In their first comment too. I mean I know Reddit is a cesspool and I know r/communism is Gonzalo Central, but damn, it’s infected far. I went back on the platform to promote my articles because despite the malding, it drives a lot of traffic lol. Otherwise I would never touch that website (though the TrueAnon subreddit loves them and it creates interesting discussions, I’m not gonna lump them in with the rest of Reddit like that).
I forced that person in a struggle session over their take and they moved the goalposts until they decided to disengage lol. But it’s okay, they know what they said.
If you want to read the exchange: https://old.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/182vnkk/the_end_of_ukraine_and_after_the_war_in_ukraine/kalpc0v/?context=10000
They are just so unpleasant. I remember when I was a baby leftist trying to learn more, and feeling so distressed in every interaction I had with /r/communism, that it probably delayed my progress by a few months. I thought, these are not people I want to meet or interact with in real life.
Reading and learning about how communists like Huey P Newton or Fidel interact with people, always with respect, always with the idea that they truly want what’s best for you and humanity, and seek to enlighten rather than alienate, you realize that /r/communism is trying their best to do the exact opposite and alienate every single person they can. This is why reddit lets them exist, but bans other genuine communist subs.
Their ideal is the Gonzaloite terrorist killing peasants for not being revolutionary enough.
r/communism has always been a controlled opposition type thing. Any real communists get banned.
True of all leftist and even liberal subreddits. I remember getting banned from one with a very threatening DM after I called out a nazi.
It’s a sure-fire way to know if something is controlled opposition: if you make a genuinely effective push against fascism and they ban you for it. It doesn’t cost the opponent anything to put on leftist aesthetics or even to support leftism itself, but if you start suggesting ML/MLM/Diamat that’s genuinely threatening to them as it has a chance of turning the controlled opposition into real opposition. Much easier to keep the left placated since they know they’re not going to be able to trick them to the right. You know, that thing every single anarchist community does.
How many internet leftists even know what Dialectical Materialism even is? All their knowledge of communism comes from the right.
Damn. Their last “stance” was like them eagerly byting on a cyanide capsule after somebody asked them for the time.
Geopolitics […] is obviously reactionary to everyone who understands Marxism
TIL Lenin didn’t understand Marxism and was reactionary
The funny part is class struggle is not even the biggest component of Marxism (it shares that spot with diamat and the LTV as per Lenin). I don’t even call myself a geopol analyst or anything like that either lol.
lol I just realized it was them that brought up the term in the conversation. In their defense it says in your substack description "I write about geopolitics,… " so maybe that’s where they got it from. But I agree calling you a “geopolitical analyst” was putting words in your mouth for the purpose of slander.
Was Lenin talking about the impacts of those concepts?
Bc I would even consider diamat foundational to CS (which would only strengthen your point)
Anyway there is a more central issue in their argument though:
If I make a good faith attempt at understanding the point of this other person: they could be talking about CS bc of its central role in driving historical progress. In that sense their focus on CS (vs LTV/diamat) is understandable, “replacing” that with “national struggle” is not admissible for a marxist.
But it can’t be denied that what Lenin (the staunch geopolitical analyst that he was) did constituted an extension to Marxism that recognizes state/imperial competition (what they mean when they say “national struggle”) as a driving historical force. Considering nation states are a tool of the ruling class this doesn’t constitute a break from Marxism. So they were creating a false dichotomy.
Lenins additon has some grave consequences however when it comes to interpreting how class struggle manifests. Some trots apparently consider the Palestinian struggle in an utterly perverted way, where the Palestinian working class needs to rise up against their ruling class (and they don’t mean the Israeli class that is ruling over them), while a Leninist correctly identifies thei national struggle as anti-imperialist and consistent with class struggle overall.
So maybe the person you encountered was just affected by trot brainrot but I believe they were just not liking your opinions shying away from an argument and cowardly retreating into ostensibly principled territory, a behaviour that always creates a shitload of confusion and toxicity, pushes a movement towards dogmatism and harms the ideological struggle in general. This sounds exaggerated in this case, but I really can’t stand this “reaching for a priciple” just to feel safe. Same reason why they immediately compared you to fascists. Whoever reads this, don’t fucking do this.
Of course Marxists can write/discuss about quantitaive production of munition, the depleation of weapons stockpile, logistics in war. Barring us from doing that is barring us from assessing at what is going on, in a way it is them that are turning away from scientific socialism and from Marxsim towards idealism.
It’s been a while since I read that article, but Lenin was very clear that basically all three parts are fundamental to Marxism.
In this way class struggle, LTV and diamat all inform our analysis of geopolitics or in other words, what’s happening right now in the world.
The most charitable argument we could make of OP’s is that they refuse geopolitics in the liberal meaning. But it seems they’re just completely rejecting the concept of geopolitics, much like one would reject imperialism based on its liberal definition. The word Geopolitics now is just an easy way to say “what’s happening in the world and why” and I don’t see any reason we can’t use it our own way.
Sometimes I feel for some marxists if you don’t specifically spell out dialectics and materialism they’ll think you’re being unmarxist. It might just be caused by a lack of familiarity with marxism.
I also use geopolitics instead of imperialism exactly not to scare off people too quickly lol. I don’t intend to write solely for marxists because they can read Marx and other authors, they don’t need me specifically for that. But I was a bit disappointed with some anti-imperialist writers that I follow who have the correct line (or close to correct) on most things, but then can’t imagine any solution to it. Or they suddenly start talking about the ‘globalists’ out of nowhere.
But well, I’m still finding my voice and who exactly I’m writing for. But I can’t imagine a world where it’s better to have fewer anti-imperialist writers.
It’s funny you mention Trots, I was also saying somewhere people who focus solely on the class struggle are doing what Trots do lol. Their best analysis of Russia-Ukraine (for Trots I mean) is “what about the proletariat in both countries?” But what about a stronger NATO that emerges victorious? What about the emboldened and equipped UA fascist cells that will export themselves out of Ukraine and terrorize Europe with Javelins? Yeah Russia needs to have another socialist revolution, but what can we do until then? Sometimes I find this kind of analysis very defeatist.
that article
I thought you might have meant that, I just recalled the 3 sources and seem to have forgotten about the 3 components. I will repent and re-read.
I wholeheartedly support everything you say! The rest of this comment will be me agreeing with you. While that may be boring I want to express that it is not insignificant to me as where I live (a somewhat provincial city in Germany) it is next to impossible to find any reasonable opinions on geopolitics from people interested in it (aside from some people into who’s understanding I have put significant effort in).
The word Geopolitics now is just an easy way to say “what’s happening in the world and why” and I don’t see any reason we can’t use it our own way
Absolutely. Before I took it out, I’ve had a paragraph in my second comment saying the exact same thing!
I also use geopolitics instead of imperialism exactly not to scare off people too quickly
A totally valid strategy, I do the same! The need to resolve contradictions in geopolitics (and the reporting on it) was what eventually led me to adopt a Marxist analysis why should it not work for others!?
On a side note: In Germany it is an incredibly long journey to arrive at one (has been for me at least).
I think one reason are the relatively okay material conditions many people find themselves in compared to other countries (in Europe but certainly the US). But I believe an important reason is that a Marxist perspective has been purged so effectively from public thought here (“Radikalenerlasse”, “Congress for cultural freedom”, transatlantic networks, etc.), which I believe one can link back to the importance of Germany in the cold war / capitalist Imperialist project. I believe (and hope) the situation is improving with English-speaking content becoming more prevalent on social media but it is often a long and lonely road, hence my appreciation for the sanity expressed in your opinions!
Or they suddenly start talking about the ‘globalists’ out of nowhere
Omfg, yes! It is frustrating as hell to finally see dissidence in public opinion and then realize it is channeled into this pit of inconsistent thought. Unfortunately such “globalist” commentators are much more prevalent when one first diverges from the mainstream liberal opinion. For what its worth the WEF is, of course, an institution worthy of opposition but it is a consequence of the problem and without it nothing fundamental would change.
It is so glaringly obvious how desperately people are in need of a critique of capital.
But what about a stronger NATO …
This whole paragraph is on point and it again points to how people lack the holistic approach that a dialectic approach provides.
It’s funny you mention Trots […] “what about the proletariat in both countries?”
I appreciate the tip of the hat to my Trot comment, lol. For what its worth: I agree. The problem this seems to be indicative of might be an inability to perceive remaining contradictions or an unwillingness to tackle them? The understanding of Marxism as a scientific approach and historical materialism as a progression that cannot be stopped at the turn of the 20th century. In that sense it is the same mistake that people stopping at “globalists are the root cause” are making, only that they happened to stumble across Marx. I have yet to read Mao on contradictions / reaction within the people, I am curious in his analysis in this regard though, I know I have a long way ahead of me too.
Having had these experiences I understand your desire of reaching more people outside of Marxist thought and I totally agree. Historically I’ve found myself, instinctively, wishing and working for a broad understanding basically with everybody I meet, being cautious to alienate nobody basically rallying for the biggest consensus possible for any specific strategic issue (From a US perspective this certainly sounds ridiculous, I hope you understand what I am trying to say). However this always kept me on the back foot and after the issue was resolved or faded into irrelevancy nothing remained to build on.
So increasingly I wonder if an “inwards” turn, an appeal to leftists (not necessarily Marxists yet) primarily is something more effective. Similarly to how Lenin made out the peasantry as the most likely ally of the proletariat, I wonder who the most probable allies are nowadays in Germany. Undoubtedly they must then be the main target of “communist propaganda”, accepting that other groups might not relate and react with scorn and reaction.
Initially I added a couple paragraphs about my strategic speculations, but that is a huge digression so I saved them elsewhere. I guess I just really had to spell out my thoughts out on this.
But well, I’m still finding my voice and who exactly I’m writing for. But I can’t imagine a world where it’s better to have fewer anti-imperialist writers.
For sure! Best of luck in your endeavors, comrade!:) I’ll see to it that I follow your development
I agree with you, I feel if I added to your comment though we would still be here tomorrow just agreeing with each other lol. Just a normal day on lemmygrad.
Marxists are only allowed to talk about what happens within their own country’s borders. Anything else is fascist because we know that fascists like to talk about disliking things outside their own country’s borders.
Ooh! You got the coveted Maoist-Fascist connection! Funny how they’ll gladly side with the CIA or actual open fascists before siding with traditional MLs. Almost like they have no real understanding of theory at all and some of them just want an excuse for adventurism. 🤔
A painful lesson all communists learn I think is that not everyone is your comrade. But I have to be honest the maoist-fascist was a new one for me.
Really? I’m surprised you haven’t seen it before. I’ve seen it at least a couple of times, usually just the terminally online Maoist types though, IRL the ones I’ve met just bootlick the CIA, not quite at the same level.
I am very careful and try not to run into Maoists!
Unfortunately all my local orgs are Maoist or worse. So I’ve had to deal with them a lot. It’s frustrating when local liberals are less frothing at the mouth with hatred for China than our supposed “communists”
Though probably a good call to avoid them, especially online. I’ve never had an enlightening or educational conversation with a Maoist, even when I’ve gone in with an open mind and asked for theory and information from them, they don’t see this ideal educational opportunity as a chance to actually educate, rather, they see it as an opportunity to bash me over the head with how much more they know than I do. And god forbid I ever have questions about their theory, you’d think I just asked if it was OK to shoot their dog.
To be fair, I have met some more chill Maoists, but we rarely if ever spoke about theory, so that’s probably why.
The line on Gonzalo is “if you don’t believe what they tell you about Stalin, why do you believe their “lies” about Gonzalo.” When your ideology is contrarian it’s not a far step to questioning the holocaust.
A large part of the reason I prefer discussions on Lemmy over Reddit is that people will actually engage with you rationally on this site. How is it enjoyable to engage with patronising people who only pretend to address your arguments? If a Lib wandered over to Lemmygrad they’d be told why they’re wrong instead of just being immediately banned by mods or told to formally fuck off or some shit.
Geopolitics replaces class struggle with the struggle between nations, which is obviously reactionary to everyone who understands Marxism
Who actually sits and types that nobody is allowed to analyze any relationship between nations or else they’re a fascist? That’s clearly class reductionism to me.
It’s an even weirder argument to make after this whole convo because they started with the blanket “[all] fascists are better at geopolitics”. So which is it?
The mind of the Redditor is impenetrable.
How is it enjoyable to engage with patronising people who only pretend to address your arguments?
It’s not 😭 but what’s funny is I get a lot of clicks and subscribers on Reddit, they just don’t say anything in the comments. Although they might also come from TrueAnon and the Deprogram subreddits, where they like my articles more. I should test that with the next one to get a feel of which subreddit they come from exactly. Once I get enough steam going on my substack that I don’t need Reddit, I might just go lurk those two subs once in a while but I’m done posting there lol.
They just deleted their account.
No fucking way lmao, can’t resist the critic apparently 😎
I only posted there once and I got permabanned and when I asked why they never replied. That place is toxic.
They’re controlled opposition fr
That is basically seething distilled in text form. /r/communism continued to be terrible.
r/TrueAnon is basically the only left-wing sub still worth engaging with at this point imo.
Every other one is either full of vaushite radlibs or the most annoying twitter maoists possible.
Eh the Deprogram is servicable.
Yeah that’s true, but I’m old enough that most of the people active there could be my kids lol
The TrueAnon crowd seem to be more my age, older millenial/younger genx, so I suppose that might be why I prefer it
Yeah that’s why I kinda prefer the Deprogram being twenty and all. Generational gaps exist whether or not someone is a commie or not lmao
is trueanon expressly communist or is there like all sorts of anti-imperialists in it? The subreddit I mean, I know sometimes discords/subreddits/podcasts/youtube channels for the same thing have very different communities
The core group of users are all commies, but of course random strays will wander in from time to time
Neat!
Made curious by some of the other comments here connecting that Redditor’s abusive language and refusal to really say anything of substance beyond ‘I don’t like this’ and Maoism, I just spent kind of a long time looking back through that person’s comments trying to figure out what about their thinking is particularly Maoist, especially in the context of that series of insults they wrote on your post, which don’t, to me, reveal any particular way of thinking so much as a temperament.
I did eventually find some Maoist language across their comments. They probably do self-identify as a Maoist or Marxist-Leninist-Maoist, though I didn’t see a comment to that effect.
But what I noticed more was that pretty much their only mode of discussion was verbal combat, and maybe in some cases declarations on certain questions or definitions of terms. There wasn’t a lot I could recognize as instruction, exploration, or listening, although I imagine they’d consider some of their declarations educational.
I’m tired. I can’t think. I don’t have a thesis here. But OP, I’m sorry that someone took it upon themselves to shit on your work instead of offering you feedback or simply saying nothing.
Thanks, but don’t worry about me 😁 I post on these subreddits expressly to have them confront other points of view. While redditors will be redditors, I got 8 new subscribers straight from reddit yesterday after posting (almost a fifth of what I had) showing there is a silent portion that listens.
Moreso surprised a self proclaimed communist would praise fascists. If that person was in my party they wouldn’t be allowed to back out of their words and might even get expelled over it.
It’s especially weird that they did so rather vaguely. It’s not like they were like ‘fascist figure X was right about historical fact Y in context Z, and here’s why I think that matters’. They just favorably compare fascist ‘geopolitical analysis’ to your blog post, in general. That does seem like more or less just praising fascists to me.
I just got banned from there 4 days ago for the second time. Time to make a new account and go for number 3.
r/TrueAnnon is fucking garbage. Edgy jokes and slurs are accepted, mods barely even enforce their own rules. Honestly does more harm than good. Glad I found this site
Do they use other slurs besides the r word too??? Already avoided going there because of that, damn…
Hmm, maybe I overstated things. Just the one slur as far as I could see.
All good, they still suck for allowing the r slur
There are American leftists who like Gonzalo?
I think Gonzaloists are (almost) exclusively found in the West!
Even some non-American leftists, unfortunately.
I’ve heard of some in South America but didn’t think enough Americans were even aware of him to be the majority in leftist subreddits.
Damn man I’ve been lucky enough to not get banned but last time I was on there they at least had some good takes on settler colonialism, but it’s not that damn serious…no wonder why people think it’s infiltrated by feds cause you can’t have any sort of meaningful discussion on anything
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