State capitalism, as Lenin explained, can be a transitional phase under a proletarian state. However, AES states developed bureaucratic classes managing production, diverging from Marx’s idea of collective control by the working class (Critique of the Gotha Programme).
I do not reject evidence but consider contradictions. AES planning excluded workers from real decision-making, violating Marx’s principle of collective worker control (The Civil War in France).
I never claimed socialism must be flawless. Marx recognized contradictions exist in all stages.
Revolutions prove nothing without examining their results. AES states stabilized under bureaucratic control, sidelining the working class, which Marx and Engels warned against (The Communist Manifesto).
Marx and Engels envisioned workers directly controlling production. The USSR’s soviets were subordinated to a centralized bureaucracy, diverging from this vision (The State and Revolution).
These comments are rooted in Marxism’s principle: the working class must emancipate itself.
It might be valuable to try to be mindful of the displayed habit of repeatedly misrepresenting what is written, either purposefully or out of misunderstanding. This distorts and distracts from the actual topic and makes for a standoffish look.
Sometimes, considering a broader perspective rather than adhering to a rigid viewpoint, even when it feels like it has all the answers you’re looking for, can help break free from those cognitive dissonance patterns.
Good night.
Although NATO expansion doesn’t seem to be an actual cause; notably, it didn’t matter when Baltic states joined NATO. However, the embarrassment from a failed coup with pro-Russian Yanukovych in 2004 and later him getting ousted in 2014 could be the sparks for vengeance.
Russia’s actions reflect its own imperial ambitions. Rather than supporting the Ukrainian working class in determining its future, Russia has sought to dominate Ukraine through economic pressure, political manipulation, and military force. This mirrors classic imperialist behavior, where a dominant power suppresses national self-determination to maintain its own sphere of influence. The war in Ukraine is not a struggle against the West but a competition between capitalist empires, with Ukraine caught in the middle.