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Cake day: November 14th, 2023

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  • communism is not merely “good”, it is a necessity. But to get an understanding of what that means one has to make themselves familiar with the contradictions inherent to capitalism and understanding that capitalism is fundamentally incapable of overcoming them.

    To give an example: Crippling economic crises arise within capitalism periodically because it is incapable of overcoming the contradiction between the “organization of production” in one company and the “anarchy of production” (unguided production) within all of society.

    Capitalism can’t overcome this contradiction because the underlying reason for it is the contradiction between a socialized production and a private appropriation. This contradiction is the defining characteristic of capitalism however, so it can’t ever be resolved without abolishing the system. And we see this prediction of Marx play out time and time again.

    Now you may think periodic crises are acceptable (why you would think that is beyond me as they are really truly not necessary). However there are many other realities that contradict capitalism like limited resources, limited capacity of our planet to absorb emissions, the inevitability of the global south’s independence and self-determination (very incomplete list)

    Whatever type of capitalism you support, it requires some kind of externality that just isn’t real: infinite natural resources, an ocean that doesn’t care how much is dumped into it, an atmosphere that absorbs all emissions, a domestic working class that accepts exploitation, colonies / the global south to outsource exploitation to, etc. all of those things run out. This kind of “externality” is exposed as an illusion of bourgeois thought.

    These contradictions (and more) are creating tensions like tectonic plates during a tectonic shift and we will surely see some more earthquakes. Possibilities include:

    • Not being able to safe large parts of the planetary ecosystem.
    • Countries falling into fascism to guarantee their national capitalists their profit rate as their main profit guarantor, the US, looses its imperial grip on the planet.
    • More imperial wars

    The alternative is: The abolition of the capitalist system, hence I spoke of necessity.

    Or in Rosa Luxemburg’s words: “[It’s] Socialism or Barbarism”



  • That is incorrect. Stages of grief do not only apply to terminal conditions where acceptance is fatalistic.

    Say you suffer the loss of a loved one. Accepting that they are gone holds within itself the key to continue your live. Acceptance, plain and simple, is a necessity to deal with reality.

    Similarly the acceptance that the capitalist system is inherently “broken” enables us to figure out how to deal with that reality, how to overcome its contradictions.

    Denying that many of humanities problems are rooted in capitalism does not. The comparison is valid


  • TΛVΛR@lemmygrad.mltoMemes@lemmygrad.mlStages of Grief
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    6 months ago

    I totally get your perspective too: you could swap acceptance and denial. Capitalists accept the justification of the status quo while MLs deny it.

    In the context of grieve I think Yogthos’ perspective is more fitting: “Denial” is the denial that anything is wrong with the system and “Acceptance” of both facts, that the system is fundamentally flawed and that a pursuit of any idealistic one doesn’t bear fruit is the necessary precursor for conducting a sober analysis







  • You’re right, it is not to be overexagerated.

    But honestly partys bending to pressure from the base is amongst the best things we can hope for in a bourgeoise republic in the imperial core currently

    From a German perspective the Irish situation looks like a major Win, we struggle from a completely marginalized perspective currently. Palestinian solidarity is niche and is facing huge state repression. A slim majority would probably support a ceasefire, but people are silent. All partys are Zionist.

    Even the leftmost party is light years away from Palestinian solidarity, after initial dogshit reactions, they were able at some point to adopt a ceasefire stance while being booed by huge parts of the party. They don’t call for a stop of German weapons exports to Israel, they call for Germany to put pressure on Qatar to, in turn, stop supporting Hamas.

    Whenever we try to get them to helpnus with local ceasefire protests they make up some bullshit excuse while on a national level the criticize the gov for not pressuring Egypt enough to let the Gazans into Sinai like their only fucking job is to support Zionists in their genocide without people noticing.

    And holy shit, Clare Daly, it is completely unthinkable how someone as based as her manages to be elected. I don’t know what’d have to happen in Germany for that to occur


  • TΛVΛR@lemmygrad.mltoMemes@lemmygrad.mldream job
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    9 months ago

    Dreaming of a job, of creating surplus for your capitalist and thanking him for that opportunity, is shit.

    Dreaming of labour however? Imagine you work in a Socialist society, whatever that means to you. However you imagine trustworthy Socialist leadership/guidance to look like, imagine it exists, you experiencing it, maybe you are a part of it.

    Now ofc society still faces challenges, not everything is bliss. But people feel hopeful, encouraged by the changes they see happening around them. Changes, in fact, that they bring about with their labour. Housing being built, and populated. People being lifted out of poverty.

    Maybe people come together in socialist meetings eager to engage, they feel their voices being heard, their needs being met. Maye they just want to connect. Without the alienating forces of capitalism people open up to one another, creating understanding among each other.

    Renewable energy and public transportation advances. Maybe new means of production are envisioned. Reaction is on the backfoot. People unlearn the concept of externality, realizing we, workers on this planet, are all in this together and that that is the only way to progress. It sets in: We can’t create prosperity through externalization, not through slavery, not by exploiting an externalized global south, not by dumping trash in an “infinite” ocean, not by pumping CO2 into an “infinite” atmosphere, not by pushing the burden onto a gender, race or religion.

    As all externality vanishes even the backwards start to wonder why that is not a problem? There is no need for squeezing the life out of someone “other” and isolating ourselves with the fruits of their labour. With modern forces of production our labour creates plenty. Nothing is siphoned off by the ruling class, the ruling class are the workers, it flows to where people need it most according to a Marxist analysis.

    Whatever you imagine your labour is directly contributing. Maybe you’re a scientist and work on cold fusion or you optimize new ways to grow crop, without straining the environment through monocultures etc. Or you try to cure rare but harsh diseases whatever the case your funding isn’t cancelled bc you are not making anyone any money.

    Or you are a teacher or construction worker, only you earn a lot and you know you help give to the people what they desperately need, whats more the people know it too, they even build you statues and of course you, like everyone else can rest peacefully knowing they have their health covered by the labour of other people.

    You are a gear in a machine, but not in an imperial war machine, but in a cooperative machine that cures cancer, educates, struggles against oppression and aims to liberate every single person to allow them to live their life summoning their creative, mental, physical potential.

    I would love to work and work and work in such a world. Unfortunately we have to work towards such a world and that means working in a hostile environment which turns the work into struggle, which makes it so much harder.

    But dreaming of labour I can understand


  • Tried calling Putin, he didn’t answer. Its almost as if I have zero influence on him

    After Stoltenberg and David Arakhamia admitted it, everybody has realized by now that Nato membership always was at the core of this conflict.

    So, no, there is not only one person who can end this war. Not even liberals should be dumb enough to believe that line to begin with.

    Assuming you don’t live in a dream world: What exactly is the realistic goal you have that more bloodshed will achieve?

    If my fellow Western idiots had listened to us, Ukraine would have 20% more land and hundreds of thousands more people would be alive and Germanys tanking economy with military keynesianism knocking wouldn’t be at risk of turning the 30s of the 21st century into the 30s of the 20th century

    You’re playing a little game that you pretend is fueled by care for Ukrainians (- those in Donbas and leftists), whose country you could not point to on a map 3 years ago, but is actually fueled by a media-induced need to see Putin humiliated.

    This is the fucking real world where people aren’t just flag-emojis and nuclear weapons aren’t a boardgame that you can smugly flip over and where the “bad guys” aren’t cackling in secret about doing evil but where real contexts are distorted for propagandistic purposes.

    Snap the fuck out of your infantile world view and start trying to understand war in order to prevent it or take the blue pill and accept that politics just isn’t your cup of tea.

    There is too much at stake. We can never stop explaining but we can’t parent people either


  • Albert Einstein is one of the few idols who stood up to the test of time. As a child I looked up to him bc he was a genius and his tongue-(e)pic made him seem like a funny fuy.

    Whenever I adopted a new understanding into any new field after wrestling with myself I was blown away to eventually find Einstein followed the same path. It felt like a pat on the back, like him encouraging me “I’m right there with you”

    Maybe I am romantizising, but IMO his biggest genius was to not avert his eyes in the presence of contradiction as so many subconsciously are compelled to.

    This made him a natural dialectitian, his relativity theory is the most fulminant dialectical thought in physics revolving around the contradiction between space and time only rivaled by the quantum mechanical contradiction between particle and wave and the contradiction between both is still the central one to be resolved.

    With Einstein it is intellect, heart and fearlessness that really make him shine. He is the only person I can think of that is both held in the highest regard all over the planet and who is still massively underrated


  • TΛVΛR@lemmygrad.mltoMemes@lemmy.mlDank Brandon Rising
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    10 months ago

    6 weeks? They held the trifecta for 2 years! From 01/09 to 01/11.

    If you give the Dems a supermajority even more Senators will have “health problems” for way longer

    Look, I know my instance gives it away, but from Marxist to self proclaimed angry commie: You are dead wrong comrade.

    Dems under Obama didn’t not do anything bc of “enough Senators with health problems” but because they are beholden to their bourgeoise donors. In essence they are a party representing the bourgeoisie who only occasionally throw you a bone when they are pressured to do so

    And you pressure them not by voting harder for them but by doing political work outside of both parties.

    The harder you vote blue, the less they’ll do for you!

    A bit oversimplified but I like the ring of it so I’ll run with it.