I know that he’s anti-imperialist and that people say critical support. But my question is what does he do? Not saying anything good or bad about him, I’m just saying from the libs I hear he’s bad and a dictator and he’s evil, people who are decently far left say “he’s far from perfect but worthy of critical support” and I can’t criticize or praise his actions as I know nothing of his policies or history and lord knows looking it up doesn’t help these days
Belarus hasn’t done the reforms that other post-Soviet states have, thanks to him mainly. They essentially still have a command economy, but there is no central planning involved. The public sector is large, many are employed by the state. Privatization hasn’t been done very much at all. The income and income inequality numbers are some of the best in Europe. The communist party has a decent presence in the state assembly too, 11 in the House, and 17 in the Council. The party leadership supports him. And he has made sure to kick out all western NGOs and the like, and keep them out. No subversive influences.
Putin may be better than most western politicians, but Lukashenko seems to be much better than Putin overall.
Also, just a little fun fact, the state emblem is the same as the SSR version, besides the hammer and sickle being replaced by an outline of the country borders.
I do wonder why Belarus is never mentioned as AES. I would say it may qualify.
I do wonder why Belarus is never mentioned as AES. I would say it may qualify.
I think we should differentiate between anti-imperialist, anti-neoliberal, state capitalist, and actually socialist. Some overlap but not always, and there’s nuances (state capitalist in the socialist sense and state capitalist in the Keynesian sense, for example).
Good point.
What countries would be state capitalist in the socialist sense though? Many call China state capitalist, but from a socialist perspective, it isn’t.
State capitalist is kind of a meaningless term, what matters is which class holds control over the political and economic system.
So some of the nordic states might have a comparatively high degree of state ownership and employment (compared to other capitalist states
), while still having a capital stand above the politics and economy.
Whereas in China, Cuba, Vietnam, the communist party stands above the economy and directs it via X-year plans.
Lenin’s quote on the distinction is good, and probably the main reason we should ditch the term altogether.
The state capitalism, which is one of the principal aspects of the New Economic Policy, is, under Soviet power, a form of capitalism that is deliberately permitted and restricted by the working class. Our state capitalism differs essentially from the state capitalism in countries that have bourgeois governments in that the state with us is represented not by the bourgeoisie, but by the proletariat, who has succeeded in winning the full confidence of the peasantry.
Hm? I thought they qualified exactly as that, state capitalist in the Leninist sense (compare to NEP)
Right, I figured it was so, that would make sense. “State capitalist” is an odd term to me, so I never use it, but it can fit.
Yea I don’t like saying State Capitalist because righties think that I’m being hypocritical and US left think that it means something else entirely
Privatization hasn’t been done very much at all.
Is it really the case, if around half of the workers work in the private sector? My source is a doc by National Statistical Committee of The Republic of Belarus, page 61.
Second column in that picture is number of people (in thousands) working in state-owned enterprise, first column is total working population.
Some Russian leftist channels claim that privatization has been done more slowly, without “electroshock therapy” like it was done in Russia, and that it still goes on, but it’s info from…2020? so idk how it’s like now.
Link: https://www.belstat.gov.by/upload/iblock/f2e/f2ea58074c86319b0a7542c87ff7a021.pdf
Well, I mainly meant compared to other states. But thank you.
Miles better than Putin and hated by libs because they don’t like their precious nazi oppositions being defeated and expelled from country and unsuccessful coups.
I think he is close to being a socialist, just like Gheddafi
Guy def wants to resurrect the Byelorussian SSR. Even if the country is no longer socialist, it should absolutely be supported a one of the few anti-imperialist bastions left in Europe that’s been to resist the EU and its neoliberalization impoverishment strategies.
Oh yes, I think he is the best leader in Europe as of now, if only Belarus didn’t suffer this much from the fall of the USSR
Ya he rules… Its exciting times ahead now that the EU is having so many problems and NATO is finally being stopped its tracks. If there’s a list of countries that are most likely to turn communist, Russia and Belarus are near the top.
It’s funny you mentioned him, I recently started reading Muammar al-Qaddafi’s Green Book. I’m only on the first or 2nd chapter bc I downloaded it and I usually read physical books first
He was as based as non socialist leaders get ☝️
https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.11.4.0428 This seems really interesting. Note: I haven’t read it yet, nor have I read too into its source. This paper comes from an ostensibly Marxist group is all I know, and the title seems relevant. I’m gonna read it now.
edit: group is cool as hell:
article explains Belarus’s economy and foreign relations very well. I think an argument is pretty convincingly made that Belarus is pursuing socialism of a certain type, “market socialism”, but not precisely Marxist or communist.An anti-imperialist supporting imperialism towards Ukraine. Do y’all simp over anyone as long as the libs don’t like them?
Imperialism is not when a country invades another. Imperialism is the theft of land, labor, and natural resources of a weak country to feed a stronger one.
Russia defending its borders from continued NATO encroachment over the past 30 years is not imperialism, and Russia is not part of the imperial core of countries currently robbing the global south of its surplus value by paying it wages from 200 years ago.
lol why did you bring up the global south and NATO. The US is imperialist as fuck and run by billionaire pigs like just like Russia. I don’t simp for the US. The enemy of my enemy isn’t my friend.
also Russia is stealing the land, labor, and natural resources of the middle east just like the U.S. and now they’re trying to do it to Ukraine.
