Really Existing Socialism

What "Really Existing Socialism" Refers To

This is the phrase most commonly used on the left to describe societies like the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China under Mao, Revolutionary Cuba, etc.

Other people might use other terms like degenerated workers state, state-capitalism, Marxist-Leninism, etc.  For this site, I will (almost) always use the term "really existing socialism" to refer to these countries and systems as different as they are from each other.

Wait, So the Soviet Union Society Was Socialism?

Well, that's a weakness of the phrase.  Most people on the radical left agree that socialism never really existed in the Soviet Union or related societies.  However, many people in the revolution and the ruling parties either did or still are valiantly fighting to build socialism.

There is no trace of such Communism—that is to say, of any Communism—in Soviet Russia. In fact, the mere suggestion of such a system is considered criminal there, and any attempt to carry it out is punished by death. -- Emma Goldman, There Is No Communism In Russia

Leftist critics of really existing socialist countries sometimes have points in history where a revolution seemed to have stopped pushing for socialism, if they think it ever truly fought for socialism at all.

Benefits of Using the Phrase

I personal will use it because I think it does the following well:

• Parallels the phrase "really existing capitalism"
• Emphasizes historical pressures
• Almost everyone (left, right, and center) knows what you are talking about 

Hindsight:  Two Views on the USSR From Two Leftists

Micheal Parenti has a long (but fascinating) lecture about the fall of the Soviet Union which might give some perspective on what really existed. 

Noam Chomsky with a different view.