In October of 1972, Chile incurred a capital strike causing the directors of Cybersyn and the national economy at large to centralize their directives more and more - a necessary reaction for a socialist government under domestic (and foreign) economic attack.

Few, if any, leftists would say this move made Allende or Project Cybersyn "authoritarian", but rather responsive to the task of maintaining power and control in an uneasy and chaotic situation. Not doing so would've been suicidal.

I think leftists would do well to remember that, if Allende and the UP govt had to centralize and be less lenient during a strike, it is permissible and understandable that Lenin and the Bolshes also did so during the full on Civil War with the White fascist powers of Russia.

As it is important and necessary for us to never lose sight of our vision for an inclusive democratic society, it is also necessary for us to judge historical actors by the material constraints of their time, not least of all being the near endless onslaught of capital against..

..the most democratic and open attempts of socialist transition that history has offered us. A critique must then be not only one which bears in mind our ideals, but one which understands the motion of society and the forces which our historical actors actually faced.

If we fail to do this - to really learn from history - we will have learned nothing of real value, but rather will simply concoct fairy tales and rules of thumb which will not serve us when it is our turn to build socialism, however helpful it might be in winning twitter wars.

From Medina’s Cybernetic Revolutionaries.