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# Why Stalinism should stay dead
- URL: https://redflag.org.au/podcasts/why-stalinism-should-stay-dead/
- Published: 2026-06-14T00:59:27.000Z
- Updated: 2026-06-18T00:20:45.000Z
- Description: Stalinism equates socialism/communism with state-controlled industry and a one-party dictatorship. Nothing could be further from genuine socialism and Marxism.
- Author: Red Flag Radio
- Tags: podcast, Marxism and Socialism

Our latest episode tackles the Stalinist ideas that have become trendy in online left spaces. We focus on debunking three common Stalinist arguments:

- That leftists should recognise and support “actually existing socialism” in countries like China and Vietnam
- That “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”, i.e. that any country opposed to US imperialism is “anti-imperialist” and must be defended
- The slander that anti-Stalinists in the West are bought-off imperialist shills

We also delve into a bit of the history of Stalinism and Maoism, why they’re heinous distortions of genuine Marxism, and the dismissiveness many Maoists and Stalinists have towards the Western working class.

### Read more

[“The Marxist alternative to fake communism” by April Holcombe in *Red Flag*](https://redflag.org.au/article/the-marxist-alternative-to-fake-communism/)  
[“The Fraud of Stalinism” by D Taylor in *Red Flag*](https://redflag.org.au/article/node-6286/)

### Get in touch

We’d love to hear from you. You can reach me and Chloe at [redflagradiopodcast@gmail.com](mailto:redflagradiopodcast@gmail.com). We welcome feedback! Let us know if you have suggested topics, debates or guests you’d like us to feature.

### Help us out

If you like what we do and want to help us get more socialist podcasting in your ears, please become a [Patreon](https://patreon.com/redflagradiopodcast?ref=redflag.org.au)!