this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2025
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Why do people call everyone tankies (lemmygrad.ml)
submitted 2 weeks ago by Valarie@lemmygrad.ml to c/asklemmygrad@lemmygrad.ml
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I'm sure this is a super common question but why do people (generally liberals or sometimes people on the left) call basically everyone who mildly agree with current more authoritarian leaning socialist states tankies

I wouldn't nessicarily call myself a tankie but I can also fully understand why people feel that label fits them when so many people call so many perspectives tankie perspectives and just shove them in a corner

Not sure if that makes sense as a question but I hope it does

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[–] Cowbee@lemmygrad.ml 30 points 2 weeks ago

It's essentially a pejorative for "communist." I recommend the Prolewiki article on "Tankies," as well as Nia Frome's essay "Tankies."

As for authoritarianism, it's not really something that you lean more or less, but which class controls the state and what conditions the state is in. Socialist states wield authority against capitalists and fascists, and protect against imperialists. They are forced into more extreme measures the more endangered they are, magnified by imperialist aggression.