/r/Marxism

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Marxism is a growing/changing economic/sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry based upon a materialist interpretation of historical development, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis of class-relations within society and their application in the analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism encompasses an economic theory, a sociological theory, a philosophical method and a revolutionary view of social change.

Marxism is a growing/changing economic/sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry based upon a materialist interpretation of historical development, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis of class-relations within society and their application in the analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism encompasses an economic theory, a sociological theory, a philosophical method and a revolutionary view of social change.

Questions about Marxism or Communism?

Check out /r/communism101

Other relevant subreddits:

Resources for beginners:

External Sites:

/r/Marxism

57,456 Subscribers

11

Dialectical materialism and modern natural science

How would a dialectical approach to modern natural science change the major bodies of knowledge we have today? Thinking back to people like Lysenko, how do errors like that get avoided and how would the modern scientific community change under a Marxist worldview? Obviously Darwinian speciation gave some merit to dialectics but I just wanted to know if anyone could shed more light on the topic. Thanks in advance

8 Comments
2024/12/04
01:33 UTC

0

I'm writing a journal for a Marxist Journal. Here is the beginning. My goal is to advance economic understanding to work quickly towards a colapse of democracy into Anarcho Communism/Capialism

Gift Cards The fourth Dimension of Revolutionary Bourgeois Currency Aaron Bartletet B.A. Dec 12 2024 Canada, Victoria

Introduction Since the beginning of currency the masses along with the political elite and the bourgeois have used a system of exchange. This was established first off of rare metals and minting. Next, there was the invention of paper money along with the banking system. Governments embraced it because they were allowed to print money which thus affects inflation and gives them extra capital/power over the economy. In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto created an e-coin database and mines which allowed people to trade in the black market and without government regulation of observation. Also, Capital now is shifting towards a anarcho-communist/capitalist society, and this e-coin vs paper money is the modern dialectic of illuminati anarchist versus big government democrats. Alongside these three major currencies there has been a fourth that does not get the same attention in the mass media. It is the gift card which represents its own currency with the bourgeois empire.

Definitions Bourgeois (From Google AI) -The bourgeoisie is a social class of wealthy people, business owners, and merchants

Proletariat (From Wikipedia) - Marx defined the proletariat as the social class having no significant ownership of the means of production (factories, machines, land, mines, buildings, vehicles) and whose only means of subsistence is to sell their labour power for a wage or salary.

Anarchy No government

Anarcho Communism Looting/digital looting/building castles like medieval Europe (millions of small kingdoms on Earth)/looting means of production

Authoritarian Communism Rulers will be forced to share

1st Caste Brahmans - The first class of India, the word Bhraman comes from the word Brahma which is the four headed old God of reproduction and knowledge. These people are either Yogis, Buddhists, Saints, People in an order, or just Vagabonds living an aesthetic life

2nd Caste of India Kshatriyas - The Government or Warriors. Most Sikhs identify as this caste more as a warrior than as a part of the government.

3rd Caste of India Vaishyas - This is the Business or commerce class. This entails all people proletariat or bourgeoisie

4rd Caste of India Sudras - These are the people outside of the economy or positions of power. The higher ones in the caste work in the economy as cleaners or other dirty work where others beg.

The gift card is a typical holiday or birthday present. Kids buy them to top up their video game subscriptions without a credit card or to buy music on Itunes. Also, Ecoin websites such as crypto.com allow you to trade e-coin instantaneously for digital gift cards at a plethora of businesses. If you trade Cronos e-coin you even get a kickback of 1.25% Cronos at Crypto.com. You can shop online at Amazon, gas at Esso, or even cash out before the crash and go on a shopping spree at Walmart.

10 Comments
2024/12/02
20:18 UTC

30

Reading State and Revolution

Working my way through this and I need help understanding the precise meaning of some of the words Lenin uses. In discussing revolutionary potential, he says it's only the proletariat that can accomplish the overthrow of the bourgeois state. But he makes a differentiation between the proletariat and other "toiling and exploited masses". I thought proletariat meant working class, generally? Is there some particular distinction associated to this word used here? Thanks in advance for your eyeballs and your time!

24 Comments
2024/12/02
18:21 UTC

4

Daily rememberance tradition: 2nd December 2024

One of the aims of the Mseli project is to move power of online influence from individual influencers to collective influence through ensuring communities get more views than individuals.

It plans to achieve this through creating an app which allows communities to have profiles that individuals can go and press an “I remembered community” button.

Hence a community like Marxism, if most of its fans embrace it, can get 50,000 views a day easily or 1,500,000 views per month which is top tier influencer views.

The views can then be monetized through having an ad when someone opens the profile to remember the community.

Hence with 50,000 views every day, the community can gain advertisement money and members of the community can then propose how the money is used through an online direct democracy.

The members can propose a bill to use the collective money for maintaining forums and websites, hosting webinars and study groups, creating educational content about Marxist theory, translating and digitizing key texts, supporting grassroots activism initiatives, organizing virtual events or conferences, funding independent research or publications, producing documentaries or podcasts on Marxism, and developing interactive tools to explore and apply Marxist principles.

If the bill passes the project is funded using the collective money. I created a video to visually show how the app will work including the online direct democracy used to manage the collective money.

The link to the video is in the comments section.

But for all this to work, people have to first get used to remembering the marxism community every day and that is why I am running the daily appreciation tradition where I post a poll every day that members of this community can vote to show they remembered the community.

If you believe in this project and that the Marxism community can have more power and influence you can vote below:

View Poll

1 Comment
2024/12/02
12:17 UTC

13

Local Meetups

Hello everyone,

I am new to seriously reading Marxist and all adjacent ideologies. In my brief time reading, I have come to really sympathize with the writings. Because of this, I was wondering if there are any suggestions as to find local groups to talk with about the writings. I think online tools may be the most useful way in finding these groups, but so far I have had no luck. Nobody in my Union seems interested in discussing these topics with me either.

If there is not a good way to reach other Marxists online then my plan is to reserve space in a library or someplace similar and invite people from my union (though my previously mentioned efforts may spell doom for this approach) or perhaps I can hang flyers at the library or around some public spaces. While this approach is not very effective either I do believe I have to try.

Any suggestions you guys have will be greatly appreciated!

10 Comments
2024/12/02
02:21 UTC

7

Books/Media on Syria

Does anyone have any good resources (books, journals, authors, etc.) for modern Syrian history/politics?

Happy to hear any suggestions on ancient history, Syrian culture, or otherwise as well.

I don’t have much experience with it and was hoping for more of a people’s history rather than Western sources.

Thank you in advance!

6 Comments
2024/12/01
19:32 UTC

2

What are your thoughts on AI generated 'art'

Hello my friends, I want to keep the question simple but feel free to share your perspective as you please: I belive AI generated images are (morally) wrong. And I believe so because I see it as unrewarded labour from the artists whose art is taken unwillingly by the companies who then use that work to replace the artist. Basically I think it's unrewarding labor and taking jobs from artist. With this I was wondering what were your options on this matter, for I heard that apparently if one's an artist and a so called communist they must be always willing to give their work because they " are again private property and a work of art is private property" (context to this "I heard" bellow)

I'd just like to see how some of you view this subject and what you have to say, thank you.

Story time: Very quickly, I was with my partner and a friend of hers sent her an AI generated picture, she pointed out to him that it was wrong because they were stealing artist work and replacing them and therefore even if he's not the one using the AI generator he's still helping it be spread and normalized. He then brought up communism ( probably since my partner even tho maybe not a Marxist she aligns with left wing views) and how communist shouldn't have an issue with "stolen art" because they are against private property... She showed me the conversation and I, who I believe I align with Marxism said I think AI generated images are wrong because it's unpaid labor and taking jobs from artist. She told the dude that but he still argued that most communist wouldn't agree with me, so here I am.

P.S.: I hope bad writing isn't a problem, English is not my first language and either way I'm not very good at pontuation, so apologies. Also this post was meant to be posted on r/communism, but I think I was banned 4 years ago for having memes posted on my account so um yeah

34 Comments
2024/12/01
18:50 UTC

11

Fighting me current structure

I am currently doing work that is important for preservation, however it’s is me, and 4 old Vietnamese women making everything and the owners of the company drive fancy cars and joke to us about eating better food. I am angry. I make pennies on the dollar, and am the main person to produce metal tags for this company. How can I exert my importance as a laborer amongst people who tease me for my food resources? Can I change things? If not, how can I revolt? I want to be a manufacturer, especially in terms of making things for animal preservation, yet the exploitation for doing something so simple is awful. It is easy to make a lot of capital on the backs of myself and several immigrants.

9 Comments
2024/12/01
06:59 UTC

0

Thoughts on Hannah Arendt?

So I wouldn't describe myself as Marxist. Labels are hard and there aren't many "ists" I fully identify with. That said I am certainly sympathetic to a lot of what Karl Marx wrote nor am I a McCarthian that shakes and trembles at the word "communism".

I am curious of what yall think of a certain other Jewish German political philosopher named Hannah Arendt. For me a she is one of those thought leaders that really sticks out to me from the last century so I am curious what this subreddit thinks of her or even has heard of her?

If this the first you've heard of her, I would recommend "Origins of Totalitrianism", there is a short paper she wrote featured at the end of the Book titled the same the is short and a good read. If you enjoy that I recommend the book as well and then "The Human Condition" another great but mega dense read.

Hope my post doesn't break any of the subs rules, have mostly been lurking

38 Comments
2024/11/30
14:38 UTC

24

Did Marx predict the cheese caves?

One of my friends jokingly asked if Marx predicted government cheese (aka the US maintaining dairy prices by buying stupid amounts of cheese to maintain the price of dairy, and all the spin offs of that) and now I'm genuinely curious if Marx predicted something like that.

Unfortunately, I do not have the time to read all of Marx's work to see for myself, so I look to you, dear redditors, to see if any of you remember him talking about it.

Of course, I'm not expecting him to have discussed literal cheese caves, rather, I'm looking for discussion of the economic policies which led to the cheese caves. IE, mass purchasing dairy to keep the industry stable, can't stop because it'll crash the market, commodity check-off program, dairy promotion program, the entire conspiracy about milk propaganda, etc.

So I humble ask, did Marx predict the Cheese Caves?

16 Comments
2024/11/29
02:41 UTC

176

Feels like I'm crazy for noticing all of the exploitation from capitalism. Genuinely just want to check out and give up on everything.

So recently I guess I've been going through a...20's crisis? I'm not sure. I am just a simple man who is 26 years old, making his way through a complicated and horrifying world. One aspect that has been bothering me a lot, is...how normalized exploitation and apathy are in the face of a morally bankrupt system.

For more context, I am currently trying to figure out what the hell I want to do for work. I hate working. I hate seeing how people are either exploited or exploit others for profit, greed, and power. So much of the work that is done is just nonsensical. Congratulations, we have 100 different brands of milk. Amazing. So wonderful. Much wow. I hate working for these fucking corporations, that have no desire to ever change. Same with many countries who bend over backward to please them. Look at how the planet is abused. The constant drive for infinite profits from finite resources. Dooming so many to climate change, microplastics in our DNA, rising temperatures, wild weather effects, and birth defects. Foods laced with chemicals and other poisons all ensure a subscription from addiction, to the very item that we need to survive.

Notice how EXXON and BP knew about climate change for decades, yet they measured the blood of all animals and found it to be worth nothing compared to the profits and shares that could be gained. HR is the police for them. The police are police for them. A ruthless social Darwinism that seeks to reshape the world into their parasitic self-image.

But what upsets me more is seeing just how many people, both in real life and online are just...fine with it all. Sure, they will complain that their jobs are always at risk. That groceries are rising. Those eggs are too expensive. Bicycle lanes are taking car spaces away from them. How one can study for four years for a degree, straddled with debt, and yet when they graduate, so many are left with nothing. Education has become a tool for wealth, not for the betterment of human beings.

Yet so many get angry with me when I try to point it out. So many when engaging in dialogue or other forms of communication will say that they like things the way they are. That's just how the world is, they say. They get angry when I point it out. How do you fight that? Rationalization of exploitation, as if ontological existence began with "In the beginning, capitalism created the heavens and the earth".

I grew up poor. I was molested and beaten and starved and so much more. My existence was written off as an unwanted expense, as many voters today, who vote against free lunch for children, would have in part contributed to my malnutrition, perhaps even my death, as sometimes school food was the only time I could eat. As I grew older I had empathy for the poor and homeless, starting at the age of four. What always bothered me was how so many people would just walk past them. Like they are filth. Garbage. Unloved. Unwanted. Yet so many justify it by making assumptions. "They are drug addicts! They don't want to work! They are lazy! They are bad people!"

Still, I don't listen to them. I volunteered at homeless shelters, handing out food, and so on. I also like to talk with homeless and other poor people like me. I also wanted to be a social worker, but due to a bureaucratic mess, I ended up not getting financial aid for it, so I ended up working on a master of IT because...I don't know. What was worse, is how many in social work just...justify the systems. They will say that it is broken. They will say it doesn't work. Yet when I brought up advocacy away from capitalism, and changing the whole way, they simply point to other countries and say that it doesn't work. Hell, even with something like Finland, even if taking into account their welfare under capitalism, they will just brush that off with "But the taxes :(". Maybe me growing poor and at times being homeless influenced this, but this obsession over money is something that genuinely strikes me as a mental illness. How billionaires can get away with hoarding wealth and resources that were built off exploitation and hurting others, and yet only get positive remarks about they are good businessmen, is beyond me. Especially when people who hoard items in their houses and homes are often criticized, lambasted, and seen as mentally ill. Fuck this.

So what should I do for work? I hate corporations. I hate working with governments. I hate jobs that exploit and hurt others. I hate cars and how so many are needed for jobs while they hurt the environment and people. And now I am starting to hate people more and more, after so many interactions where all I can say is fuck it. The only work I enjoy and brings meaning to me, are the arts, painting, drawing, filmmaking, writing, creative tasks, knapping, and wood carving.

In the end, I feel so close to wanting to kill myself. I kept pushing for a little bit, because of a promise to someone to keep trying to find something that I like, something that takes away the sting of it all. Yet there isn't any. I feel so fucking angry at these people. I want to scream and beat them, forcing them to wake up and realize how much life is being hurt. At the countries and corporations of the world. So much malicious apathy, a cult of ignorance as Isaac Asimov once described.

Haha...now I understand why Marx loved alcohol. Even though I don't do drugs or drink, I too would love to do such a thing. But that would just delay the inevitable. Anyway, sorry if I don't make sense. I am sad, angry, tired, and suicidal. I just don't see hope anymore.

85 Comments
2024/11/29
00:49 UTC

11

About Surplus Value

So, I am trying to better understand the concept of surplus value. Would this example be accurate:

If: I work at a pizzeria and get paid $16 an hour for my labor yet every hour I make a few $20 pizzas (I'm producing $40-$60 an hour) yet only being compensated $16 an hour. Is that my surplus value?

15 Comments
2024/11/29
00:44 UTC

0

Looking to create a US Marxist Leninist Vanguard party

Yea it sounds crazy but given the current climate in the US and the inaction of most revisionist parties it’s time for somebody to try and do something of value for the prole.

It’ll be up to the party members wether or not to field a candidate but we would definitely be organizing protests and other events.

Dm me if you’re interested!

11 Comments
2024/11/28
23:23 UTC

23

Looking for good secondary literature on Gramsci

Gramsci's ideas sound incredibly interesting but AFAIK, he's notoriously hard to read, so I'd start with a couple of introductions and secondary literature. Currently I'm reading the book on Gramsci edited by Chantal Mouffe - not the easiest read but not particularly tough, either.

What other books should I read before I dive into the original prison notebooks?

11 Comments
2024/11/28
15:58 UTC

14

For Tagalog readers!

The Permanent Revolution and Results and Prospects by Leon Trotsky, a precise Tagalog translation of his original work, is a significant contribution to the field of Marxism, particularly in the theory of revolutionary change. In this work, Trotsky discusses the concept of the "Permanent Revolution," a theory that explains that revolutions in underdeveloped countries cannot be limited to the boundaries of national reforms. According to Trotsky, revolutionary movements must continue at an international level and collaborate with other countries to succeed in overthrowing capitalism and establishing socialism.

https://library.bz/main/uploads/259115932B6F46BA39AFBF83F94F9D60

4 Comments
2024/11/28
12:29 UTC

1

Daily rememberance tradition: 28th November 2024

The Mseli project is a project that aims to normalize appreciation and rememberance.

Currently, we are trying to help communities become more united and connected through the daily rememberance tradition.

The tradition involves voting on a poll on a daily basis that you remembered the movement so that we can see the true number of people who remember and appreciate the movement everyday.

The primary benefit of this tradition is the strengthening of our community.

Each time you visit the daily remembrance post, you’ll see how many others are participating (say 10,000), creating a shared sense of presence and solidarity.

The secondary advantage is that it will provide us with valuable proof to build a dedicated app that amplifies this daily tradition.

The app will feature a status update that users will see before they can show their remembrance.

With thousands of people viewing this daily status, we could sell advertising space on the daily updates to businesses or projects, since they’ll be seen by thousands—if not millions—of people each day.

The community can then vote, using an online direct democracy of the app, on how to allocate these funds, ensuring that resources are directed toward causes and projects that benefit the collective.

This will allow us to switch the online influence from individuals influencers to collective communities.

But it all starts with embracing the daily remembrance tradition.

So, remember below and be part of this powerful movement that brings people together, creates change, and shapes the future.

View Poll

0 Comments
2024/11/28
11:46 UTC

4

Getting organized large-scale

So I see quite a few of you share the general hopelessness I do at changing our systems. I've had it in my mind for the past 5 or so years that I wanted to start a community based off of communist/bien vivir structure, but with little direction up until a few months ago. I'd be interested in discussing with those interested in starting a commune. I'm a US resident but wanted to move to Mexico, but that can be up for discussion.

11 Comments
2024/11/27
20:39 UTC

0

What was the feminist movement mostly about?

Was the feminist movement mostly about wages increasing on par of men? Or was the feminist movement mostly about the right to get job.

There seems to be some people anti feminist movement are they mostly angry that jobs being taken away?

The US is mostly a bizarre country that for short time females stayed home and did not work but in lot of developing countries lot of females work in factories unlike the US.

When it was the Industrial Revolution it was mostly all females and kids working in those factories. So again the US is mostly a bizarre country that for short time females stayed home.

9 Comments
2024/11/27
19:12 UTC

0

Daily appreciation tradition: 27th November 2024

The Mseli project is a project that aims to normalize sending and receiving appreciation messages.

Currently, we are trying to help communities become more united and connected through the daily appreciation tradition.

The tradition involves voting on a poll on a daily basis to ensure that individuals learning about Marxism or working on important projects that push the Marxism forward, feel valued and acknowledged by their community.

If you believe daily appreciating them is important, appreciate below:

View Poll

0 Comments
2024/11/27
12:17 UTC

10

Louis Althusser & recommendation

Hi, I'm a political philosophy student and I'm interested in reading some of Althusser's work because it might resonate with Cioran's ideas. I know Althusser's work is divisive in Marxist circles, but I felt this is the best place to ask.

TL;DR: I've already bought a copy of Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses, but I wonder if I should start with it.

5 Comments
2024/11/27
02:25 UTC

61

Transcript: Joe Rogan Experience #1945 - Karl Marx

(Opening music plays)

Joe Rogan: Alright, folks, welcome to the Joe Rogan Experience. Today we’ve got a guest who… well, let’s just say he’s not alive anymore. This is a first. We’ve somehow brought Karl Marx himself to the studio. Karl, thanks for being here, man.

Karl Marx: Thank you, Joe. It is most curious to be here in this strange, technological age.

Joe Rogan: Yeah, man. It’s wild. So, I want to dive right in because your ideas—let’s be honest—they’re controversial. A lot of people think capitalism’s the best thing we’ve got. I mean, it’s lifted billions out of poverty, right? But you… you had this whole thing about alienation. What’s that all about?

Karl Marx: Ah, alienation. A very important concept. Let me try to explain it simply, as one might to a child. Imagine a child making a toy—a wooden horse, let us say. They carve it, paint it, and play with it. This toy is theirs; it is a part of them, their creativity, their effort. They feel joy and connection with their work.

But now, imagine this same child is forced to make toys in a factory, day after day. They carve wooden horses not for themselves, but for someone else to sell. The toy is no longer theirs. They are only making it because they must. They have no connection to it, no joy. They are like a machine, Joe, separated from the fruit of their labor. This separation—this alienation—is what happens under capitalism.

Joe Rogan: Huh. Okay, I get it. So, you’re saying, like, people lose their connection to what they’re making because they don’t own it?

Karl Marx: Precisely. They are alienated from their work, from the products of their labor, from their own creative potential. And this alienation extends to their relationships with others, and even with themselves.

Joe Rogan: Alright, but here’s the thing. Capitalism’s efficient, right? I mean, people work, companies make money, innovation happens. Isn’t that just… how the world works?

Karl Marx: Efficiency, yes. But at what cost? In capitalism, the worker is reduced to a tool for profit. Their humanity is secondary. Let me ask you, Joe: do you not think a system should serve people, rather than people serving a system?

Joe Rogan: Well, yeah, of course. But what’s the alternative? Communism? We’ve seen how that’s gone. It’s a mess.

Karl Marx: What has often been called “communism” in your history was not my vision, Joe. My aim was to create a society where work is meaningful, where people have control over their labor and live not as cogs in a machine, but as free, creative beings.

Joe Rogan: Hmm. So, like, you’re saying people should work for themselves? But isn’t that kinda what capitalism already does?

Karl Marx: Not quite. Under capitalism, most people do not own the tools they need to work. They work for those who do, the capitalists. The profits of their labor are taken by the capitalist, while the worker receives only a fraction.

Think of it like this: if you hunt and catch a deer, the deer is yours. But under capitalism, you catch the deer, give it to someone else, and they sell it back to you at a price you can barely afford.

Joe Rogan: Oh, man, that’s kind of messed up when you put it like that.

Karl Marx: Indeed.

Joe Rogan: Alright, but some people might say, like, “Hey, Joe, Karl’s just whining. If you don’t like your job, go get a better one!” What do you say to that?

Karl Marx: The issue is not just individual jobs, Joe. It is the system itself. It creates vast inequalities and concentrates power and wealth in the hands of a few, while the many struggle. The worker has no real choice when all options are within the same system of exploitation.

Joe Rogan: Yeah, but… if you have no hierarchy, no incentives, won’t everything just fall apart? Like, people need to hustle, man.

Karl Marx: Hustle, as you call it, should not come at the expense of one’s humanity. Imagine a world where people work because they enjoy it, because it fulfills them, not because they must or face hunger. In such a world, people would be free to truly thrive.

Joe Rogan: Damn, Karl, you’re making some sense here. I didn’t expect this. So, what’s your advice for people stuck in the system?

Karl Marx: My advice is to question it. Organize with others, demand better conditions, and never forget that the systems of the world are made by people. And what is made can be remade.

Joe Rogan: You’re blowing my mind, man. Maybe capitalism isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I gotta think about this.

Karl Marx: Thinking critically is the first step, Joe.

Joe Rogan: Alright, Karl Marx, everyone! Thanks for coming on the podcast.

(Closing music plays)

32 Comments
2024/11/25
23:49 UTC

5

trying to find a quote

i read a quote from marx a while ago that basically said something about hoarding resources, and that we should spend money on things we want when we have it as opposed to just saving for the point of saving. does anyone know what im talking about? i was trying to tell my friend about this quote and she was like "so marx said smoke em if you got em?" lol

6 Comments
2024/11/25
19:53 UTC

19

Quote in Das Kapital about Slavery

There’s a quote in volume 1 of Das Kapital where Marx says something similar to “in slavery, slaves are guaranteed their means of sustenance, no matter how wretched it may be. this isn’t true for the proletariat”. I hope to find the actual quote. If not, just a quote which explains the same thing. Thanks!

15 Comments
2024/11/25
13:09 UTC

159

I totally understand why Marx loved alcohol

(Summary:insane person does rant)

I think every person’s journey to class consciousness starts rapid & exhilarating then ends with a new breed of acquired cynicism that sprouts within them like pregnancies on the first week of college; like genuine insanity. I have felt increasingly insane the more I learn and de-construct the world around us.

Imagine genuinely seeing working class people defend billionaires with the utmost of passion. I go on twitter and see the impeccable glaze of a certain billionaire who funded the creation of his electrical fridge on wheels. We will never be free unfortunately. THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES ARE STUPID. Let me ask y’all something; what’s the plan? Good ol Reactionary fascism is still rising and ready to eat up anyone who’s not into their bookclub of imaginary fantasies to justify violence. Gives me a headache just thinking about it. I liked Marx’s idea of a good time; happy hour indeed. My two moods are either napoleon standing in exile staring at the ocean or late stage Fidel Castro smirk.

And then of course, the most gallant of us propose the inevitable REVOLUTION. I envy you knights in shining armour truly. Alas the liquor bottle suddenly does become very very appealing. Please do give me your thoughts my dears (insane only)

92 Comments
2024/11/25
12:13 UTC

5

On the idea that division of labor results in classes and antagonism

Hi

I realized one day that my understanding of how division in labor results in classes and antagonism is somewhat superficial. Marx presents this view in German Idiology, but doesn't really elaborate it much. My understanding is that Marx does not think that division of labor in all senses of the word would disappear under communism (this would be an utterly meaningless thought), just that we would be free to engage with any work we want to. This raises the question, in what sense of 'division of labor' does classes, and as a consequence antagonisms rise, and why?

It seems that the unfreedom is rather a symptom and a prerequisite of the class antagonisms. In other words, class antagonisms would dissolve if people were free to engage in what ever work they wanted to. But it doesn't describe why a division of labor would create a division of interests.

13 Comments
2024/11/25
11:06 UTC

5

Dialectics of other facets of nature

What value may there be in addressing aspects of nature not addressed by Engels in a dialectical and materialist manner? I know a lot of people see metaphysical philosophy as fruitless navel gazing, but why wouldn't a Marxist analysis of say, the passage of time, not enrich our understanding of the world around us? This particular point (time) is something I've been working on a short while now. Firstly, how it can be understood in a materialist perspective before how it can be understood dialectically.

I know some will criticise such attempts of philosophy for Marxists. Personally, I see no problem with philosophy for its own sake, to say "it doesn't change worker's conditions" is firstly short sighted (how can we know what future physics will do for reduction of labour when studied through a different, more productive philosophical lens?) and secondly smacks of the very classism that meant labourers could only labour and not think, that thinking was not for them.

13 Comments
2024/11/25
08:48 UTC

4

Exchange value

I am reading capital for the first time and am a little confused about the declaration of exchange value being based on hours of labor: exchange value should not be purely based on amount of labor. For example, image two commodities of equal labor hours, say it takes 1 hour to get 5 apples and also one hour to get wood for a fire, if it’s really cold and you need wood for a fire you will give 100 apples (20 hours worth of labor) to get wood for the fire… so current conditions influence exchange value by changing their need/usefulness but this is separate from use value? Hope this makes sense

12 Comments
2024/11/25
03:30 UTC

32

What is the correct Marxist approach to understanding modern fiat money?

Marx's analysis of money in Capital was developed during a period when the gold standard was in effect, making it straightforward to understand money as the general equivalent. However, it’s more challenging to grasp this concept today, especially in an economy where monetary systems have evolved to function without a commodity backing money. What’s your opinion on this? Could you recommend any texts on the topic

11 Comments
2024/11/24
23:24 UTC

18

How do you handle the terminally online people in your life?

So I've managed to explain leftist stuff to a few people in my life, but I have to move around alot, mostly to places without any real orgs to speak of, and alot of the people, once I leave, fall into the internet left rabbit hole. I wake up almost every morning to thirty memes, "explanations" of why the ACP are actually really cool, theories on which Facebook pages are feds, and screenshots of very proud comment section trolling in my inbox, mostly from two people. It's concerning and also incredibly annoying, but there's not much I can really do from the other side of the continent. Trying to explain how unproductive it is goes nowhere. I don't know what to do, and one of them is family so I can't exactly cut them off. None of people I work with here have any real idea because I'm now in a big city with plenty of orgs that they don’t generally have a problem getting them to come out to and gently try to pull them back to reality through.

Has anyone else had something like this happen and if so, is there any way to correct it? There's really no orgs to point them at and they "explain" stuff to people by making themselves as insufferable as possible and reciting twitter takes (literally), so there's not much hope for, say, getting people interested enough to start a reading group or something, and too burnt out from work to get into mutual aid or really anything offline. I'm at a loss for what to do and also just pretty sick of it.

10 Comments
2024/11/24
19:42 UTC

52

"Well at Least Were not Violent!" is such a cop out from the Alt Right.

Not only is that just. Not true. But its such a base line meaningless term thats also thrown around by Liberals too. As if the idea of the fact their "Passive" or "Peaceful" some how makes their politics the correct one.

A racist gets punched in the mouth. A Nazi gets shot. A Rapist gets kicked in the ass. Anything that happens to a reactionary is often labeled as bad by Further Right Leaning individuals as being a bad thing.

When violence is, in the case of instances where things like protest has gone awry, Hostile Situations, t being needed because there isn't a safer option, or Idk you see a Nazi alone. Is a GOOD thing.

This idea that Violence is suddenly this barbaric thing that has to be avoided is in my mind something that Liberals and The Right say (While funding Genocide and Wars against Brown People) to make themselves feel good and avoid the uncomfortable reality that their probably the ones going to face violence. So they have to convince as many people who dont know better its a bad thing.

"Revolution is impossible without violence." is FROM Lenin. No this isnt TOS (Which itself is BS). Some people just need to get kicked in the mouth (Im not saying to go and do it) Yes I know theres Laws and shit, that serves to "Keep the Peace" but that ignores Justice, or allowing for Consequences to peoples action. Should it only ever be the only option? No. Of Course not.

UNLIKE Fascist, we have the Pen as a Weapon we can use. We have our words that can be used as our weapon to gather the masses. But that can only go so far.

Nazi's and others dont feel safe if this happens? Good. People getting randomly attacked? News wont tell you they're a Nazi or White Nat. But god in the most TOS safe way to say this and not get this taken down, they can't just get away with existing.

Now I should also say:

Dont throw a beer bottle at a cop in a peaceful protest, dont insight violence that isnt organized, don't go picking fights that'll just cause you to end up in jail and thus not benefiting the Movement. And don't fight someone thats ARMED where you'll just get SHOT. But maybe under some random act of god suddenly their Sugar in their Gas Tank, or their Wires are cut. It just randomly happens that they are inconvinced with Constant Police Presence at their Doors. Its so weird that randomly a brick was in their window. Or that when they were unarmed they woke up hours later with a splitting headache.

TLDR: man shit aint gonna get done if all we do is talk or let other people get away with their actions. Revolutionary movements often has Fists as their logos for a reason. We organize and organize. We get mass movments and teach them. Building our communities. But if they aren't put into use, it was for nothing.

Maybe Im misguided, maybe this is too "Radical" or "Extremist". (Its not) I just feel that with all the tensions in the US and around the world. People are just allowing themselves to be trampled over and walked on because of fear of Conflict. Or the fact nothing is being done with the fact Nazis are walking down the street feeling safe while doing so.

Is

31 Comments
2024/11/24
10:20 UTC

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