176 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
176 lines
4.9 KiB
Markdown
**Authoritarian Socialism** or **State Socialism** refers to an effort
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to build a socialist society that differs from libertarian socialists on
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four main areas:
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- The [state's](State_\(Polity\) "wikilink") role in history is viewed
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completely differently. For authoritarian socialists, the state was
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a product of [class divisions](Class "wikilink") which emerged
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alongside the development of [agriculture](agriculture "wikilink")
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and cannot be gotten rid of in the short run without having huge
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side effects which would destroy socialism. Whereas libertarian
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socialists view the state as an independent entity that accumulates
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power on its own will and predates class.
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- Decisions are not to be made via popular assemblies and regional
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confederations, but instead through a one-party dictatorship with
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little to no input from the general public. According to
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authoritarian socialists, this is necessary to maintain the
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organizational efficiency necessary to defend socialism from
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[counter-revolutionaries](Counter-Revolution "wikilink") and
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warmongering capitalists.
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- Industry is to be [nationalized](Nationalization "wikilink") and
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operated according to the will of the state. Industry may have some
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degree of [workers'
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self-management](Workers'_Self-Management "wikilink"), as in
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[Yugoslavia](Federal_Socialist_Republic_of_Yugoslavia "wikilink").
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This is done in order to ensure the most effective use of resources
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towards building socialism.
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- Dissent is to be harshly punished in order to create a stable and
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harmonious nation.
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## History
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## Schools of Thought
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## Applications
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It is no secrete that authoritarian socialism has been tried many more
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times and on much larger scales than libertarian socialism, these are
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the results of those experiments:
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### Afghanistan
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### Albania
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### Algeria
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### Angola
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### Bangladesh
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### Benin
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### Burkina Faso
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### Bulgaria
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### Burma
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### Cambodia
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### Cape Verde
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### China
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### Congo
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### Cuba
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### Czechoslovakia
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### East Germany
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### Egypt
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### Ethiopia
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### Grenada
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### Guyana
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### Hungary
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### India
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### Iraq
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### Laos
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### Libya
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### Madagascar
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### Mongolia
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### Mozambique
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### Nepal
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### Nicaragua
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### North Korea
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### Poland
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### Portugal
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### Romania
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### Seychelles
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### Somalia
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### South Yemen
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### Sri Lanka
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### Sudan
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### Syria
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### Tanzania
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### USSR
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### Vietnam
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### Yugoslavia
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## Criticism
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The main criticism of authoritarian socialism advanced by [libertarian
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socialists](Libertarian_Socialism "wikilink") are:
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- The authoritarian socialist conception of the state is based on
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outdated or misleading historical data. More recent evidence shows
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that the state emerged long before class divisions, and is usually
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based on factors such as [religious](Religion "wikilink")
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worship.\[1\]\[2\]\[3\]
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- If decision-making power is not distributed among the population, it
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will create a small elite isolated from the consequences of their
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actions who will quickly become consumed by greed and paranoia,
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violently maintaining their control over the population and
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ultimately reinstating [capitalism](capitalism "wikilink") to ensure
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their own wealth and power.\[4\]
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- The belief that hierarchical organizations are more efficient that
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non-hierarchical ones is conflicting with existing evidence\[5\],
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especially within the military, where decentralized forces
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frequently defeat centralized ones despite having access to inferior
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equipment, knowledge and army size.\[6\]
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- Nationalization of industry or limited workers' self-management only
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creates a bitter and [alienated](Alienation "wikilink") workforce,
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who may begin to sympathize strongly with [far-right
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anti-communist](Fascism "wikilink") ideas.\[7\]
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## References
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<references />
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1. [Pierre Clastres](Pierre_Clastres "wikilink") (1974) [Society
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Against The State](Society_Against_The_State "wikilink")
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2. [David Graeber](David_Graeber "wikilink") (2011) [Debt: The First
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5000 Years](Debt:_The_First_5000_Years "wikilink")
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3. [Peter Gelderloos](Peter_Gelderloos "wikilink") (2017) [Worshiping
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Power: An Anarchist View of Early State
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Formation](Worshiping_Power:_An_Anarchist_View_of_Early_State_Formation "wikilink")
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4. [Mikhail Bakunin](Mikhail_Bakunin "wikilink") (1873) [Statism and
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Anarchy](Statism_and_Anarchy "wikilink")
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5. [Kevin Carson](Kevin_Carson "wikilink") (2008) [Organization Theory:
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A Libertarian
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Perspective](Organization_Theory:_A_Libertarian_Perspective "wikilink")
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6. [Peter Gelderloos](Peter_Gelderloos "wikilink") (2010) [Anarchy
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Works](Anarchy_Works "wikilink")
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7. [Immanuel Ness](Immanuel_Ness "wikilink") (2010) [Ours to Master and
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to Own: Workers' Control from the Commune to the
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Present](Ours_to_Master_and_to_Own:_Workers'_Control_from_the_Commune_to_the_Present "wikilink")
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- Part III: Goran Music - Yugoslavia: Workers’ Self-Management as
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State Paradigm |