Why does much of the left have such a distain for the Soviet Union and China

[Paul Cockshott]

I am referring to the usage of the word socialism in Marx's writings. Nowhere does Karl Marx differentiate between communism and socialism. For him, the two are synonymous terms. For example, in his Critical Notes on "The King of Prussia",

There is no definition of socialism there as you say

he just uses the term socialism.

without defining it.

If socialism and communism are the same for Marx,

If they are the same for him you might have some grounds to stand on, but of course in 1844 he had not yet declared for communism. In the Communist Manifesto, the whole of chapter 3 is devoted to discussing the relationship between socialism and communism and to differentiating the communists from the socialists.

But all this has to do with socialist and communist movements.

None of it addresses your claim that to paraphrase 'the USSR was not socialist because it contradicted Marx's definition of socialism'.

To give any meaning to your claim you have to dig up in Marx's writing

1. A definition of socialism
2. show that the USSR differed in key features from this

then as far as I am aware, Marx never defined socialism as being an autarkic capitalist society.

You are right, that since he gave no definition of socialism he also gave no definition of the foreign trade policy of a socialist country.

He actually wrote relatively little on foreign trade. His preface to the Contribution to a Critique of Political economy says

I examine the system of bourgeois economy in the following order: capital, landed property,
wage-labour; the State, foreign trade, world market.

But he never did produce a book with this structure, so as far as I can see, you are on very shaky ground in claiming Marx's authority for arguments about the USSR not being socialist because its foreign trade policy was too restrictive.

[Paul Cockshott]

Well, in all honesty, you can't really have an advanced socialist economy without first having a capitalist economy. You have to have a certain mode of production and commodity relation to built a socialist economy on top of it.

.

That is a rather menshevik position. Are you saying that even with continuing Soviet aid the Chinese and Vietnamese could not have developed an advanced socialist economy, and that thus the Deng wing of the CPC was right in opting to go for a semi capitalist economy first?

[Comrade Hill]

That is a rather menshevik position. Are you saying that even with continuing Soviet aid the Chinese and Vietnamese could not have developed an advanced socialist economy, and that thus the Deng wing of the CPC was right in opting to go for a semi capitalist economy first?

SEMI-capitalist? They are more capitalist than the United States is.

And no, I don't advocate for revisionist policies, but I am siding with Lenin on the issue of state capitalism, and how it should be the last stage before transitioning into socialism.