this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2024
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Personally, I believe that A CAB. Yes, all cops are bastards, no exceptions. Yet I have met people who think that cops in socialist countries aren't bastards.

My reasoning is that it is a position of power over your fellow citizens/countrymen/people and only bastards would be attracted to such positions. While a person may go in with "good intentions", invariably they will be at some point in their career be expected to do something "not good": cover up for a colleague, arrest someone for law they don't agree with, beat somebody up, and so on. If they do it and remain a cop, well they are a bastard, no matter how many old ladies they help cross the street or whatever.

Let's also not pretend that a full communist utopia where every single law/regulation/rule is fair is possible in our lifetimes (or at all likely), there'll always be people who will want to abuse their power and take control, cops are an easily bought section of society that makes it possible for them. Historically, cops have always sided with the aristocracy/bourgeoisie/land-owners/those with money.

Your thoughts?

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[–] Blursty@lemmygrad.ml 21 points 5 months ago (1 children)

And that difference is…?

Cops in capitalist societies are there to protect private property and little else. This is not the case in socialist states.

The police serve whoever pays them.

So do the workers. This is not saying anything.

That’s an idealist view, just because you say it doesn’t make it true.

It's a material undeniable fact.

why didn’t they do that in the Soviet Union before its dissolution?

The Soviet Union was a decrepit state with poorly principled people all over. You were expecting the police to be the vanguard of maintaining socialism there? This is unserious and silly.

Not at all. It is recognition of an institution that has no revolutionary potential. It is an institution that has historically been instrumental in counter-revolution.

In capitalist societies yes.

Are all traffic lights bastards whether they're in capitalist or socialist societies, since they have power over you? You have some neck to be calling anyone else idealist. You're reeking off anarchist "thought".