I'll preface this by saying this is an ML post on a ML sub written for an ML audience. This post will contain sectarian critiques on the ultra-Left as well as anarchists.

  • Vncredleader
    ·
    3 years ago

    Do other MLMs actually care about Shining Path? I've always seen the claim that Shining Path is the originator and inseparable example of MLM as self-serving for Gonzalo's ego and useful to discredit the CPP and Naxalites.

    • please_dont [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      3 years ago

      Most Maoist people's wars worldwide including the cpp and the one in India predated the Shining path. Just because the Shining Path and Gonzalo proclaimed hard enough that they synthesized maoism and just because the other parties that engaged in people's wars worldwide were colosely allied and communicating with the Peruvian one(duh) it doesnt mean that the Shining Path acualy contributed anything to maoism or leninism or that the CPP and Naxalites did anything else but follow things and tactics directly from Mao and Lenin. Hell the Shining path also did that for the most part and thats why they were in a good position to win the revolution/people's war before shitting the bed completely with blind violence ,massacres without apologies or punishing of members and shitty cult of personality leadership

      • Vncredleader
        ·
        3 years ago

        Thanks for the clarification. That's what I assumed was the case, but I've seen a lot of people even here refer to MLM as defined by Shining Path. It sucks that people just take Gonzalo of all people's word for it

        • please_dont [he/him]
          ·
          3 years ago

          At most the new thing Gonzalo "added" in his "synthesizing" of maoism is that their dogmatic and monolithic version and experience of a people's war and maoist guirella tactics are universaly aplicable as is . Something thats obviously dumb even if you can argue that people's war can successfully take many forms in more industrialized urban enviroments (like what actual Mao Zedong Thought following Black Panthers showed). Now other parties engaging in people's war rn or actively having done so might adopt this general view but that doesnt make the Gonzalo-ites