Real socialism
The terms real socialism, real socialism or real existing socialism were introduced on the basis of the German Democratic Republic in the 1970s as a foreign and self-designation of different social systems in Europe, Asia and Cuba and used. Together was the domination of a Communist Party and the self-understanding as a socialist society mostly in the Soviet sphere of influence.
The state form of socialism was " people's republic" or "democratic people's republic"; the political system of those companies was characterized by an autocratic one-party rule, the economic system through a planned economy planned economy or marked elements.
Conceptualization
The term was used by Erich Honecker at the 9th session of the Central Committee of the SED for May 1973 for the first time. He expresses that in the corresponding states Marxist claim and empirical reality fall apart. In particular, supporters of left currents that sought a democratic socialism, the States have been criticized under Soviet hegemony because of lack of democracy or the mere nationalization instead of a required means of production. They should be moved with the term in the near utopian socialists. Later, the term was also used outside the socialist world of states to criticize just this discrepancy. In particular, the totalitarian Stalinism is a synonym for this discrepancy.
Rudolf Bahro's The Alternative. For a critique of actually existing socialism the actions of Lenin and Stalin saw the building of socialism in the Soviet Union to be correct. He imputed the real-socialist states to be stuck in a kind of " proto- form" of the theoretical model. According to Manfred Hildermeier the term was already in the late 1960s used, it is appropriate for the socialist states throughout the Brezhnev era. Instead of a chaotic dictatorship you have set up halfway regulated power structures. Parallel to the rise of political science was in the western states as a science.
According to Stefan Wolle are associated with the term a number of specific problems of the GDR. First, this was not founded as a nation state and have been instructed lack of historical basis particularly on ideological categories. The reference to the " real existence " is only advisable if 'm going where the same is denied or made completely in question. The concept fit into a party official vocabulary that remember more pietististische inwardness as in political discourse. He 'll let a permanent defensive stance against the loss of utopia as its own theoretical claims.
Benedict Sarnov, the concept of real socialism not a euphemism, but a form of Newspeak, on which you have made early funny.
The German scholar Carsten Gansel asked various specific interactions of the GDR real socialism firmly on literature as the collective memory. The term was thus used primarily approaches to reforms of the "real" to denounce Socialism as counter-revolutionary or utopian, especially in the context of the Prague Spring.
International Environment
An essential role in the discussion of the real socialism played the Sino- Soviet rift, which lasted from the late 1950s until well into the 1980s back. At the time of this schism of the communist movements, both spoke to each other from the right to speak for socialism. The real socialism was criticized by Trotskyists and council communists as "state capitalism". In the context of the K - groups of the various assignments to various special ways, in addition to China were also Albania, Yugoslavia, North Korea discussed, sometimes bitterly. After the end of the Cultural Revolution members and thought leaders in particular Maoist groups like Charles Bettelheim retired abroad back disappointed.
Special role of China
John Kenneth Galbraith held the influence of the political system on the economy for limited. Historical relative differences, such as in Eastern Europe, between individual states were never overcome by socialism. The fundamental failure of real-socialist systems in developing countries lies in particular on the lack of planning and management capacity in the respective countries, China certify as an exception with thousands of years of history managing the rule.
A central internal difference was dealing with agriculture. In the Soviet Union, economically successful, but ideologically unsuitable New Economic Policy was apostrophized as Brest -Litovsk against the kulaks, the peasants were as soon as possible brutally collectivized.
In contrast, in China itself the mobilization of the peasants as the economically successful supply of the army during the Long March was an essential and defining element of the revolution in China. The People's Liberation Army ( PLA) was long after the Civil War as an economic player - both in terms of land ownership, as well as with various companies within and beyond the defense area - successfully and present. The PLA was forced from the beginning to provide the soldiers with food from its own. The army is for Chinese society is of central importance, although in the early 1980s was started to solve the civilian production of PLA from the General Association.
Existing real-socialist societies
The real socialism in the countries of the European Eastern Bloc collapsed completely since 1989. In contrast, there are real socialist societies in Latin America and Asia up to the present more or were further developed. Among other things, the socialism with Chinese characteristics under the motto Deng Xiaoping became known It does not matter whether the cat is black or white; as long as it catches mice, it is already a good cat. First, we saw neither in the state of proto socialism still in the " unleashing of productive forces " a problem as long as the political supremacy of the Communist Party of China (CPC ) was secure.
With the similar concept of Đổi mới in Vietnam there a significant expansion of economic production, especially of cash crops such as coffee was achieved. For the solution of real-socialist supply problems with consumer goods in the GDR but this came too late.