Alterecho

THIS IS THE REAL LIBERAL AGENDA, TURN WHITE WOMEN INTO THE MOST BASED RAPPERS YOU'VE EVER SEEN, LYRICISM UNTOUCHED AND INALIENABLE

I was aware of Pinochet and the general CIA coup, but not Allende in particular; I don't think it's a failing to admit that the knowledge any one person has access to is limited. That's why my immediate response was one of attempting to find resources, not trying to generalize about something that I was deeply unequipped to speak on. The world's big, sadly I can't claim to have knowledge of everything on it.

My little reading on Allende makes it sound like he was democratically elected and pretty widely loved among the left-leaning members of his country - again, the only potential authoritarian charges I see levied against him are the socialization of private sectors, which I personally have not enough economic background to really have a stance on either way. If that's the only thing that he's called authoritarian for, I'd say that my understanding of the colloquial definition is probably more focused on aspects like freedom of speech, religion, etc. being limited, as opposed to market freedom.

But maybe my internal understanding of what makes a nation authoritarian is flawed! I'm happy to be wrong if it means I learn something. Maybe there's internal conflation of fascism and authoritarianism happening, and I need to re-draw some of the distinctions between the two.

I appreciate the book recommendation - the study I've done has focused less on political theory and more on philosophy, so if you have any other recommendations that cover things like the Marxist/anarchist split, etc., I'd be grateful!

So just based on a small snippet of reading about them, I think in general I have a favorable opinion of Allende's policy. Part of it is hard because, while he did some things that I agree with 10000% like increasing access to education and making basics like bread accessible, I don't have enough context to accurately judge my feelings on some of the other policies that he enacted, like land seizure. The other half of that is it's hard to see the long-term effects of policies that were then invalidated by a CIA-led coup and Pinochet.

Do you know of any places where his policies actively (for the context of our previous conversation) would be considered "authoritarian"?

That's fair- where the line of "authoritarianism" is drawn depends on historic, social, and economic context. I think modern colloquial usage is certainly shaped by western values, simply because America's primary export is culture, and that's what happens when you shout loud enough over enough time.

I'm not familiar with that example; do you have any reading on the subject I can access? I'll do some research and get back with my thoughts

I'm in no way here to argue pro-capitalist rhetoric. I'm not super committed to capitalism as opposed to other systems of economic management, I am however willing to posit that the system of trading work for money does not inherently oppress- absolutely late stage capitalism is an unabashed fuck-show responsible for more misery than acceptable by almost any ethical standard. I hate the idea that, ultimately, you're only worth what you can produce. I think that workers rights should be paramount, and there's no amount of money that would be an acceptable profit margin to sell human suffering, full stop.

On the geopolitical scale, I think many decisions during the cold war were driven by fear of nuclear warfare. There's for sure profit in controlling puppet states, but with Cuba on their doorstep and Russia very clearly taking the role of an international superpower, I think that there was some rationale about their ability to become more politically important and influence the world beyond the west's ability to push back, and with nuclear armaments proliferating at a genuinely insane rate, there was a very real threat of apocalypse on the horizon. Do I think that justifies warmongering, interference in legal elections, and killing dissidents? Of fucking course not. But I don't think it was motivated by money alone. Money is just a gateway to power, like anything else.

I think personally, the idea that you can use work to produce capital that you can then spend on other things is not necessarily authoritarian. It's also definitely not a single catch-all solution to "how do we make a society that is just"- obviously unregulated markets go brr. I think the counterbalance needs to be systems that allow for people who can't work to live a high quality of life, regardless of how much they can provide.

I think the dictionary definition is as I mentioned in a below comment, but the colloquial meaning has more to do with censorship by the government and restrictions on freedoms than go beyond those necessary for the health and welfare of other citizens.

I appreciate the reply and break-down of some of these concepts in context. I struggle with the necessity of authoritarianism, not because of the required restrictions on freedom necessary to protect others from oppression, but by shielding a system from criticism as opposed to allowing critique to be heard and resolved through collective discourse. I definitely also recognize that's an arduous process that requires a necessary undermining of governmental authority, but I feel like there's a sort of unintended arrogance in the idea that any system could be free enough of flaws to be above criticism- or that it's good enough to be worth the oppression of the few without hearing their voices and honestly considering their plight.

I'm happy, always, to learn more and engage in conversations about this, I look forward to talking with folks on Hexbear and growing my understanding of these concepts!

When you say making sure people can't leave the system, do you mean the military budget? Which is for sure super fucked- no doubt there. I think the driving force behind most warmongering is profit, as opposed to oppression for the sake of preventing dissent. Obviously CIA operations in foreign countries (and within the borders of the US) through time have shown we're certainly willing to kill and ruin economies for control, however my (admittedly limited) understanding of a lot of those instances is that they are primarily built upon promises of extending geopolitical control as opposed to pursuing pure capital.

I think about the difference between the gulf war/Iraq/Afghanistan, which were for sure about extending control in an area rich with a resource that is incredibly valuable, and Korea and Vietnam -huge examples of attempting to avoid allowing political rivals to accumulate power globally.

Honestly I think workers rights is for sure an example of modern American policy being vastly (intentionally, in part) unequipped for modern capitalism. I don't know if I think that it makes the core concepts of capitalism flawed- workers will need to work regardless of the economic system, and as long as people are working, there's a power dynamic between workers and those who are utilizing their labor- the farmer will always need to sell their crops, and they can't control if buyers won't associate with them due to their hair color, or religious preferences, etc.

I don't have an answer for that last bit- I think that's where a just government that serves its people would be able to step in and provide for people who need it. I know countries are toying with Universal Basic Income, but ultimately it's a complicated issue that doesn't have an easy answer that I'm aware of.

I'm not sure how capitalism inherently prevents you from marrying who you'd like - could you elaborate on that? Do you mean things like marrying into debt? I definitely agree that the American healthcare system is oppressive - that's absolutely a symptom of late-stage capitalism and the GLORY OF THE "INVISIBLE HAND" of the unregulated market. I think that's one of those areas where a just government would be providing for its citizens.

I appreciate the super open and honest discourse! I've only studied a little bit of Marx/Engels and then some of the Frankfurt School and some post Marxist and post structuralist stuff, I'm looking forward to engaging and learning more.

My guy, that's an awful lot of assumptions to be making about the general mindset of multiple nations, each of which contains millions of people. Derogatory? I'm pretty sure that authoritarianism has a dictionary definition lol. "Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic voting." From Wikipedia, just as a quick Google grab.

So do you think that, say, WW2 Italy wasn't authoritarian? Or same-era Japan? Fascist nations are (by the above definition) authoritarian, so that actually includes tons of non-communist nations, both current and historical. Similarly, just because a nation is communist, does not make it magically except from having corrupt, authoritarian government. Id even say that America is well on its way to authoritarianism, and the right/neo-libs continue to salivate over the chance to completely fuck over the common person in exchange for a quick buck.

Genuinely, because I'm always looking to learn more; how does capitalism as an economic system inherently restrict rights? My understanding of the core premise is that it turns labor into a conceptual currency that we then use to acquire goods. It's not, theoretically, at least, inherently oppressive. In practice, it's been clearly a shit-show that causes more suffering than just about anything else on the planet.

As a side note; I'm deeply anti-capitalist, I'm also deeply anti-fascist and anti-authoritarian. I hate the idea that a human being is only worth the utility they provide, and I also hate the idea that oppression is a necessary consequence of an attempt to liberate the people of a nation from hyper-capitalist wagemongering. I'd like to think there's a world where we can live and not oppress anyone, can genuinely engage in discourse and learn from each other without judgement.

I'm sorry, maybe I'm misunderstanding here. I think the delineation between authoritarian regimes and non-authoritarian governments is pretty clear - are you implying that all socialist and communist influenced governments are necessarily authoritarian?