![Cowbee [he/him]](https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/c18ce632-5fb5-4888-8226-3dc55a07acc4.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=96)
Actually, this town has more than enough room for the two of us
He/him or they/them, doesn't matter too much
Marxist-Leninist โญ
Interested in Marxism-Leninism? Check out my "Read Theory, Darn it!" introductory reading list!
Some of the questlines were fun, like the Pirate Double Agent questline.
You're on Lemmy.ml, which is admin'd and moderated by Communists, and Lemmy itself is made by Communists. It isn't a hive mind.
You decided to say something really ill-informed on a platform with many Communists, you could have just disengaged.
More Americans align ideologically with the Greens anyways. What Workers need to do is organize and read theory. I have an Introductory Marxist Reading List if anyone wants to start somewhere but doesn't know how.
They aren't different sides, just different factions in America's uniparty.
Starfield. The game isn't bad, it just isn't as good and the game design was especially outdated for its release window. It's legitimately a better RPG than most Bethesda games.
I'm fairly confident modders will actually be able to salvage it despite its flaws.
Refusing to answer and instead insulting the user based on instance usage is childish.
Can you explain what you mean by "lowest common denominator" as well as the bits on "no incentives or rewards for innovation?" The USSR was one of the mosy scientifically advanced countries in the 20th century.
Yep. Especially on right-wing instances like Lemmy.world in particular, but it's far worse IRL in the West.
No Communist supports the Russian Federation, or thinks of it as anything more than a highly reactionary, nationalist, Capitalist country that adopts an anti-Western stance out of necessity. The concept of "critical support" comes from seeing a temporary, unstable, backwards entity that must take a stance against a shared enemy.
The reason Communists oppose Western Hegemony is because the United States and Western Europe are the most Imperialist countries on the planet, that is, they export Capital to the Global South and use their military power to force highly unequal trade deals. Producing commodities for cents and importing them back to the West to sell for dozens to hundreds of times more is how Imperialism functions, and NATO serves as the military alliance that solidifies this process.
Of course Russia would join this group of Imperialists if they could. They even tried to! After the fall of the Soviet Union, the state was sliced up and sold to the West. When a rising, right-wing nationalist movement reclaimed industry in the hands of Russian bourgeoisie, the West was made an enemy. The RF tried to join NATO, they wanted to be a part of the Imperialist club, but the West declared that there wasn't room for Russia in the club. This is the crux of the conflict, of course Russia would exploit the Global South in the same way if they could, but the Global South is firmly under the thumb of the West already and there isn't room for Russia.
The reason MAGA supports Russia is because Russia is reactionary, nationalistic, and far-right. These are appealing qualities to MAGA, who want the same thing Russia has domestically. Communists absolutely do not, while MAGA does.
Hope that explains it for everyone, it's extremely oversimplified so tons of things were left out.
Thank you for checking it out!
The Conquest of Bread is more of an Anarchist book, this community is more for Marxism-Leninism. If you want, there is an Anarchist community on Lemmy.ml, or you can check out dbzer0.
Lemmygrad is Marxist-Leninist, but banned on Lemmy.world.
Hexbear is a "Left Unity" instance, but also banned on Lemmy.world.
Hope that answers your questions!
To be fair, most of the Communist posting is over on Grad and Hexbear. This Comm is mostly the bot (though I did post a Marxist-Leninist introductory reading list a few weeks ago.
Hell yea!
Gonna go ask for a journal
Let me guess: Trots? Trots love newspapers, lmao
Yea, no. The DPRK is poor, but most areas are surprisingly "normal." The period of mass famines was decades ago, it's closer to how Cuba looks than it is to, say, Chad.
Comrade, I do think you're trying to be confrontational here. I'm not interested on sparking a debate or anything, I offered clarification on the original comment from the perspective of a former-Anarchist, now Marxist to debunk the idea that Leftism is about "letting it crash down and Socialism rising from the ashes." Simple as that.
Since you're asking about Marxism, I suggest asking over in a Marxist comm. There are a few on dbzer0, Hexbear, Lemmygrad, Lemmy.ml, etc so you can pick your audience. Just trying to play within the rules of this comm.
Why Public Property?
This article goes over why Marxists advocate for Public ownership of the Means of Production specifically, and not cooperative, communal, or otherwise similarly "worker owned" structures.
What is Socialism?
A common point of conflict among leftists is understanding what constitutes Socialism. This article explains common errors among Leftists in analyzing what a system needs to look like to be considered Socialist. If an economy has 10% in the Private Sector, is it Capitalist? What about 51%? Does the direction matter?
The short answer, proven in the article, is that it is determined by which class is in power, what the driving force of an economy is. Does the Private Sector drive the public, or does the public sector drive the Private? This can be accomplished by including heavy industry and inftastructure in the Public Sector, making the Private Sector reliant on socialized production and thus subservient to it, and maintaining Proletarian supremacy over the Private Sector.
The presense of Private Property and even billionaires does not mean Private Property drives the direction of the economy, and as Engels elaborates in Principles of Communism, the Dictatorship of the Proletariat can only absorb Private Property in the Public sector by the degree to which markets have formed large monopolist syndicates ripe for central planning, not out of pure decree:
> Question 17 : Will it be possible to abolish private property at one stroke?
>Answer : No, no more than the existing productive forces can at one stroke be multiplied to the extent necessary for the creation of a communal society. Hence, the proletarian revolution, which in all probability is approaching, will be able gradually to transform existing society and abolish private property only when the necessary means of production have been created in sufficient quantity.
Now, of course this doesn't mean Private Property is Socialist! This instead means you cannot look at individual aspects of a system, as was common of the Metaphysicians, but instead the entirety of a system with the context of the interactions of the various transformations and movements of all of the parts of the whole, as Dialectical Materialists. This is why philosophy is crucial to understanding Socialism, because you can't simply break up a system into its component parts, and analyze each sector. I repeat, you cannot accurately judge a system by breaking it up into its component parts and analyzing them individually in their own vacuum.
Therefore, dominance and direction are required. As no system is static, it will necessarily be heading towards either full socialization or privatization, and this vector is determined by what class is in charge. Social Democracy is Capitalist, therefore, as Private Property drives the economy and the bourgeoisie are in control. The fact that Private Property can only be abolished by degree, and not pure decree, means that Socialism is necessarily a transitonal stage, and can't be considered only a fully socialized economy.
Ultimately, the reason Marxists believe Socialized Production to come after Capitalist Production is because Capitalism prepares the grounds for Socialized Production as markets coalesce into monopolist syndicates, allowing for central planning. At different levels of development of various industries, markets or centrally planned public property might make more sense, you can't just decree large syndicates into existence. Throughout developmental stages, markets eventually stagnate as they naturally centralize, and this happens at different paces in different industries, therefore socializing production happens at different times, yet the system is still capable of being considered Socialist as a transitional phase to Communism.
For more information on Marxism, please check out my Introductory Reading List!
And please, discuss below! What do you believe constitutes Socialism, and why? Do you agree or disagree with the article?
Read Theory, Darn it! An Introductory Reading List for Marxism-Leninism
"Without Revolutionary theory, there can be no Revolutionary Movement."
ยญโ Vladimir Lenin, What is to be Done? | Audiobook
It's time to read theory, comrades! As Lenin says, "Despair is typical of those who do not understand the causes of evil, see no way out, and are incapable of struggle." Marxism-Leninism is broken into 3 major components, as noted by Lenin in his pamphlet The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism: | Audiobook
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Dialectical and Historical Materialism
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Critique of Capitalism along the lines of Marx's Law of Value
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Advocacy for Revolutionary and Scientific Socialism
As such, I created the following list to take you from no knowledge whatsoever of Leftist theory, and leave you with a strong understanding of the critical fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism in an order that builds up as you read. Let's get started!
Section I: Getting Started
What the heck is Communism, anyways? For that matter, what is fascism?
- Friedrich Engels' Principles of Communism | Audiobook
The FAQ of Communism, written by the Luigi of the Marx & Engels duo. Quick to read, and easy to reference, this is the perfect start to your journey.
- Michael Parenti's Blackshirts and Reds | Audiobook
Parenti's characteristic wit is on full display in this historical contextualization and analysis of fascism and Communism. Line after line, Parenti debunks anti-Communist myths. This is also an excellent time to watch the famous "Yellow Parenti" speech.
Section II: Historical and Dialectical Materialism
Ugh, philosophy? Really? YES!
- Georges Politzer's Elementary Principles of Philosophy | Audiobook
By understanding Dialectical and Historical Materialism first, you make it easier to understand the rest of Marxism-Leninism. Don't be intimidated!
- Friedrich Engels' Socialism: Utopian and Scientific | Audiobook
Engels introduces Scientific Socialism, explaining how Capitalism itself prepares the conditions for public ownership and planning by centralizing itself into monopolist syndicates and cartels.
Section III: Political Economy
That's right, it's time for the Law of Value and a deep-dive into Imperialism. If we are to defeat Capitalism, we must learn it's mechanisms, tendencies, contradictions, and laws.
- Karl Marx's Wage Labor and Capital | Audiobook & Wages, Price and Profit | Audiobook
Best taken as a pair, these essays simplify the most important parts of the Law of Value.
- Vladimir Lenin's Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism | Audiobook
The era of Imperialism, which as the primary contradiction cascades downward into all manner of related secondary contradictions.
Section IV: Revolutionary and Scientific Socialism
Can we defeat Capitalism at the ballot box? What about just defeating fascism? What about the role of the state?
- Rosa Luxemburg's Reform or Revolution | Audiobook
If Marxists believed reforming Capitalist society was possible, we would be the first in line for it. Sadly, it isn't.
- Vladimir Lenin's The State and Revolution | Audiobook
Further analyzes the necessity of Revolution and introduces the economic basis for the withering away of the State.
Section V: National Liberation, De-colonialism, and Solidarity
The revolution will not be fought by individuals, but by an intersectional, international working class movement. Solidarity allows different marginalized groups to work together in collective interest, unifying into a single broad movement. Marxists support the Right of Self-Determination for all peoples and support National Liberation movements against Imperialism.
- Vikky Storm & Eme Flores' The Gender Accelerationist Manifesto | (No Audiobook yet)
Breaks down misogyny, and queerphobia, as well as how to move beyond the base subject of "gender" from a Historical Materialist perspective.
- Leslie Feinberg's Lavender & Red | Audiobook
When different social groups fight for liberation together along intersectional lines, they are emboldened and empowered ever-further.
- Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth | Audiobook & Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed | Audiobook
De-colonialism is essential to Marxism. Without having a strong, de-colonial, internationalist stance, we have no path to victory nor justice. These books are best taken as a pair, read in quick succession.
Section VI: Putting it into Practice!
It's not enough to endlessly read, you must put theory to practice. That is how you can improve yourself and the movements you support. Touch grass!
- Mao Tse-Tung's On Practice & On Contradiction | Audiobook
Mao wrote simply and directly to peasant soldiers during the Revolutionary War in China. This pair of essays equip the reader to apply the analytical tools of Dialectical Materialism to their every day practice.
- Vladimir Lenin's "Left-Wing" Communism, an Infantile Disorder | Audiobook
Common among new leftists is dogmatism over pragmatism. Everyone wants perfection, but dogmatic "left" anti-Communists let perfection become the enemy of progress.
- Jones Manoel's Western Marxism Loves Purity and Martyrdom, But Not Real Revolution | (No Audiobook yet)
Common among western leftists is fetishization of Marxism, rather than using it as a tool for analysis and social change. This article helps rectify that.
- Liu Shaoqi's How to be a Good Communist | Audiobook
Organizing is a skill. If we are to be successful, we must work to better ourselves.
Congratulations, you completed your introductory reading course!
With your new understanding and knowledge of Marxism-Leninism, here is a mini What is to be Done? of your own to follow, and take with you as practical advice.
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Get organized. The Party for Socialism and Liberation, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and Red Star Caucus all organize year round, every year, because the battle for progress is a constant struggle. See if there is a chapter near you, or start one!
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Read theory. Don't think that you are done now! Just because you have the basics, doesn't mean you know more than you do. If you have not investigated a subject, don't speak on it!
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Aggressively combat white supremacy, misogyny, queerphobia, and other attacks on marginalized communities. Cede no ground, let nobody go forgotten.
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Be industrious, and self-sufficient. Take up gardening, home repair, tinkering. It is through practice that you elevate your knowledge.
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Learn self-defense. Get armed, if practical. Be ready to protect yourself and others.
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Be persistent. If you feel like a single water droplet against a mountain, think of canyons and valleys. With consistency, every rock, boulder, mountain, can be drilled through with nothing but water droplets.
"Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent."
ยญโ Mao Tse-Tung
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What are your favorite albums from the 2020s?
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Which Fallout Game do you go Back to Most?
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What's your Favorite Mod Guide/List?
Could be wabbajack, a guide, or even a list from a YouTuber. What curated mod list is your favorite? I'm partial to Viva New Vegas and like some of the Mojave Express Guide, but lists like Lost Liberty and The Sands, which have very clear visions in mind, have been a ton of fun as well. Especially looking for any for Fallout 4, I haven't played 4 in years.
What Large-scale Mod Project are you Looking Forward to?
Everyone knows about Fallout 4: New Vegas, but what about the other projects? Fallout: London, Nuevo Mexico, and other large scale mods are on my radar. What's on yours?
Fallout London - Official Release Announcement
A huge new mod looks like it's actually coming out! I know many are wary after The Frontier, but what are y'alls thoughts? Looks fun at the very least! I like the new Vault Boy stand-in, and love the river/boat setting.