Memes

I guess I've discovered an "unreconstructed" socialist. I think an autocracy is bad even if it kills rightists, but that doesn't mean I want to make peace with the rich. If the government isn't bound by a popular mandate, then it's just guided by the whims of whichever assholes are in charge, and you've basically reverted to monarchy.

Mao's purging of the landlords was a great achievement, but it only worked because he left it up to the people rather than having the PLA go to every plot of land and dictate what is to be done with it. Likewise, it was also a great achievement that he was able to rehabilitate Puyi, the last Emperor of China, rather than resorting to killing him. Turning people into productive members of society is always the most preferential option, it's just that it often simply isn't viable.

Revenge is an idealist notion that doesn't accomplish anything. It's just sadism and leaves justice completely aside. Sometimes it is correct to kill people (and in times of war, unfortunately frequently so), but that is for the material difference that makes (e.g. diffusing threats) rather than because it rights some imaginary cosmic ledger.

Yes, we must seize power from the reactionaries, and that will require incredible violence and lead to lots of purging, but if we are separate from the people, we are just a military dictatorship like any other.