Have you read what you linked? There’s a lot of supposition and extrapolation on undefined terms. A lot of words as an excuse to bash a country already under attack. It’s not like Sweden doesn’t have a long history of imperialism either.
I’m well aware we communists aren’t welcome on HN. Considering it’s US-centric and has a bourgeois focus, it’s not surprising it would welcome only right-wing politics.
Still, it doesn’t cost me much to push back a bit on imperialist rhetoric. Maybe one or two people will reconsider their world view in terms of material interests.
I don’t mind socialists. I do mind people who think socialism is worth giving up democracy for.
Yes, even if the alternative is the “dictatorship of the bourgeoise” or eternal “imperialism” I mind.
I also very much disagree with the idea that everything that pushes back on communism is “right wing”. I’d consider myself center/left wing (e.g Social Democrat). Everything I write isn’t voted down to oblivion. Get over yourself. There is line to be drawn between Marxism in a democracy and murdering people with opposing views because “imperialism”! It’s fine to argue that workers should own the means of production. Or that the US is an imperialist bully. But one can’t dismantle democracy or murder journalists over it. No sir. Starving your own population I won’t even mention.
And no, no what aboutism. The capitalists and imperialists don’t do this. Autocrats across the world do regardless of color though. Putin, Maduro, the list can be made long. It’s not right vs left it’s autocrat vs Democrat. If one is pro socialist authoritarianism - one is also pro the others. In an autocracy you don’t get to choose what political color the ruler of the day fancies (The dictatorship of the proletariat never arrives - it’s autocrat forever, remember).
It’s completely uninteresting to pin crimes to political ideology. It’s also completely worthless rhetoric to try excuse them with e.g oppression, imperialism, try to claim that murderous capitalist democracies are “just as bad”. People who claim this aren’t giving an alternative view, they only come across as uninformed.
Maduro isn’t starving his people, that’s US sanctions. Putin is a social democrat that brought back the healthcare system after the shock therapy enforced by the US.
I’m not excusing crimes, I’m explaining you are being consistently lied to. Media in imperialist countries has a vested interest in perpetuating an incorrect but monstrous image of anyone opposed.
Were the missing WMDs in Iraq and the Nayirah testimony not enough to make you sceptical? Do you remember Galizia getting murdered over the Panama papers? Or Black Panthers getting murdered by police over feeding the poor? Or even just Assange being pursued and tortured over reporting on NATO crimes?
You point to various wrongs committed elsewhere in the world when the discussion was about whether there is Authoritarian rule in Venezuela. I interpret the deflection as a silent acknowledgement. You aren’t even attempting to convey any sense of non-authoritarian rule (freedom of press, independent judiciary, no demonizing of opposition, use of law by the executive, clear separation between executive and military etc). All you are doing is saying “yes but what about X”.
Is there or is there not a reasonable independent media in Venezuela? It’s as a simple as that! If there is (including for foreign “imperialist” interests of course!) then I’d say the country is under authoritarian rule.
Perhaps the world is being lied to and the smelly imperialist orgs like RSF make up these lies about disappearing journalists and suppressed opposition media?
I think the key thing here is: non-authoritarianism would mean (for example) free press and of course opposition. That in turn obviously includes media and opposition pushing what can be seen as foreign interests (what you’d call imperialist). Taken together that means: Venezuela has two options: either thriving pro-US media and political organizations OR authoritarian and undemocratic rule. Which one is it?
I'm trying to describe to you a pattern of behaviour where US enemies get attacked under the guise of supposed human rights, democracy and freedom. Based on past cases, surely you can see how regardless of the reality, concerns about "authoritarianism" can be used to serve the extraction of super-profits from the working class of the global south?
I’m well aware we communists aren’t welcome on HN. Considering it’s US-centric and has a bourgeois focus, it’s not surprising it would welcome only right-wing politics.
Still, it doesn’t cost me much to push back a bit on imperialist rhetoric. Maybe one or two people will reconsider their world view in terms of material interests.