And then...
What do the following countries all have exactly in common?
DPRK
IRAN
PRC
USSR
USSR no longer exists (having dissolved in 1991). It’s basically a Republic shaped around a capitalist society today, with former KGB guys running around, billionaire oligarchs happily adapting to capitalism and hiding money over the globe, and a handful of Russian generals trying to run a 3rd world military. Elections come and go....Putin or an associate....are happily chosen to be the front man for the ‘mythical’ country.
DPRK is a one-man government...run by ‘rocketboy’. You can vote for ‘rocketboy’ year after year, and the system is neither socialist, capitalist or communist. It’s just a plain-vanilla dictatorship. ‘Rocketboy’ likes the NBA, enjoys attention, and would likely be described as a psychopath by licensed mental health professionals.
Iran on paper is a republic...as long as you only vote for approved candidates which the head mullah approve. Behind the scenes, the system is heavily capitalist...oil and agriculture drive the system. Curious enough, they among the few nations in the world with a flat-tax (25-percent of your income). Most Iranians will grin and tell you that a large amount of the population conduct business in cash...hiding profits, and avoid paying taxes.
Finally with the PRC....another republic. Again, certain individuals are approved to run for office, and you can only vote among them. The bulk of China today runs off capitalism. Cash-friendly transactions are appreciated, and a vast amount of the wealth of Chinese is hidden from the government.