
12 Jul 2013, 07:40
I dont understand this, I get so many mixed messages on Ba'athism and its followers like the Bashar family and Saddam Hussein. Are they socialist?

12 Jul 2013, 14:32
No, not at all. Baathism was/is a progressive all-Arab nationalist movement.

12 Jul 2013, 19:38
Loz has it pegged. In this age of near-total labor marginalization even nationalism has taken on a new ability to be progressive again.
It should be noted fhat Ba'athism differs quite a lot from nation to nation. In Iraq for instance it went to war against Iran and killed communists en masse (basically working for America from the start). Versus Syria where communists and nationalists generally worked together and are strong allies of Iran.

13 Jul 2013, 05:37
The Communists in Syria have supported Assad for decades as members of his government. It's been known for a long time that in Syria the options are Ba'athism or Saudi Wahabbism.

13 Jul 2013, 09:54
Ba'athism has left and right tendencies, hence the possibilities for both cooperation and hostility toward communists. It can be said that the Iraqi Ba'ath was dominated by a left tendency until Saddam Hussein came to power and began turning the country into a right-wing, kleptocratic fiefdom. It was during this time that the Soviets began supporting the Kurds. In Syria, personalist dictatorship and right tendencies never won out, hence the warm relations with the local communist parties (and with the USSR, while it was around). The contemporary alliance with Iran is a strategic rather than an ideational one.
Dagoth, the progressive nature of pan-Arabist nationalist sentiment lies in its antagonism toward radical Islam, monarchy, and Western imperialism. In its Middle Eastern context it's been the predominant progressive choice since Nasser's time.

07 Mar 2018, 01:45
Ba'athism is a part of arab nationalist ideology. It promotes secularism and the creation of a unified Arab state. It is progressive from the view that is in contrast with Islamic fundamentalism. But i dont think so that is based in left/socialist economic ideas. Any socialism references are about unity or all tribes and casts in an arab nation