this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2025
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Pardon my ignorance but I don't know the term "AES state"
If I see it through that perspective I get it, still sounds odd to me to label authoritarianism only as a western tool to criticise communists
"AES" meaning "actually existing socialism." The debate over this word goes all the way back to Engels at least.
Someone else may help me find a link, because I remember reading a different article about this specifically, but these three definitely touch on it:
https://redsails.org/tankies/
https://redsails.org/brainwashing/
https://redsails.org/losurdo-on-totalitarianism/ (this one is about "totalitarianism" and the "horseshoe" theory I referenced above)
Thank you for the references