• marxismtomorrow@lemmy.today
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    4 days ago

    So the US, by your definition, is totalitarian. There is not a single possible legal opposition to the federal government, what it decides wins. Ditto for European countries.

    This is why adults do not use the term totalitarian, all states, by virtue of being a single entity are inherently totalitarian.

    To hint at the answer for your first question so you can do some research while trying to prove me wrong, realize you’re wrong, and learn something;

    No. Like China the ‘communist party’ is a conglomeration of several different parties that all have one single overarching ideology. Think of it like the US requirement to pledge allegiance to the US constitution. You legally cannot be in any political office without that pledge.

    Similarly in Communist-focused people’s republics, you are a ‘member of the communist party’ by proving you have read the material of the party, its constitution, and pledge to uphold it and work towards communism. That’s all it is. It’s called ‘one party’ because the alternatives want to dissolve the state entirely and replace it with something the people objectively did not want.

    • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      4 days ago

      Not really though. There are many political organizations who openly seek to overthrow the ruling class in the US. They do face some repression but they still exist and can organize openly and enact political actions, even illegal ones in some cases, though with Trump this is becoming more difficult. Organizing itself is not outright illegal the way they are in totalitarian states. However due the systematic forces that keep such alternatives from succeeding are what makes it authoritarian, among other things.

      I’ll have to look more into what you’re saying about the party. I do not believe this is correct and I believe the party enforces far more ideological constraints on its members than the US government does but I will confirm this. If they all have the same ideology then they’re only different on paper.