• purpleworm [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    2 months ago

    Xi basically has transcriptions of speeches (in substance or literally) and they aren’t very interesting or compelling, but I think it’s worth noting that Stalin also wrote a few books, etc. and they’re mostly pretty good*, though certainly not as important or original as Lenin’s or Mao’s. I think Che is also worth noting here, even though he’s not as focused on theory as such.

    *the linguistics one, for example, is not good, though it has good features like reasonably denouncing certain bizarre theories that gained traction in the SU for some reason.

      • purpleworm [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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        2 months ago

        I thought I made note of that extremely obvious point, but I guess I lost it between revisions. I just don’t find it that helpful to focus so much on the head of state in a country trying to do Marxism, or if you’re focusing so much on the head of state, it’s because something went very wrong.

        • newacctidk [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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          2 months ago

          I mean I think the question is really interesting as specifically heads of state who have published works. For instance many of the Founding Fathers have a multitude of works, fiction and theory, but Washington did not. Just letters. Che wrote theories and diaries, but Fidel who was leader, was far less of a writer. Half of a given cabinet is bound to have a book, but how many heads of state have published books that are not biographical?

          I think narrowing it to that is interesting, and more specifically what the Trump question begs

          We are not making some grand judgement on a political project based on the leaders, we are literally responding to a query about specifically heads of state. I don’t know how “something went very wrong” because people are focusing on the parameters of the conversation.

          • purpleworm [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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            2 months ago

            Completely off-topic, but “begging the question” is a specific term for when you assume your conclusion in the premise of your argument, rather than “raises the question” or something like that.