• xkyfal18@lemmygrad.ml
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        9 months ago

        Exactly! That sounds like an unfalsifiable argument, so it’s up to them to show proof, not us.

    • knfrmity@lemmygrad.ml
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      9 months ago

      Ok, so they’re not “loyal” and let him resign. Then what’s he gonna do, throw an unemployed fit of rage? Toss out an uno reverse card and tell all the Central Committee cadres that actually they’re the ones who are resigning?

        • knfrmity@lemmygrad.ml
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          9 months ago

          Point taken, but would Deng have had the power he did given only little support in the Central Committee or People’s Congresses? Would he have even been elected to the official offices he did hold?

          • CatrachoPalestino@lemmygrad.ml
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            9 months ago

            I feel like what you’re asking is just tautologically true. yes, deng would not have been as powerful and influential if he didn’t have as much support. in the case of stalin I have no doubt he would have been able to effectively rule in the case where he did retire. it seems naive to assume he wouldn’t be able to

    • albigu@lemmygrad.ml
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      9 months ago

      Besides all that others have said, this is a very risky gambit to pull off. You need to be certain that you have a lot of support already, or they can just take you on your word and let you resign, and there’s not much you can do.

      One good example of this backfiring is when Brazilian President Jânio Quadros renounced, which is generally believed to have been a power-grab move with the military, but was accepted by the Congress without much hesitation.

      This triggered a political crisis (in particular due to the leftier leanings of the vice-president), but restoring Jânio was never an option.

      So even if Stalin was testing his support, the support still had to exist and be reliable in the first place.