -81 year ago

      Ah okay I can see how that’s controversial, given China is heavy on censorship and control, and in reality they’re just another form of capitalism run by a rich oligarchy. Plus with the way the world has changed, I think a new system is needed because we’re heading towards enough automation that not everyone should need to work.

      I don’t know much about the USSR so I won’t comment on that

        • @Shikadi
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          -71 year ago

          I approve of the source, however disagree with the conclusions

          • commiespammer
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            101 year ago

            Ok but in all honestly, just because there are rich people in China doesn’t mean it’s a ‘capitalist ogliarchy’. Sure, there are billionaires in the party, but they have just as much power as any farmer or worker, no more and no less.

            • @Shikadi
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              1 year ago

              That’s not true in the slightest though? I mean the very fact that there are different wages, there’s poverty, China invests heavily in foreign companies (both the government and private Chinese corporations), that’s all capitalism. The farmer doesn’t have any say in what tencent or the China Evergrande Group does. The CCP controls the media and limits free speech, and makes decisions for everyone. Even if you’re to somehow convince me that the people who control the CCP aren’t rich oligarchs, they’re absolutely still in control of the CCP, and it’s not communism.

              • commiespammer
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                1 year ago

                Oh my god there are companies, guess there’s no more socialism guys!1!1!!1

                Just because there are companies does not mean that China is revisionist. And Tencent and China Evergrande have nothing to do with the government. Why would they?

                edit: What do different wages have to do with socialism? Also it’s CPC, not CCP.

                • @Shikadi
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                  -31 year ago

                  We’re talking about communism here not socialism, I didn’t say China doesn’t have socialism

                  • commiespammer
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                    81 year ago

                    I’m confused. Do you expect China to be instantly fully communist without money or class? Do you know that China started as a poor and feudal country and has constantly been under pressure and sanctions from the west?

                    It’s like giving you control of an island full of people with almost no food and enemies thirsting to attack at any moment. Go on, build communism.

                • @Shikadi
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                  -41 year ago

                  I also want to add, I feel like I was legitimately trying to engage with you and you’ve become defensive/lumped me in with others, which isn’t really fair

                  • 🏳️‍⚧️ 新星 [they/she]
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                    41 year ago

                    Not the person you replied to, but we get a decent amount of bad faith posters here from other instances, and you were repeating some of those points. I don’t think there was ill intent by either of you, but I can understand the confusion.

                    I hope we don’t feel like a hostile place and I hope you learned something!

              • @IntoDaLagoon@lemmygrad.ml
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                1 year ago

                The CCP controls the media and limits free speech,

                In my country like three completely unnacountable megacorporations control the media and limit free speech. The CPC at least gives a shit about public health and safety

                and makes decisions for everyone

                I don’t remember being consulted on the decision to invade Iraq, continue the illegal blockade of Cuba, send missiles to Nazis in Ukraine, make food twice as expensive, have the sky turn blood red from fire every couple years, be watched by police snipers at a football game, live in an endless pandemic, or drink microplastics for the rest of my life.

                • @Shikadi
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                  21 year ago

                  To the first part, to my knowledge they only care about health and safety in specific cases, but they allow for working conditions with things like lead, asbestos, toxic chemicals, etc. Foxconn is the first example that pops into my head, where workers were searches and beaten, and some were committing suicide. And back when China was buying US E waste, workers would be scavenging through dangerous phosphors and mercury, plus some mild lead exposure.

                  To the second part, I am not comparing China to the US, I don’t believe the US government is good either, so that’s irrelevant

                  • @IntoDaLagoon@lemmygrad.ml
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                    21 year ago

                    Foxconn is a Taiwanese company, headquartered in Taipei. While China has a ways to go on working conditions, the overall trend (as with pretty much every other metric) is that their conditions continue to improve due to increasing regulation, ours continue to decline in the dearch for increasing profits. I’m definitely hoping they achieve a better work/life balancr, although having been to Taiwan, I’ll say they certainly can’t throw any stones in that department either lol