Among contemporary left-wing movements, one of the most persistent yet troubling trends is what is often called “tankie” socialism (or colloquially, “tankheism”). This term broadly refers to an uncritical, authoritarian strand of socialism that romanticizes historical regimes such as the Soviet Union under Stalin, Maoist China, or other state socialist projects — regardless of their well-documented abuses. It often defends these regimes’ most violent acts (the “tanks” rolling in) under the banner of anti-imperialism or class struggle.

This posture is not merely a harmless internet subculture. It poses serious ethical and strategic problems for any genuine movement aiming to build socialism rooted in human emancipation. To take socialism seriously means to reject tankheism and instead commit to a politics that is democratic, liberatory, and grounded in solidarity with all oppressed people.

Tankheist politics often involve defending — or minimizing — the atrocities committed by regimes that claimed the banner of socialism. From Stalin’s purges and the gulag system to the catastrophic violence of China’s Cultural Revolution, these were not unfortunate mistakes on the road to socialism; they were profound betrayals of any politics aimed at human liberation. Workers, peasants, ethnic minorities, and intellectuals alike faced imprisonment, torture, or death under these regimes. The centralization of power into party bureaucracies and secret police was antithetical to the democratic control of society by ordinary people — the very core of the socialist idea.

Moreover, tankheism’s moral framework is hollow. It condemns U.S. or Western imperialism (correctly), but then excuses or even celebrates atrocities by other states simply because they positioned themselves against the West. This is not an ethic rooted in universal human dignity or international solidarity, but in geopolitical side-taking. A socialism that excuses murder, repression, or forced labor when carried out by “our side” is not morally serious. It mirrors the hypocrisy of the very imperialist powers it claims to oppose.

A credible socialism must be anchored in democratic participation and community control, not the rule of a bureaucratic elite. It means supporting workers managing their own workplaces, communities planning their own development, and political systems that are accountable from below. It also means rejecting nationalism and authoritarian statism in all its forms. True socialism cannot simply invert power relations by putting new elites in charge while crushing dissent. Instead, it aims to abolish systems of domination altogether.

We oppose U.S. imperialism precisely because it subjugates people through violence and exploitation — so why would we endorse other states doing the same under the pretext of “anti-imperialism”?

A serious socialism works to materially transform people’s lives through mutual aid, tenant and labor organizing, cooperative economics, and broad-based social movements. It means building networks that can deliver food, housing, and healthcare where the state or market fails, and that empower people to direct their own futures. It does not settle for simply waving flags or praising faraway regimes.

Tankheism offers an illusion of radicalism without the substance. It swaps one nationalist mythology for another and glorifies historical models that crushed the very people they claimed to liberate. In doing so, it alienates countless would-be allies and fails to offer a real pathway to a just society.

If we are serious about socialism — serious about dismantling capitalism, imperialism, and all forms of oppression — we must reject authoritarian shortcuts. We must build a movement rooted in solidarity, democracy, and a steadfast commitment to human dignity everywhere. Only then can socialism fulfill its promise as a genuine project of collective liberation.