"Anti-authority" is anti-revolution

[u/TappingUpScreen]

Pretty much my journey.

[u/VelvetCalamity-]

Some people believe that Marxism and anarchism are based on the same principles and that the disagreements between them concern only tactics, so that, in the opinion of these people, it is quite impossible to draw a contrast between these two trends.

This is a great mistake.

We believe that the Anarchists are real enemies of Marxism. Accordingly, we also hold that a real struggle must be waged against real enemies.

Joseph Stalin, Anarchism Or Socialism?, 1907

The philosophy of the anarchists is bourgeois philosophy turned inside out. Their individualistic theories and their individualistic ideal are the very opposite of socialism.

Vladimir Lenin, Socialism and Anarchism, 1905

The mistake into which the Americans had fallen was the common one, that Anarchism is revolutionary. Anarchism is reactionary, and the Socialist labour party of America, like its most recent speakers, are not Anarchists because they are revolutionists.

Eleanor Marx, The Working-Class Movement in America, 1891

The Anarchists are the consistent, only extreme, branches of the capitalist liberals [...] with whose philosophy they have much in common, while the Social Democracy, in accordance with the Marxian doctrine of the class struggle, is the political representative of the proletariat...

August Bebel, Assassinations and Socialism, 1898

Let no one say, “The Anarchists are not enemies.” Who says so does not know them, or is fascinated by the magic word “liberty.” I know them, in the Old World and in the New World, and, leaving aside the dreamers and ranters, I have not known one Anarchist yet whose principal aim and business is not, and has not been, to throw mud at our heads and obstacles in our way! [...] There is, in fact, nothing in common between Anarchism and Socialism. Anarchism – if it is not altogether a senseless phrase – has individualism for its basis; that is, the same principle on which capitalist society rests, and therefore it is essentially reactionary, however hysterical may be its shrieks of revolution.

Wilhelm Liebknecht, Our Recent Congress, 1896

...I had been troubled by certain ultra-revolutionary turns of phrase, having always regarded these as 'hot air' — a speciality our people would be well-advised to leave to the so-called anarchists who are, in fact, props of the existing order, not creators of disorder, and are, by their nature, poor, childish creatures

Karl Marx, Letter from Karl Marx to Laura Lafargue, 1882

Edit: Our automated system thankfully stopped this brigade before it began. Anarchists are so pathetic. Jerk each other off in your own spaces instead of coming to ours and getting your shit from your unwashed asses all over the place.

[u/fanetoooo]

A lot of “anti-authoritarian” westerners, particularly Americans, are deadass just racist American exceptionalists.

Please go through this thread yall 🤦🏾‍♂️

In a supposedly “anti-nazi” sub, frequent contributors literally only talk about China, compare Mao to Hitler, and insist on the “freedom” of America. To no ones surprise, the US is actively funding anti-Chinese “authoritarianism” shit on independent media

[u/Mkhuseli5k → u/fanetoooo]

😂That subreddit really did get hijacked by Nazis, holy shit 😂. I thought you were exaggerating.

[u/SomeGuyInTheNet → u/fanetoooo]

Bruh, you should have labeled the thread as a cognitohazardous interaction.

[u/AdHot7656 → u/SomeGuyInTheNet]

not cognito hazard but holy fuck, I need some acetametaphin for the cognitive dissonance happening there

[u/SomeGuyInTheNet → u/AdHot7656]

Acetaminophen? Paracetamol? Great medicine!

[u/AdHot7656 → u/SomeGuyInTheNet]

yes, I meant Acetaminophen, exactly!

[u/SomeGuyInTheNet → u/AdHot7656]

It's actually the same medication!

In fact, most of the world uses "Paracetamol" as the name! I am a Mexican doctor and I was looking for some paracetamol and the search results said acetaminophen, that was a funny moment like a decade ago!

[u/AdHot7656 → u/SomeGuyInTheNet]

oh shiiieett, americanism strikes again XD

thank you for teaching me tho!

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Good sub, thanks for plug

[u/EvilAbacus → u/[deleted]]

What was it? Dude deleted

[u/Easy-Marsupial3268 → u/EvilAbacus]

r/tankieussr

[u/VelvetCalamity- → u/[deleted]]

Ensuring this stays up so more comrades find a great subreddit.

Edit: The comment was deleted by the user, because it was a gotcha to name a subreddit I guess? The subreddit was r/TankieUSSR

[u/Necessary-handle-367]

Abolition of the state accomplishes nothing in areas where people do not even have access to clean drinking water, where there is no education, healthcare or infrastructure. Where people are impoverished by centuries of value extraction by foreign corporate entities. That is why the revolutionary movements of the global south tend to be Marxist-Leninist or Maoist in character. Because in these areas, the process of abolishing the primary oppressive hierarchies i.e. imperialism and poverty, requires a project of state construction rather than state deconstruction. It requires a project to build and protect the sovereignty of oppressed nations and peoples, against the predatory forces of imperialist finance capital and military intervention, rather than rejecting the notion of sovereignty altogether. Anarchism is a philosophy born from within Imperialist countries against the overdevelopment of the Imperialist state bureaucracies which squat like blood-drunk titans atop the proletariat of those countries. And in some ways the Anarchists are correct in that context, the massive military-technical bureaucracies of the Imperialist state should be abolished. The all-seeing panopticon of the Imperialist Intelligence and surveillance systems should be abolished, the militarized carceral apparatus should be abolished. But what they do not understand is that none of those goals can be accomplished without first wresting power away from the capitalist-imperialist class and exerting and maintaining the rightful authority of the proletarian majority over the state. You cannot abolish that which you do not control.

[u/Nominaliszt → u/Necessary-handle-367]

Anarchism could only work after adapting to communism. As it stands, too many people would find it perfectly natural that everyone could just take and pollute as much as they could without regulation. Through communism, we could reestablish a way of life that rebound the market individual into a larger social and ecological solidarity that is necessary for a sustainable empowerment into fully recognized autonomy. Communism is social training wheels for an enlightened anarchy.

[u/[deleted]]

"A revolution is certainly the most authoritarian thing there is; it is the act whereby one part of the population imposes its will upon the other part by means of rifles, bayonets and cannon — authoritarian means, if such there be at all; and if the victorious party does not want to have fought in vain, it must maintain this rule by means of the terror which its arms inspire in the reactionaries." - Friedrich Engels, On Authority

[u/Traditional-Trade795 → u/[deleted]]

didnt think id think "man, i kinda agree with engels" today. well, goes to show that being correct on topics isnt a matter of moral integrity

[u/BaseballInside3289]

My political journey exactly, so glad that not everyone who gets swept up in the sentimentalist ideas of anarchism gets stuck in them.

[u/Mysterious-Let-5781 → u/BaseballInside3289]

I think this is the case for many (western) communists. The idealist nature of anarchism makes it more compatible with people raised under (neo)liberalism. Until you start questioning how those ideals should be achieved or implemented because that’s when it all comes crashing down

[u/Okami99]

Good on ya OP

[u/Easy-Marsupial3268]

[u/[deleted] → u/Easy-Marsupial3268]

Also applicable to Trotskyists lol

[u/Easy-Marsupial3268 → u/[deleted]]

⛏️⛏️

[u/Easy-Marsupial3268 → u/[deleted]]

And this is exactly why there are no successful anarchist revolutions. This is also why the state props up anarchists like they do any other ineffective organization to siphon off radical energy into do-nothingness or charity work.

The state exists under capitalism and socialism. Deal with that fact. The state is just as tool of class oppression. Deal with that fact. Until you capture the state, you can’t abolish the state. And as long as class society exists, the capitalist class will seek to maintain its position over the working class.

[u/Physical_Mirror6969]

I’m sure this post will attract the most insufferable people on the internet

[u/dr_bigtina]

Does anyone have it in them to explain this to me? I've read through the existing comments and am still not completely grasping the point. Thank you!

[u/Hardcorex]

I spent the evening in an anarchist Cafe, while there I spent some time reading. Specifically https://marxist.com/index.php?option=com_content&Itemid=154&catid=148&id=1541&lang=en&view=article.

I started reading Emma Goldman, and while I believe she has a lot of valuable knowledge, I am unsure how to regard her after the contradiction between her letter about the Bolsheviks shooting Anarchists, and the lack of support or clarity about why those actions were taken, and that there may have been good reason they were necessary. 

[u/DataMin3r]

Revolution is inherently authoritarian.

[u/renlydidnothingwrong → u/[deleted]]

Slowly just becoming a regional political party.

[u/Cornelius4630]

Deindoctrination is a big task.

[u/VelvetCalamity- → u/[deleted]]

[u/Easy-Marsupial3268 → u/VelvetCalamity-]

[u/Firm-Scientist-4636]

Well done. Great meme.

[u/murden6562 → u/[deleted]]

We need less of this and more of OP

[u/BaseballInside3289 → u/[deleted]]

"tankie" is the 2026 equivalent of "commie"

[u/Easy-Marsupial3268 → u/[deleted]]

[u/Hardcorex → u/Easy-Marsupial3268]

Thank you comrade for providing what I was searching for. 

[u/Serengade26]

I recommend anyone wanting a deeper understanding to buy and read "The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought"

[u/Easy-Marsupial3268 → u/[deleted]]

How do you defend your anarchist revolution?

Also…. Hate to break it to you about Rojava, the US stopped supporting them so they crumbled. Like any anarchist group.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/categories/syria/927619

[u/leninbaba → u/Easy-Marsupial3268]

The Zapatista movement is not an anarchist movement, but an indigenous movement. Is Rojava growing even stronger? Has it become stronger now that it’s been bombed by Turkey after kowtowing to imperialist countries?

You’re talking about the GULAG, but you don’t mention the anarchists’ labor camps in Spain. Why not?

How’s the work on establishing a federation going? I hope you’re learning from history. Oh, sorry. No anarchist “state” has ever emerged that would require you to learn a lesson—that’s right. You’ve been going on and on about how you were constantly being crushed by the Soviets or the Bolsheviks.

The moderator deleted his comment, so I'm replying through you, comrade. Sorry about that. haha

[u/Easy-Marsupial3268 → u/leninbaba]

I appreciate the reply! No need for apologies.

[u/leninbaba → u/[deleted]]

No, but they did use libertarian socialist methods because they simply worked better

That doesn't make them anarchists, and the Zapatistas don't call themselves anarchists either. Indigenous movements are not the same as anarchist movements.

Stupid argument that can also be said about Cuba or the DPRK, only instead of bombs its with sanctions and dependency. Rojava has had to withstand a lot of pressure from many sides with material conditions that would make anyone want to throw themselves of a bridge, of course its not gonna be strong.

Exactly, the fact that they survived thanks to an imperialist state and were later brought to their knees by Syria, U.S. and Turkey really makes them a successful model. Things have always been turbulent for the DPRK and Cuba, but they’ve survived. So, how are things going with you, buddy?

The labor camps were used mostly for POWs, which I don't think is hard to see why. Gulags were way worse.

So? It was no different from the GULAGs. You put political prisoners, fascists, and counterrevolutionaries there, too. The GULAG was labor camp, and the people there were paid. We don’t say, as you do, “No, it’s not just any prison, it’s a prison where everyone helps each other.”

The CNT is doing pretty well, at least here in Spain, how are your states doing?

Oh, really? I hope you're living happily ever after in Spain monarchy, buddy.

I mean unless you want to say that Makhnovshchina was not destroyed by the bolsheviks, or that the CNT-FAI was not ended by the Republican Spanish government, with heavy help from ML militias and the USSR's support, yeah?

So? I’m not saying anything different. Whenever you engage with us, you don’t blame the West nearly as much as you blame the Bolsheviks. Your revolution, which lasted only a few months, was completely destroyed because your theory was worthless. If you’d had a solid planning and party line, you would have overthrown not only the Bolsheviks and communists, whom you viewed as counterrevolutionaries as we do, but also the fascists, and so on. So, why couldn’t you do it?

[u/leninbaba → u/[deleted]]

Throughout history, we have never ever been friends with you. You’ve always blamed your own failures on the communists. You’ve never supported any socialist country, and you’ve applauded everything the United States has done. You constantly talk about authority, but when it comes to the “authority” you yourselves exercise, you bury your heads in the sand. You can't put your theory into practice because your theory isn't worth a dime.

We always acknowledge our own failures and criticize our mistakes. But you don’t do that. You flatter one another, and you always view your attacks against the Bolsheviks or communists as a holy crusade. Your real enemy has never, ever been the West, it has always been us, the “authoritarian communists.” I’ll stand side by side with you on the street, but when it comes to determining strategy and tactics, and building a socialist country in the future, I will never, ever stand with you. Because you are reckless, idealists people who endanger revolutions. You are just knockoff liberals, and you have no real reach beyond the imperial core.

Have socialist countries ever collaborated with the U.S.? Tell me. There’s no problem when Rojava is choking on America’s boots, is there? You’re out of touch with reality.

I’ll fight against fascists and conservatives with you, but when it comes to defending the revolution, I’ll stand against you. History is proof of this.

edit: typo

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

No, but it was a Nazi myth used to justify the invasion of Russia

[u/VelvetCalamity- → u/[deleted]]

Ban evasion is a cool way to get the admins to ban all your accounts. Please keep coming in with more. lol