What do you mean “now?” Americans have had this habit of calling anyone whose politics they disapprove of a “communist” or “socialist” for a very long time.
It’s more just that while they’re calling Mamdani a communist, at the same time they’re doing the thing that is literally the single most Communist thing a government can do: have the state gain direct ownership or control of the means of production. Communism is many things depending on where, when, and who you ask. But the bare minimum, the common denominator under all forms? State owns of the means of production. And here’s Trump literally seizing the means of production. Not just giving out grants or loans, but literally taking a permanent equity stake in a major international company. That is the literal, most basic definition of a Communist action. If literally seizing the means of production isn’t Communist, what the hell is?
The merging of government and corporate power structures has more in common with fascism than with authoritarian communism or liberal libertarian socialism.
I think the person you are replying to may have been trying to point out the irony of the Americans who voted for Trump because they don’t want the state spending money on its poor citizens, when they turn a blind eye to the state investing heavily in private industry.
What do you mean “now?” Americans have had this habit of calling anyone whose politics they disapprove of a “communist” or “socialist” for a very long time.
The best part is they can’t even define communism or socialism.
Of course they can. Both words mean “anything my corporate masters disagree with”.
Meanwhile, Trump is over here practicing literal state socialism. The government now owns 10% of Intel.
Removed by mod
Their point is that the US practices white glove socialism for the rich and rugged merciless capitalism for the poor
It’s more just that while they’re calling Mamdani a communist, at the same time they’re doing the thing that is literally the single most Communist thing a government can do: have the state gain direct ownership or control of the means of production. Communism is many things depending on where, when, and who you ask. But the bare minimum, the common denominator under all forms? State owns of the means of production. And here’s Trump literally seizing the means of production. Not just giving out grants or loans, but literally taking a permanent equity stake in a major international company. That is the literal, most basic definition of a Communist action. If literally seizing the means of production isn’t Communist, what the hell is?
The merging of government and corporate power structures has more in common with fascism than with authoritarian communism or
liberallibertarian socialism.I think the person you are replying to may have been trying to point out the irony of the Americans who voted for Trump because they don’t want the state spending money on its poor citizens, when they turn a blind eye to the state investing heavily in private industry.