this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023
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Do communists disagree with AES states using "People's" in their names? (lemmygrad.ml)
submitted 1 year ago by sevenapples@lemmygrad.ml to c/communism101@lemmygrad.ml
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In The State and Revolution, Lenin (and Engels, whom he is quoting) disagrees with communists using "People's State" or "Free People's State" as a programme goal.

If I understand correctly, this is because a) it creates a misunderstanding on the final phase of communism, which is stateless and b) it goes against the Marxist understanding of states as forces of oppression. On the other hand, it seems logical to me that a state following the dictatorship of the proletariat principle would call itself "People's", since the proletariat is the majority.

So, I've been wondering if the existing socialist states have an official line about this, or if there's a consensus amongst M-Ls.

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[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Even this short quote explicitly mention it's about "bourgeois" and "capitalist" state, three times. Also State and Revolution was iirc written before the concept of socialism in one state was formulated.

Consequently, every state is not “free” and not a “people’s state".

Kinda embarrasing to point it out to Lenin, but obligatory "for which class" question is needed. It sounds like one of his thought shortcuts, like the one when he said "Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country".