r/Communist

I've just started reading Marx and my social media algorithm has been completely taken over by ML posts. We are farmers, we own land. We farm coconut which doesn't need a lot of labour, me with my family is enough to maintain the farm. We hire labour only for harvest and I pay them what they demand without second thought since I got the ownership of the land from my grandfather. And whenever I try to defend the workers or the idea of communism while having a conversation with my relatives I go through many dilemma (since I didn't read a lot obviously). And instead of pushing myself to find the answer it demotivates me to stay stagnant, idk why I'm also going through some personal problems, so this conversation here is important to me. So the questions are as follows,

I own 10 acres of farmland with coconut plantation. I support land redistribution too. But now as an individual what should I do? Should I use it to earn capital and support the movement? That's what I'm thinking on doing (obviously against my family's will) but is there anything better can be done? I'm in contact with an Communist organisation but haven't got close since the conscious of owning land feels like I am a hypocrite and afraid how are they gonna receive me into the movement if I disclose this to them

I know reading more can give solutions to my questions but I need to talk about it with people and but I'm only surrounded by Rightwing, pro capitalist people. Also it's quite tough to understand things while reading because english isn't my first language and I don't want to read it in my mother tongue too. TIA

>Opposition is growing around the world against the imprisonment of Bogdan Syrotiuk, a 27-year-old socialist sentenced by a Ukrainian court to 15 years in prison for “high treason,” for writing that Russian and Ukrainian workers should unite against the war and for opposing the official glorification of Nazi collaborators.

>Workers, academics and public intellectuals on four continents have signed the petition demanding his freedom or sent letters of protest to the Pervomaisk City District Court, which handed down the verdict.

>Over the past several days, hundreds of people throughout the world have signed the petition demanding his freedom, which has received more than 5,700 signatures since its publication.

>The signers since the verdict come from the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Spain, France, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Turkey, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal, India, China, Taiwan, Poland, Norway, Denmark, South Korea, Romania, the Netherlands, Lithuania, the Philippines, Brazil, Croatia, Switzerland, Peru—and Ukraine itself.

>The prosecution’s case rested entirely on Bogdan’s articles—which oppose both the Russian invasion and the US-NATO proxy war—and his messages with WSWS editors. The court ordered Bogdan’s property seized and the literature of the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists, which he led, destroyed.

>Bogdan has been imprisoned since April 25, 2024, when the Security Service of Ukraine arrested him and declared him a Russian agent, a claim the state never substantiated.

>Mario Kessler, a historian of communism and senior fellow at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam, sent a letter of protest Wednesday. “I, Professor Dr. Mario Kessler, historian in Berlin, hereby strongly protest the Pervomaisk court’s conviction of Mr. Bogdan Syrotiuk,” the letter begins. Further on, Kessler wrote:

>"Must I remind you that Leon Trotsky, as People’s Commissar for Defense, ensured the formation of the Red Army, which was able to curb the mass murder of Ukrainian Jews during the civil war? Must I also remind you that in 1939, Trotsky vehemently condemned the partition of Western Ukraine between Germany and the Soviet Union and advocated for an Ukraine independent of the Soviet Union—including Stalin’s Soviet Union? How does this fit with the accusation that Mr. Syrotiuk, a self-proclaimed socialist and Trotskyist, is playing along with Putin’s game?"

>...

>The letters and signatures have accumulated against silence in the Western press. In the 27 months since Bogdan’s arrest, none of the following publications has devoted a single line to his case: the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, the Telegraph, the Times of London, The Economist, the BBC, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News and Politico; and the wire services Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press and Reuters.

>On the day of the sentencing, the Washington Post published two articles on the ruling of Russia’s Supreme Court barring the Yabloko party from September’s parliamentary elections; it has never published a word about Bogdan. David North, who chairs the WSWS International Editorial Board, wrote Tuesday to the New York Times’ international editor, Philip Pan, asking the paper to report Bogdan’s case. No reply has come.

>Bogdan’s defense has 30 days from the verdict to appeal. A complaint over his detention has been pending at the European Court of Human Rights since spring 2025.

>The WSWS has called on workers, young people, journalists, scientists, artists and all defenders of democratic rights to distribute its statements on Bogdan’s case as broadly as possible—among co-workers, classmates and friends and on social media.

>Send statements demanding the overturning of the verdict and Bogdan’s immediate release to the Pervomaisk City District Court at inbox@pm.mk.court.gov.ua, with copies to the WSWS at freebogdan@wsws.org.

On August 10, a court in the city of Pervomaisk in southern Ukraine sentenced Bogdan Syrotiuk—a 27-year-old socialist and leader of the Trotskyist Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists—to 15 years in prison for “high treason” for calling for the international unity of Russian and Ukrainian workers against war.

Bogdan has been convicted of a thought crime, in a ruling that blatantly violates international human rights law and the European Convention on Human Rights. The charge rested on the antiwar articles Bogdan published on the World Socialist Web Site and on his opposition to the Ukrainian government’s glorification of Nazi collaborators.

The very statements cited in the ruling make clear that he was an opponent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called on workers and young people in both Russia and Ukraine to oppose it. The verdict cites his “comparisons with fascists and Nazis” and his “reinterpretation of national heroes and historical figures”—explicitly citing as evidence his denunciation of the Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera, whose movement participated in the Holocaust.

The savage treatment of Bogdan and the kangaroo-court character of the proceedings explode the official narrative that has dominated the governments and media of the United States and Europe: that Ukraine is an embattled democracy, fighting to defend freedom against an unprovoked invasion. The prosecution of Bogdan exemplifies the real state of affairs in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian state has outlawed left-wing politics and suppressed all independent political and trade union activity. In March 2022, the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suspended 11 opposition parties and merged the major national television channels’ news into a single state-run broadcast. That June, the courts banned the largest opposition party in parliament. Strikes are prohibited under martial law, and wartime labor legislation has suspended collective agreements and stripped basic protections from the majority of the workforce. Elections have been suspended since Zelensky’s own term expired on May 20, 2024. He rules by decree.

So I am a rather new Maoist here, in the sense that i keep learning about it and I’m convinced by many aspects of it.

But there is mainly one thing that troubles me. Revisionism and anti-revisionism. I recognise how dangerous revisionism is and how it has led to the USSR‘s collapse and China capitalist roading. But at the same time Maoists defend things like the NEP or the New Democratic period in China highlighting that these only lasted less than ten years while chinas reforms have been going on for decades. And that makes sense, but how do you recognise the revisionism prior to the reforms having been there for 50 years? How did Mao know that Dengism was revisionist and not just a strategic retreat? Because thats exactly what Deng framed it as but I mean it’s been 50 years and it does seem like it’s more than just a temporary retreat.

The article "The Workers Party of Korea and Revisionism" by Bill Bland claims that north korea is revionist for

•Not oposing Krushevite Revisionism

•alliance with the bourgeoisie even after the anti imperialist revolution in colonial countries

•class colobartion for peaceful remoulding of the national capitalists

•North Korea had a cult of personality around Kim il Sung and Kim jong il

• allowing foreign investment in north korea in special economic zones

•claiming that man plays the decisive role in history and not material conditions

•Not having objective definitions of class but instead dividing society into masses of the people and non masses of the people based on weather they approve of the country

•prioritizing the ideological remoulding of man over creating the material conditions for socialism

•claiming that workers should be incentived morally and politically more that materialy

•oposing an international marxist leninist organization

I disagree with the article claiming that north korea didn't opose Krushevite Revisionism based on a few quotes when in reality, north korea did infact opose Krushevite Revisionism and did not inact Krushevite policies of deStalinisation or peaceful coexistence with the west. it simply chose to not openly criticize the soviet union as to not trigger a split which I believe was the right move because through staying neutral it was able to continue having aid from both the soviet union and China and did not follow China into alliance with the west. This however didn't stop the soviet union from cutting aid from north korea for not inacting Krushevite policies. I also disagree that north korea was class colobartionist for not exproiprating private property through force but instead negotiating with the capitalists and forming types of cooperatives, Bill Bland says that north korea allowed capitalists to continue exsisting but this is not true, in the same article its never stated that capitalists can simply chose to not convert thier private property into cooperatives but instead that it simply shouldn't be done through coercion or force but instead voluntarily, its even stated that Kim il sung declared north korea socialist after 100% of capitalists joined cooperatives which implies that no capitalist was able to continue exsisting. Bill Bland also claims that there were cults of personality, however he substantiated this point by saying that the birthday holidays of the leaders of north korea were very extravagant and expensive and uses an American source. Personally I dont think having a holiday around a nation's leader proves a cult of personality, and I dont think the American source used to determine the extravagance of the holiday celebration is very reliable, however there is some credit in that its stated by Kim Jong il that essentially the leader determines everything and you must be loyal to the leader which I think is very suspicious.

I agree with all other claims by Bill Bland based on the evidence in the article but I also want to get other people's opinions

It isn't 'communism destroyed Eastern Europe.' its what happens when socialism is dismantled, public property is sold off to 5 oligarchs, cities are abandoned, and poverty is turned into an Instagram aesthetic. People love to blame communism because it's easier than talking about capitalism, corruption, privatization, and how workers were treated like the periphery of Europe. Furthermore, as an example, Bulgaria has lost 13% of its population to Germany, etc. since 1990. It's difficult for any country to grow economically when all young people have better options abroad and women typically have one or two children. Or even thanks to what happened after 1989: privatization, deindustrialization, corruption, and mass emigration. Bulgaria had almost 9 million people around 1990; now it has 6.44 million. Why? It's not because 'communism ruined it.' It's been 35 years since the country became Europe's cheap labor pool and its public ownership was sold. You can hate socialism, but at least be honest about history and stop pretending to be a capitalist.

Like the title says I haven't read the communist manifesto yet and would like a brief understanding of it. Also what society has been the closest to true communism? I see some disagreements when people answer it. Some say it's the USSR, DRPK, burkina faso, and some say it's Cuba. What other countries or topics should I research to gain a better historical understanding of it and what other books are there about it? All I know is the communist manifesto and das kapital

So Laos is actually one of the few remaining „socialist“ countries (in quotes because for some of these it’s debated if they actually socialist) but it’s the only one I like never see anyone talk about.

Why is that?

What specific ideology do they follow?

Are they aligned with anyone internationally (china? Russia?)

When did they have their revolution?

Government Name: [Name of Country] Democratic Republic

Type: Unitary Marxist-Leninist-Maoist one-party socialist republic

Ruling party: Communist People's Liberatory League of [Name of Country]

Key features: Land redistribution from big corporate companies to both rural peasants and urban workers. The states/regions/provinces were governed by the State Council, and a specific set of banks and companies were nationalised while the rest were put under the control of the Councils. The [Name of Country] People's Army served as the Armed Wing while the Red Frontier served as the militia. The death penalty was abolished contrary to the custom but the Chairman considered it as imperialist. The Chairman was the head of state and was the General Secretary of the CPLL, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, while the Premier served as the second-in-command. A Parliament called the National Congressional Council which sits every 5 years and is led by the speaker with 255 elected representatives from the CPLL. Some other 5-6 leftist parties hold Observer status, that is, they do not have any real decision making power, and purely serving an advisory and suggestive role, and they too elect a definitive Minister to guide them. The only smallest level of private industry that exists are the communes/cooperatives which work under the strict supervision of the Municipal Council(divided into Rural and Urban branches). The culture in the country follows a strict, militaristic "middle path", rejecting both traditional conservatism and Western individualism, providing gender and racial equality while avoiding the liberal democratic chaos of the West. What do you guys think about this? Leave your thoughts down in the comments.

On August 10, Bogdan Syrotiuk, a 27-year-old Ukrainian socialist and opponent of the US-NATO war against Russia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The verdict, handed down by a district court in the Nikolaev region, also orders the confiscation of his property and electronic devices and the destruction of the socialist books, leaflets and programmatic documents taken from him.

The World Socialist Web Site and the International Committee of the Fourth International denounce this verdict and call on workers, young people and all defenders of democratic rights around the world to demand Bogdan’s immediate release.

The verdict will be immediately appealed. Under Ukrainian law, the appeal must be filed within 30 days. We call on all supporters of democratic rights to back these legal actions and call for the annulment of the sentence.

Bogdan, a leading member of the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists (YGBL), was convicted of “high treason … under martial law.” But the record of the case contains no act of treason—no espionage, no sabotage, no collaboration with any military force. The sole evidence presented against him consisted of his writings, published on the World Socialist Web Site, and his communications with the editors who published them.

This is something I’ve really wanted to talk about for months and months. But I was afraid of how communists would react. Maybe they would ridicule me. Plus, it just leans into the “unemployed communist” stereotype. I had a job for 8 months. A few days from being nine months. But I quit it in hopes I could find another that paid more without having another lined up.

I didn’t really think that would be that devastating of a choice since the first job I got, I applied online and got it in one try. But I’ve been unemployed for over 12 months. And for about 8 months or so of that, it was because I was afraid of getting another job. I didn’t like knowing that the work I put in wouldn’t get me anywhere. I didn’t expect this feeling to come back. In fact, I thought I beat it. And was confident I would find a new job in a matter of weeks. But I didn’t even want to look.

Eventually, this feeling sort of subsided, I guess. I wasn’t excited to get a job. But I’m pretty sure I can just push past it and deal with it. I’ve been looking for like 6 months. I’ve applied to literally every job that’s come up. ( I live in a small town so not many are here.) I’ve applied online, gone in person, called people back in hopes they’d hire me, and nothing.

I feel like a worthless person and a more worthless communist. I’ve done no organizing. I don’t know how to organize. But I figured the best way to learn was to get a job. Which I haven’t been able to do. I saw, several months ago, a communist on social media who called unemployed communists “losers.” And it stuck with me. I’ve thought about it ever since I saw it. I know it’s the internet/social media, and I probably shouldn’t care. But I can’t help it. I think I’m going to try to cut the time I’m on social media. I don’t know. Maybe you’ll agree with him.

There’s not really a purpose to this post. I just wanted to share my thoughts. I’ve been in a very bad mood for the last few days. Feel like blowing my brains out, which I always kinda feel like that, but this week especially. There are other things I want to talk about. Fully talk about. But I don’t have anyone in real life who’s a communist, so I always have to hide a bit of it from someone. So I just share it to other subreddits. And I don’t like talking about my unemployment with people. Especially not my friend group. I just want to get it out. This is my “no shame” week. Where I post things out of emotion with no shame or thought put into it.

As a Laotian communist and veteran, almost half of my bloodline vanished during the Vietnam War as Americans bombed us day and night with illegal chemical weapons simply because we were Laotians. I fought for the volunteer force of the Pathet Lao; lost two of my friends, all killed by brutal torture methods by the Americans, who carried skulls as "trophies", not letting us even do a proper cremation. I am telling this story to spread the fact that why America are murderous imperialists and why their expansionism should be stopped immediately. I hope you guys agree with me. Thank you in advance. Leave your thoughts down in the comments.

As a Lenin defender looking to improve my skills in debating, alot of people point this out as a means of reducing the entire movement to "communism = starving." also what happened to the giant megathread posted on r/communism? I know I should be asking that on there but I dont have enough karma

I read this somewhere, but forgot where I read. Anyone have an idea?

I considered myself an anarchist for years, believing in no hierarchy and the people making the changes and laws. I'm not too sure my stance at the moment though.

I believe democracy would be good, but the hierarchy that comes with elected officials throws me off a bit.

Let me know your beliefs!

(Not a debate thread)

According to the China’s official rhetoric, 50 years of the turning back the clock since the 1978 is called “reform and opening up”. They said they were “rectifying the malpractice” and “Emancipate the mind”(Ironically, after the restoration, the information blockade is even worse and people’s thoughts are more restricted). That’s utter rubbish. The biggest traitor of revolution regard itself as a pioneer.
Marxism and leninism stress that the real socialism must insist classical struggling and proletariat dictatorship. But our “pioneer” resolutely give up the classical struggling in 1978. As for proletariat dictatorship? They sure they are still insist, but they change proletariat into people in 1982 and claim that people democratic dictatorship is a kind of proletariat dictatorship. But Marxism has long pointed out that the people play a role in promoting the development of social history. As for who promote the development of history, sorry, what’s bottom said doesn’t count, it’s all depends on ccp.
Nowadays, Chinese people increasingly falling into a poor situation. Capitalists and bureaucrats colluded to oppress the people wantonly. Chinese people need to revolution again

Any communist Parties in the UK which support existing socialist states and aren't gender critical?

I think we can all agree that the great man theory is all liberal bullshit and that cult of personality is also mostly problematic.

But I’ve always wondered why socialist experiments always had such big cults of personality. Be it Stalin, Mao, the Kims, Ceaucescu, and even non established socialist movement like the Peruvian communist party.

Why is that? Especially when communist are the ones criticising the great man theory

I understand that having a unifying figure can help but it mostly brings problems imo