The liberal view of world affairs is beset with an incurable contradiction: that liberalism claims to represent the freest possible social order, yet in practice it consistently leads to scenarios that are objectively unfree. This has been true since liberalism’s inception during the transition from feudalism to capitalism, in which the bourgeoisie set up a form of “democracy” that had to be compromised in order for capital to function. Under capitalism, democracy has always only truly existed for the elites, while everyone else is excluded from participating to varying degrees. When capital has found itself in crisis, the illusion of democracy has been abandoned, and undisguised bourgeois dictatorship has taken its place. This has happened most infamously in Indonesia, Chile, Brazil, and the other places where the CIA installed military dictatorships throughout the 21st century.
This would be really interesting.
I think the fact that 1/4 of the entire population of the DPRK is a member of the WPK is very telling of their efforts to put control directly into the hands of the working class. It is the biggest portion of the population in the ruling party of any communist country that I’m aware of. Combine that with the continuous decrease in centralised power of their most powerful political figures, and you’ve got one hell of an example of the gradual process of withering away of the state. Even in times where the dictatorship of capital is still the status quo.