Autocrat and authoritarian now means independent from the US and refusing to be vassalized. : socialism

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Any country that maintains independence and an oppositional character must maintain a strong state, develop a military, and engage in censorship. All 3 get lumped in the vague and clearly now useless category of authoritarian, meaning the US will attempt to destroy your country and people and its citizens will think this is helping "freedom" and "democracy" and "defense" and just what smart people do. Or they will play the ancillary role of demonization while maintaining an anti-war pretense that somehow always means materially supporting American war criminals.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

must maintain a strong state, develop a military, and engage in censorship. All 3 get lumped in the vague and clearly now useless category of authoritarian,

Which is extremely ironic, considering that's what we do here in the States.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Naturally it is, yes. Though those things are used for imperialism there.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Absolutely. The irony is that we constantly wail about any other country doing that.

[+] [email protected] -6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Censorship is definitely a sign of authoritarianism, and a strong state might be too, depending on what you mean by it, but not necessarily? And as liberal democracy seem to be the 'goal' of states to achieve, authoritarian is not at all a useless category since it's the opposite of democracy.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Censorship is definitely a sign of authoritarianism, and a strong state might be too, depending on what you mean by it, but not necessarily?

In reality, despite what the dictionary says, "authoritarian" means, "organized group we don't like".

Censorship is ubiquitous it just comes in different forms. The most powerful and insidipus is the kind you don't even think it censorship. For example, will you lose your job for standing up for Palestine? Will you get paid to be a journalist if you are too critical of the ruling class? When the electronic commons is actually controlled by private corporations, do you really have online speech protections? Is sinophobia the only reason TikTok is getting threatened with a ban? Whose voices are heard at city council meetings? Who gets the ear of politicians?

These are all forms of censorship, but most of them are treated as normal, even righteous and justified.

States that fight for independence rapidly find that the global monopolistic empire automatically dominates all media narratives and funds NGOs to undermine their projects. Do you expect them to let that expand and destroy their country? Censorship is an expression of authority, but does that mean it is always wrong or particularly bad? Forcing out invaders is also an expression of authority, as is organizing defense, social programs, literacy campaigns.

and a strong state might be too

The strong states are usually just doing the functions of private industry in "non-authoritarian" countries but in a way that better serves the people and are resilient to US interference.

And as liberal democracy seem to be the 'goal' of states to achieve

Liberal democracy is the most effective producer of genocide in history and is really just rule by the capitalist class that pretends to be of the masses. States seeking independence from the US must eschew it by definition, as they will otherwise be coerced into the US-dominated order.

authoritarian is not at all a useless category since it's the opposite of democracy.

Liberal democracies are, in reality, the most authoritarian countries. They impose the interests of the capitalist ruling class based on military and financial power with little regard for the horrors it inflicts. But you are correct about how the term is used, what it means despite its definition - "this is what we do and it is good, the system we don't like is bad".

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I dont have time to look for it right now but maybe somebody else will recall that study that shows something like 20% of public favored policy becoming law vs IIRC ~60% of corporate favored policy.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Yes I think it's this one: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B

Smarmy liberal defenders of capital tried to do a media push to criticize it but the authors defended it well.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Liberals really will just take useful words and then water them down until they're completely meaningless just to poison the well of discourse.

[+] [email protected] -8 points 1 month ago (3 children)

So "independence from the US" at the cost of the peoples right to choose their own destiny? Sounds great..

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Independence from the US is precisely what's facilitating the right of people to choose their own destiny.

[+] [email protected] -8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oh, so this will be a temporary authocracy to shed the US bonds, and then a revert to democracy and rule of law?

Or is it just a country denying the people their right to choose being applauded again since liberal democracy is somehow US imperialism?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's not an autocracy. It's a democratically elected government that represents the interests of the people.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

Do you think the western media is 100% honest and free from bias?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

It seems you’re still steeped in Atlanticist propaganda, where the US is the shining city on the hill, spreading freedom around the world, despite the fact that the US itself is a plutocracy of the capitalist class that is aiding and abetting a Palestinian genocide right now. Europeans need to come to terms with the fact that we’re the baddies.

List of Atrocities committed by US authorities
The U.S. Did Not Defeat Fascism in WWII, It Discretely Internationalized It
Shock therapy (economics)
World Incarceration Rates If Every U.S. State Were A Country
The blueprint of regime change operations How regime change happens in the 21st century with your consent
Infographic: US military presence around the world The US controls about 750 bases in at least 80 countries worldwide and spends more on its military than the next 10 countries combined.
Michael Parenti: Africa is Rich

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Europeans need to come to terms with the fact that we’re the baddies.

If only my American compatriots could see that we are, too. Beside us, Europe looks a bit better in that you seem to imprison fewer and have better health care and education, but seems to be playing catch up.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 month ago

Is this a bot post? If it isn't, why are you so wildly misreading my comment and answer with something hilarious irrelevant?

Socialism