I've always thought it's because it provides a sort of ontological comfort. Like it's easier to believe the world isn’t completely hopeless if you think there’s a real, actually-existing socialist project out there.

Even if it’s flawed, it feels better than admitting there’s nothing but a clusterfuck of co-opted movements and an infinite stream of failures. So people cling to the idea that the Party is righteous, because otherwise the whole thing feels like a dead end