created a burner for this as i’m scared to risk my job….i live in texas—in a large predominantly blue county (i’m sure you can guess where). two years ago or so i joined the iww, but have had 0 luck reaching anyone in my community to organize my workplace (retail). i’ve reached out to my local iww and not had anyone reach back out? i’m asking for genuine help and tips (and maybe a community i am unaware of) to organize—which feels very doomer like fat chance considering i work for the largest private employer in texas (again—easy to know where… i’m just scared and trying to be cautious).
it feels very VERY hopeless and i’m looking for some direction and tips since i want to try and make actual change. a large hurdle i face is said company gives and pays marginally more than most and i find many of my coworkers, especially older ones, falling for the “well you can just go work at [redacted] instead”.
i am a college dropout (want to go back for nursing but i simply cannot afford to work less—i’m a part timer who busts ass to get enough hours to qualify for benefits as i need mental health and medical resources) and this is the highest i can be paid with my “lack of skilled labor experience” but i am still paycheck to paycheck and the debt just climbs every month and it is making me want to tap out if you know what i mean :\
any major city texas residents who have organized? this employer has ZERO unions and i cannot afford to lose my job. i feel very very hopeless and scared and depressed. sorry for formatting and please feel free to privately message me for more info.

This may be an ignorant question since I'm new to both left politics and socialism in general but why is there like 3 different socialism parties? I wanted to vote socialist since I live in a deep red state and voting for a Democrat is pointless. I'm probably voting Claudia De La Cruz but just curious why there's so many different socialism parties instead of just one large party?

I've been pursuing an economic idea recently where the current basis for the economy, the exchange, is replaced with a different fundamental economic activity, the gift. Instead of resources being transferred through a network via a series of exchanges, where each party needs to transfer something of roughly equal value, resources would be transferred unidirectionally and non-reciprocally. An economy functioning on this basis would behave differently and, I believe, resolve a series of problems that the current economy faces.

Many of the outcomes of this are, I believe, consistent with socialism, such as a non-monetary economy, reduced poverty, reduced wealth inequality, increased democratic participation, more equal participation in democracy, a different conception of "economic" labour, fairness and justice, voluntary work with better work conditions, a more sustainable rather than growth-oriented economy, and so forth. I think a lot of these ideas are either similar to or identical to many socialist conceptions of society, especially around the way work is perceived and engaged with.

It is compatible with workplace democracy, and would probably be enhanced by it.

However, this particular conception of the economy preserves private ownership, including of capital. It consists primarily of democratic but private organisations who choose how to interact with each other and whether to transfer resources.

On this front, I am curious whether people who are socialists are more or less likely to consider it a form of socialism rather than a different (non-capitalist) form of economy?

I know that the description here is brief, but I can answer any questions if you want more details to give an assessment.

Thanks in advance.

Honestly I’ve been thinking of voting for Kamala because she isn’t as bad as trump. But I’ve also realized that trump isn’t just trump, i mean that everyone else in the Republican Party is also like him. Even if i Vote for kamala in order to keep trump out of office, the next republican that runs will probably not be any better maybe even worse. Also this is all without taking into account that both sides are going to support the genocide against the Palestinians regardless.

I’m just confused. This will be my first election but I’ve already realized that it’s bs. We are supposed to in this two party democracy (basically not a democracy) to have a liberal party and a Conservative Party. Instead we have a Conservative Party and a far right party.

The democrats seem to be going farther and farther right if it means they can win an election (then do nothing for four years).

The fear of trump is real for me tho since I am Mexican American and the anti-immigrant and anti-latino rhetoric by the republicans is very real as well.

I’m just confused, I don’t want to not vote but I also feel voting for a 3rd party is useless especially seeing that it’s not really organized if that makes since. If all leftists got together and said we are voting for a specific candidate then maybe it would be worth it but it seems that we can’t even agree on that.

Idk. Who are y’all going to vote for? If at all

I’m an ancom, i’ve heard 3 separate definitions of socialism and i’m quite confused, i’ve heard that socialism is communism, that it’s just capitalism with socialist/worker policy and i’ve heard it’s a transition period from capitalism to communism? which one/ is any one of these correct, and if so what is your end goal?

Sorry if this goes against rules

I was having a debate with with someone about weather communism is better or not and they Said that when AGI comes out almost all poor people could be put into a much more equal position. They also pointed out that socialism is only needed in countries with lots of poverty and inequality. So essentially in my country (Britain) we’re there’s much more equality is it still needed?

I know it may vary. I see the need to reclaim greater self-determination and political freedom for marginalized peoples. But, I also see identity politics being used to split the working class. What are most socialists and socialist organization's views on the issue?

Someone got mad at me on another post and blocked me for not understanding how they used it and said I’m not a real Marxist so I’d like an actual definition cause the one I got wasn’t complete and I’m still confused

Edit for context cause I’m genuinely so confused lmao Wikipedia and google says neomarxist theory is from the Frankfurt school and a bunch of dudes who afaik have nothing to do with Federrici, Feinberg, or Engels so I’m still very confused? Neomarxism appears to be a specific literary/ theoretical tradition, not a wide category any Marxist should know?

DISCLAIMER: To clarify, I am not here to troll or provoke unneccessarily, I just have some genuine questions and would like your honest answers. I swear, I mean it! I try my best to be as respectful as possible with the following.

I am a muslim and have my believes and prinicipals. You might not agree with me on my believes but I can accept that. However, would I be welcome in any socialist community's?

Here comes the controversial part, bear with me please:

I morally cannot accept the idea of transgender or homosexuality. Though, I assure you, that I do not hate any people of these community's, I honestly have nothing against anyone, for doing something that is considered not moral in my religion. I look at transgender or gay people, the same way I look at anybody else, I don't see anyone as more or lesser of a human being. It is only the deeds I condemn of people or the idea's. For example, I am not for trans- or gay rights (but I harshly condemn the persecution or use of violence against any queer or gay people).

I never did, nor would I ever promote violence against any human being for their disposition or believes. I just don't support certain ideas because they are incompatible with my ethics, morals or religious believes. When it comes to socialism, I really like and agree with so many things I have heard from you guys.

Now the question is: Can you say, that you don't agree with me when it comes to the subject of sexual orientation but can accept the rest of my persona as a comrade, or is this an all-or-nothing kind of situation?

Again, I humbly ask you to not think of this as trolling or bigotry. I simply ask for openness about a controversial topic.

Edit: Thank you to everyone who wrote me a genuine message, I thank all those, even if they disagree'd with me. I think it was very insightful to see your perspectives.

i'm very sorry if this isn't the right subreddit

i've always been interested in literally every single science, art form, discipline etc. long story short, i've stared my geography degree at one of the best universities in my country. even though my degree is "on paper" a STEM degree, more than half of it is actually focused on social sciences (human geography in this case). i've got a really wide range of interest and skills and i'm determined to convert my knowledge into something socially positive. since i have really got so many interests, it's hard to choose, but politics, sociology, philosophy and geography (specifically urban geography, demogeography and political geography) are some my "main" interests. now, i have been wondering a few things:

i) has anyone else been in a similar situation (preferably geography-related discipline)? what is a good course of action for my further progress? as of right now (i'm probably thinking too far into the futute) i've been meaning to go all the way to a phd. i live in one of the poorest countries in the european union, so i've been considering to pursue my master's or phd, if it comes to that point, somewhere abroad (although everything here's absolutely fine)

ii) what are some topics that you would advise me to expand my knowledge on? obviously, aside from "pure" marxism and socialism and all that, what are some more specific topics (marxist geography and critical geography come to mind). i know of david harvey and a few others, but what are some other writers and academics that i should look at (again, preferably geography related, but since geography is so interdisciplinary, it can range from anything to everything)

iii) how to put my skills to good use one day? i consider myself talented enough (although i despise that term) to work at some sort of an institute or NGO, even for the state or the government. now, i imagine that my beliefs might make this very difficult because i'm not too keen on swallowing my morals for a cushy job (if i were, i would have studied something more lucrative and safe, career-wise). i'm stilly young and there's a bunch of stuff that i need to learn about the world, but i've been looking into UN careers (i've got a feeling that most leftists aren't huge fans of the UN). i'm not really looking to become a "geographer" in a very strict sense, i'm more inclined to use my geography-related skills in any way, shape or form that would be beneficial to others.

thoughts? advice? anything is more than welcome

Someone on Twitter said socialist countries had to possess nukes as deterrence, on the theory that capitalist countries were hell-bent on destroying them merely for being living proof of an alternative. Their definition of "socialist country" strangely included modern China.

Any tips on how to get involved with my community? Organizations or events to look for? Those of you who actively participate in organizing or community building, what does that look like for you? How did it start?

I’m a stay at home mom and I sometimes get frustrated with having nothing to do other than visit parks and libraries. I also get frustrated with the amount of potential stay at home mom friends who are trad-wife-lite or “don’t care about politics.”

I’ve spent a lot of the last 1.5 years since my baby has been born reading, learning and unlearning, and craving more. I’m mostly craving real life community with like minded people. I figure being a SAHM gives me a great opportunity to find ways to get involved and volunteer with my toddler in tow. Any ideas are welcome!

Editing to add: I am in a big city in the Bay Area, so that removes one major barrier. I’m sure there is stuff around here to get involved in, I just truly don’t know where to start!

Hi, I’m a queer non binary gyrl, and the more I think about queerness as a political identity and the more I study Marx’s concepts of capital, the more I think Marx is technically a queer.

Am I right, or am I backwards justifying?

Orgs like PSL and CPUSA seem to only be interested in camp counselors, whereas I'm (just being honest here) still a kid that got dropped off with a lunchbox full of questions that are like jusssst well-informed enough to piss off internet people who think I'm trying to be antagonistic, whereas they'd probably catch my actual toan in person.

Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century and aimed for the establishment of a Jewish state through the colonization of a land outside Europe.

i often notice many socialists and communists are against israel so my question what are the views of socialism on zionism , Zionism has been described by several scholars as a form of settler colonialism in relation to the region of Palestine and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

M

I wanted to get an ethical phone that runs off of ethical technology. I thought Nothing Tech would be a good idea, but I believe it is all based off of Google Technologies.

What should I do to be mindful of the environment and people’s lives? I also wanted to buy a computer that is a high quality gaming laptop that doesn’t link back to Dell Technologies. LMK what you guys think. Thanks.

Say you earn enough money from your job to be able to spend some on starting a small business like a cafe, how would one set it up in the most fair way to the workers? So far the ideas i have come across are profit sharing and having all business decisions made by the collective of workers. What ideas do you guys have?

In practice it could weaken Imperial hegemony and benefit the working class of export and developing countries by a lessening of the Labor Aristocracy in the Imperial Core.

It also circumvents sanctions placed by the US by decentralizing financial flows.

I live in a firmly blue state and have absolutely nothing to gain from voting for Kamala. I'm split between voting for Jill Stein or Claudia De La Cruz. Along with Jill Stein and Claudia De La Cruz I see two other socialist candidates I'm not remotely familiar with: Rachele Fruit with the Socialist Workers Party and Joseph Kishore with the Socialist Equality Party, also I see Cornel West on the ballot. I'm less interested in voting for those other two candidates because I've never heard of them before. Both Jill Stein and Claudia De La Cruz have visited and campaigned in my state so I respect their campaigns more. I'm angry that there isn't more left unity here, I feel like there should be a consensus on who we are voting for as socialists.

The green party from what I can tell is a lot more popular than the SLP but at the end of the day that's not saying much. When it comes to the party platform and policy I like the SLP a lot more than the green party, which is saying a lot. Who should we vote for?

As I understand it, socialism is explicitly anti-imperialist. So it seems highly contradictory for many socialists to hold a positive view of the USSR.

Sometimes I worry I don't fully understand what a Capitalist is and I want to run some hypotheticals to clarify some things for myself.

To start, my understanding of a capitalist is the following must be true:

1. You are independently wealthy to such a degree that working is a choice for you. Tim Cook might have a day job with a salary but that is a choice.
2. You own the means by which you generate your wealth. Either as investments or you pay for others' labor in a way that perpetuates your wealth.

Assuming that's correct (I acknowledge I'm probably missing things), I'm trying to understand how the following situations apply:

• Picasso: Within his lifetime Picasso became very wealthy to the point where there is a story he paid a bill at a restaurant by doodling on a napkin. When asked to sign he said, "I want to pay for dinner not buy the restaurant." He continued to make art but clearly by that point it was unnecessary for him.
• Andy Warhol: Warhol made a lot of art but he also hired a small army of artists to create art in his name. Much of "Warhol's art" is actually art made by others (under his supervision to some degree) that he would sign and sell as his own.
• Linus Sebastian (Linus Tech Tips): He's the host, he owns the business, though he pays others to run it. He maintains a position within his company. However, unlike Steve Jobs and Apple, if Linus leaves tomorrow there's a strong case to be made that LTT dies without him.
• Consider a doctor who made enough money that they were able to retire in their 40's and now plays the stock market as a way to further and otherwise maintain their wealth.

I think Picasso is probably still working class because his labor is how he derived his fortune. I think Warhol is probably petite bourgeoisie, maybe? And Linus is bourgeoisie but not necessarily a capitalist? The doctor was working class but is now capitalist, correct?

And to make sure I understand: Petite bourgeoisie is bourgeoisie that are otherwise closely aligned with the needs and goals of the working class, bourgeoisie are those who own businesses and the means of production, and capitalists might be bourgeoisie but the important distinction is they make money via money.

I'm sure much of this is wrong but I'm hoping I'm at least right-adjacent.

(Sorry its so long, I put important stuff in bold)

I used to be very supportive of free market capitalism, then social democracy, but then I discovered "stock socialism," or the Lange Model. The thing is, I only like one aspect of it.

I'd rather have a system where state would be like China in one key way, where the state corporations are the state and owned by the citizens. They'd operate in key areas of industry (like public works), and like the Lange Model**, it would distribute shares to all citizens**, who could vote for things within the companies, but I would want it to be fairly hierarchal, so I don't know if that makes it not socialist.

Also, and unlike the Lange Model, I want private enterprise to exist in a Keynesian style market economy. All businesses would have to be ESOPs or co-ops, but they would again allow for hierarchies where a founder can own more shares.

I've never called myself a socialist, but someone told me I am, and I can't help but ask socialists if I fall in the within the category of a socialist? I honestly don't mind whatever the answer is. Also if it matters, I'm libertarian on social issues.

I understand that the working class is basically anyone who has the bulk of their surplus value taken by a Capitalist. A Capitalist then is someone who's main wealth accumulation comes from the surplus value of a worker, right?... So wtf is petite-bourgoise? What does that mean? I used to think it meant they were self employed, making not having their surplus value taken. But i have found it gets more often used to describe ppl who are only KIND of rich... What makes someone petite-bourgoise?

So i recently found a news source that i'm enjoying because it will take swings at both sides of the U.S. aisle.

I leane left, and am very interested in Socialism and personally agree and like a lot of what i read/hear on the purely socialist circles.

I want to educate myself (and hopefully others) about more economic-focused topics.

Are their good news outlets that get into economics and policy as it relates to our current politics, and has a reputation for being critical of both of our 2 parties (and even other governments internationally), while holding to progressive/socialist ideals?

I'm currently listening to The Young Turks, and i find some good stuff there but they stay on the surface and are rather repetative. Also, Jacobin i really like.

Open to critic as well as insites. Thank you.

First of all, if there's a better sub for this, let me know. Didn't know where to post

I'm going on a big trip to Asia through these countries - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, South Korea and maybe Taiwan

While I'm traveling, I like exploring important historical places, monuments,museums, etc. Does anyone have places I should see? Already going to the Ho Chi Minh museum and the Kaysone Phomvihane museum.

It’s been debated for a while on whether or not students can or even should participate in class revolution. As a student from a proletarian family class background, what is my status? How can I help in revolutionary struggle when I don’t produce any value for a capitalist?