Stalin coined the term Marxism-Leninism. Marxism-Leninism was already in practice in Lenin’s time, though Lenin didn’t say his application of Marx’s theories was Leninist, the same way Marx didn’t call himself a Marxist. It was only after the fact that Stalin synthesized Marxism-Leninism by combining Lenin’s and Marx’s theories. In the same way, people didn’t call themselves Hegelians or Darwinians when Hegel and Darwin were alive.

On Practice and On Contradiction as someone else as said would be a good start. A Handbook of Philosophy written by B.I. Syusyukalov and L.A. Yakovleva is a decent read, though it is important to note that it is from the revisionist era of the USSR.

Trust the plan.

From 2010 to 2020, Vietnam lifted 10 million people out of poverty. For nine of those years, Phú Trọng was general secretary. Rest in peace, comrade.

The powers of economic planning. o7

Maoists rejected almost all socialist experiments except China under Mao’s leadership, Albania under Hoxha’s leadership and the Soviet Union under Stalin’s leadership. They treat Marxism as a game rather than a science.

Ben Norton makes tons of great videos about the Chinese economy. Here’s one from 7 days ago.

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What happened to “If you tremble with indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine.” - Che

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They think Deng restored capitalism and installed a bourgeoise dictatorship. The problem with this view is it only works when you haven’t read any Chinese socialism and only listen to Western armchair Marxists.

I’ve read Blood Lies and thought he made an excellent argument and provided many sources.

Heres the article without the paywall. :)

People seem to think that China abandoned the socialist path since the reforms, which is invalid. They have been on the socialist path the entire time. Many factors show this. One is the Four Cardinal Principles that Deng Xiaoping had developed to ensure they stayed on the path of socialism. We must also consider that the economy’s commanding heights are planned and are subjected to five-year plans. 70% of the top 500 companies are state-owned. 50% of the economy is in the socialist public sector and directly follows the plan (40% if you ignore the agricultural industry). 20 to 30% is inside the state capitalist sector, partially owned by domestic capitalists but run by the CPC or local workers’ councils. The rest comprises the small bourgeois ownership like in the NEP. Due to the socialist nature of the economy, they have been able to lift over 800 million people out of extreme poverty, accounting for 75% of global poverty reduction. No country governed by capitalists could ever achieve such a feat. Such a feat can be accomplished only when the productive forces have been freed. Heres is a quote from Marx in the critique of the Gotha program which reaffirms China’s position as a developing socialist country:

“What we have to deal with here is a communist society, not as it has developed on its own foundations, but, on the contrary, just as it emerges from capitalist society, which is thus in every respect, ECONOMICALLY, MORALLY, and INTECTUALLY, still stamped with the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it emerges.”

Workplace democracy in action in the CPC. The real wage (IE the wage adjusted for the prices you pay) has gone up 4x in the past 25 years, more than any other country. This is staggering, considering it’s the most populous country on the planet. The US real wage by comparison is lower in 2019 than it was in 1973.

Basic healthcare is free in China. After the reforms, some mistakes were made, one being the privatisation of healthcare, which quickly reverted to free public basic healthcare. The workplace safety standards of China are better than in the capitalist countries of the West, like Australia, which has a higher rate of work-related death despite having a GDP per capita of 3-5 times higher.

https://socialistchina.org/2024/02/20/disappointing-rush-to-judgment-on-chinas-role-in-the-congo/

I have a book on my shelf called Transgender Marxism by Elle O’Rourke and Jules Joanne Gleeson. I have not read it yet, but I have heard great things.

At what cost? Think of the children China!

Take care, comrade. <3

Ben Norton is one of the best journalists out there