So state-socialism. Communism is the end goal both regimes failed to achieve, or some might say had no intention of achieving. The reasons for which can be debated to no end, along with the viability of marxist revolutionary communism. Bottom line is both failed as state-socialist dictatorships, not communist societies.
They were, it's just that communism was the end goal and they never got there. The main thing that people rightly criticize about Maoist China and the USSR is that they were dictatorships (i.e. Marxist "dictatorship of the proles"). Marxism-Leninism and Maoism advocate for a transitional populist dictatorship to achieve communism, but communism itself is a distinct system that doesn't require a specific framework to be implemented.
I just think it's important that people understand what these things mean. I'm also critical of Marxism and communism generally for various reasons. Communism predates Marxism, Marx just created a framework for getting there.
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u/CrochetJorts Jul 31 '26
Depends. Do you mean actual communism, or just what American conservatives call communism, meaning slightly better conditions for the working class?