this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2024
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Lefty Memes

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An international (English speaking) socialist Lemmy community free of the "ML" influence of instances like lemmy.ml and lemmygrad. This is a place for undogmatic shitposting and memes from a progressive, anti-capitalist and truly anti-imperialist perspective, regardless of specific ideology.

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If you are new to socialism, you can ask questions and find resources over on c/Socialism101.

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That refers to funny image macros and means that generally videos and screenshots are not allowed. Exceptions include explicitly humorous and short videos, as well as (social media) screenshots depicting a funny situation, joke, or joke picture relating to socialist movements, theory, societal issues, or political opponents. Examples would be the classic case of humorous Tumblr or Twitter posts/threads. (and no, agitprop text does not count as a meme)

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I don't know the way, but this ain't it (lemmy.world)
submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

My point is that the system of having people physically on one side of the ocean making decisions for the people on the other side, with no pretense of it being fair or justified or representation for people from the New World, makes violent overthrow a lot more unavoidable. [...]

There are different responses appropriate to different levels of oppression. Violent overthrow of a monarchy is often the only way. [...]

Well I'm glad that you're so adept at moving the goalposts to fit the things you consider good, but that's just what it is. All of these were revolutions. If they worked, an anarchist one can work just as well.

Of course, it’s easy and surface-persuasive to say “destroy the system and things will be better” and keep the rest of it vague. Once you start getting into details is where you run into the oh shit it’s actually not that simple factor.

If you're honestly willing to learn about anarchism, I can link you to things, but there's no point if you're here just to argue.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

All of these were revolutions. If they worked, an anarchist one can work just as well.

All the revolutions I listed made things way worse. If they were catastrophes, an anarchist one can be as well.

Not technically wrong, but also not that useful as a way to analyze. It's not moving the goalposts to clarify statements or to draw different lessons from different events.

If you're honestly willing to learn about anarchism, I can link you to things

Sure, what should I read?

there's no point if you're here just to argue

If you interpret "Which one are you advocating for" and "for all I know, once I hear your details I will be on board for them" and "yeah I'm open to hear more explanation" as me just being here to argue, I think you are mentally unprepared for the kind of collaboration that'll be needed or the kind of resistance you might get to actually making an effort to destroy the system (by any definition of that phrase.)

Which, I mean, is fine; not everyone talking on the internet needs to be down to personally go out and seize the means of production. But I think if you're going to make that kind of bold statement about what "must" happen, it's fair to ask you to clarify and defend it at least a little bit.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The absolute best place to start imho is an anarchist faq. It goes into length into what anarchism is, what we believe and how we act on it

This section elaborates more on voting specifically: https://www.anarchistfaq.org/afaq/sectionJ.html#secj23

This section elaborates about revolution: https://www.anarchistfaq.org/afaq/sectionJ.html#secj71

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Okay, I read a little.

They say the same thing in the USA, where some 85 percent of the population are apparently 'apolitical' since they don't bother registering a vote.

Nor that it's the point, but Kelman was born in 1946, when it was about 65 percent that didn't vote, and it's been going down since then throughout his lifetime. In the modern day (i.e. long after this was written), about 60% of people vote.

If there was any possibility that the apparatus could effect a change in the system then they would dismantle it immediately.

They are dismantling it in many places in the US, I think specifically because there's starting to be a possibility again that it can effect a real change in the system.

Countries that have no elections, or only rigged elections, are regarded as failures.

You don't have to get into any kind of back-and-forth with me about this if you don't want to, but I am curious -- do you honestly believe that countries that don't use voting are not markedly less successful at giving the freedoms to their citizens that the writers here clearly believe are important?

That's one of my key points about the overthrow of "the system" in general -- a lot of times, the structures of power that replace voting if voting gets done away with are much, much worse. The type of injustice that exists in the modern American system is significant but what are you wanting to replace it with that you're asserting would have more justice? I mean, maybe. I would want to hear the details. But I think asserting that there's no reason why people would not want to be in a place that operates without voting is weird.

elections in practice have served well to maintain dominant power structures such as private property, the military, male domination, and economic inequality. None of these has been seriously threatened through voting

This part, I agree with. Just voting for the candidates presented and nothing else is guaranteed to perpetuate systems of inequality. Fully agree there for exactly the reasons that Ehrlich states. I think where we differ is:

  • ... and so we have to work for change outside the electoral system (absolutely true IMO)
  • ... and so it doesn't matter if we vote or not, no matter how stark the difference between any two particular candidates (absolutely false IMO)
  • ... and so voting is irrelevant and the whole thing is a fake which we don't need (fuckin what, have you ever studied a society with big concentrations of power that doesn't use voting, and what a fuckin nightmare it turns into?)

That is my take on it. IDK, I skipped around to read up on more but my reaction was much the same to any selected sections I found. I think the problems they're describing are very real and difficult bordering on intractable. I think the solutions they're prescribing for them are likely to make the exact same problems very much badly worse.