There’s a difference between what’s best for gaining popularity within online “left” spaces, and what’s best for advancing the revolutionary struggle. It’s not hard to notice this problem, the members of the left-wing video essay community “Breadtube” have repeatedly observed how there’s an issue with making politics into a fandom. Yet it’s not like merely recognizing this problem makes these creators able to see what the solution is. That solution is to not just become disillusioned with the notion that consuming Breadtube does anything to change the balance of class power, but also give up the ideology that underlies this false solution. To sell the illusion that online politics represents something genuinely offensive towards the existing power structure, the facilitators and spokespeople of these fandoms have to propagate a certain idea: that anybody who deviates from what’s considered the approved narratives within left spaces is an enemy, that to be considered “respectable” you’d better know what not to think and say.
Man I used like some of this guys writings but he has a serious problem with his idea that being pro-Russia is the only marker of a potential revolutionary (I’m totally over stating his position but it’s pretty damn close.) He disses people like Brian Becker, and parties like the PSL for not backing a Libertarian backed “anti war” rally, and is not open to any real discussion about it. The guy is real cozy with “patsocs” and dabbles in straight up reactionary Russian Nationalism on twitter. I back Russia over NATO in this war but this guy takes it too far, he takes right wingers are their word and sees actual rightitst as a better ally than leftists who are still fooled but could be brought to our side. I was once a lib that this guy would’ve written off and alienated with his rhetoric. It’s a shame this guy just doesn’t seem to understand that he is pushing a real OP rightitst line.
He even thinks Becker giving critical support for Bernie is some huge sin while he cozy’s up to people who give critical support to Trump. He considers backing LGBTQ and drag shows to be “alienating the masses” showing he only cares about a small portion of the masses, or is stuck in a reactionary whole where that is the reality of the masses.
I think this is where we find fundamental disagreements. To me it is vastly worse to support imperialist shills like Bernie than to have a common cause with people who happen to hold some reactionary views on cultural issues.
There are countless communists in the global south with reactionary views on gender and sexuality, and while those views are wrong and should be denounced and corrected through ideological struggle, this does not justify refusing to support or work with them.
There is no issue more important for the global liberation of workers than the anti-imperialist struggle. If someone holds all the correct positions on cultural issues but does not oppose, or worse, even reinforces and supports imperialism, then their net effect on the world is a reactionary one.
More so than that of anti-war, anti-imperialist right wingers, regardless whether this position comes from a place of principles or opportunism, or simple contrarianism. What matters is the result, and although they don’t realize it the libertarians who take up anti-imperialist advocacy are directly helping to undermine the capitalist system they think they are trying to save.
Capitalism cannot survive without imperialism. And it is capitalist imperialism that is the greatest obstacle to the liberation of all oppressed peoples and disadvantaged minorities.
Contradictions are present everywhere and in everything we do. In a broad spectrum anti-war, anti-imperialist alliance there will be severe contradictions. Regardless the faults of the groups participating in these movements, the only ones who benefit from trying to turn people away from supporting or joining such movements through moralistic purity arguments are the imperialists.
I’m sorry but i think what you and a few other comrades here are doing in taking up these radlib talking points about RAWM is exactly what Rainer has been criticizing about Brian Becker and the PSL. Becker is someone who i personally have a lot of admiration and respect for, and so does Rainer, but the criticism expressed in this piece is absolutely valid.
One cannot claim to be serious about the cause of workers’ liberations while repeating and reinforcing imperialist propaganda narratives.
This purity fetish has to stop. Guilt by association gets us nowhere, and the term “patsoc” has become just another meaningless smear term.
Rainer explicitly advocates for the return of the Soviet Union, this is the antithesis of Russian nationalism.
Please show me where he ever said this.
I have seen no indication of this in any of his writings.