Socialism

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Beehaw's community for socialists, communists, anarchists, and non-authoritarian leftists (this means anti-capitalists) of all stripes. A place for all leftist and labor news and discussion, as long as you're nice about it.

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Should Non-Authoritarian Socialists/Leftists use the term "Comrade"? Why or Why Not? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by WtfEvenIsExistence@lemmy.ca to c/socialism@beehaw.org

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This community seems to be a curation of news articles, so I'm not sure if a discussion question is supposed to be here.

So anyways:

I really liked this term, but unfortunately, it has been used by authoritarians (particularly the people that call themselves "Marxist-Leninists"), so the word has a negative connotation amongst people living in countries with a democratic system, to be associated with those authoritarian regimes.

Given this negative connotation with the term, should Non-Authoritarian Socialists/Leftists use this term? Why or Why Not?

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[–] lemillionsocks@beehaw.org 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Unfortunately meanings change over time and with context and from my american perspective comrade at best sounds sarcastic or like youre making fun of something. At worst it sounds like you're genuinely supporting more authoritative soviet style authoritarianism.

[–] davehtaylor@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago

Yeah, I feel like it's not a word to try to reclaim. Especially when we try to explain to people that the Soviets weren't actually socialists and we're trying to build a grassroots democratic movement, it seems like using terms that echo that authoritarian regime can only hurt the cause.