this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2024
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Though it pretty much universally is.
I was unaware that being incarcerated in Siberia for disagreeing with the party was a democratic accountability measure.
The overall view of Soviet Russia is interesting. Socially, economically. Politically however, they're as bad or worse than the capitalists they hate. Power corrupts. And yet people keep repeating their mistakes. Outlawing and squashing dissent, concentrating power and wealth at the top. Throwing a few scraps to the proletariat till the parties mistakes come home to roost. Then the wheels fall off. Those in the party and upper ranks refuse to sacrifice. Instead grinding the proletariat in to dust and disillusionment. It's happened to every time with that style of government everywhere has ever been tried.
I think the only remote exception to that being cuba. But that's largely because of its isolation and rather small size.
When the Kim family or Xi start holding elections. Maybe then we might actually believe there's any democracy. When the party leaders and the upper party echelon start living in the same block houses and paying themselves the same wage as the average citizen. Maybe then we might believe the rhetoric is anything more than empty and meaningless. Only meant to pacify the proletariat as long as possible.
When you have good policy there's no need for crushing social oppression or outlawing other parties. Nor is there any need for armies, guns, or tanks to convince people.
It is not "universally" better. If the 2 parties in question encompass a smaller scope of ideas and democratic participation than a larger single party, then the one party system is more democratic. Party isn't synonymous with ideology.
Overall, I think you have a pretty myopic view of how foreign countries are run or were run, and encourage you to read up some more.
That's a great hypothetically you got there. Sad that it's never actually worked out in real life.