https://www.businessinsider.com/capitalism-tiktok-america-productivity-job-mental-health-great-resignaton-antiwork-2022-2
this is what happens when you remove core concepts of marxist theory from public discourse. people can still easily come up with concepts like stolen surplus value and alienation by simply observing their everyday live, but they lack a greater framework that makes them understand other, not directly observable aspects such as the limits of reformism. they're basically stuck with the insurmountable task of having to come up with all of marxism by themselves.
"Hegel remarks somewhere that all great, world-historical facts and personages occur, as it were, twice. He has forgotten to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce."
I think most people who go from capitalist to anti-capitalist go through a "humane capitalism" phase, and I think there's every reason to believe this will progress further given (a) the state of the world and (b) the fact that they're already comfortable calling themselves anti-capitalist even if that's not entirely true.
Honestly the next step is mass understanding that no worker is pro capitalist because their very existence is being exploited (i.e. you're CEO is the only true capitalist).
People called Bernie a communist even though he just wanted to fix capitalism and make it more humane. Though he's not a communist, he sure helped kick me down the socdem to Marxist pipeline.
Radicalization will still happen for a lot of people over time, but I wish we could get it going faster.
Individual people can progress further. It's our job to make that happen at a high rate. But the reality is that any high visibility anticapitalist messaging will be recuperated unless it's radical enough that the powers that be would rather demonize it.
imo the number one most important thing (in terms of rhetoric, obviously material considerations come first) is to rebuild the class identity destroyed by liberalism. We need people to identify explicitly as working-class again, and to identify capital owners as a distinct class separate from the broad concept of "rich people" or "the 1%"-- those terms make it sound like society is just divided into a spectrum from "low income" to "high income" and that misconception is a big part of the reason why people are willing to accept liberal capitalism.
True, but this is where we come in. If we can't make use of this, what good are we as socialists?
I can do graphic design but I will not appear on camera. I'm happy to help anyone who wants to post Marxist theory on TikTok, so just hmu if you've got a project in mind.
I'm camera shy as well, but I know it in my bones that if we miss our chance with the genz/tick-tock crowd we will be consigning another generation to nihilism and hopelessness. We need to build revolutionary fervour and optimism.
Thing is, I'm getting older and every idea I have is gonna come across as "hello fellow kids" real hard. We're gonna need to support our younger comrades in this.
I'm with you on that. Alas, I'm also approaching "hello fellow kids" age, but let me know how I can help - I could really use a project to keep my mind off of my personal life right now.
It's not not much a number, but more of a vibe. If that sounded like something a zoomer would say then I haven't quite crossed over. If not, toss me in the old people pile.
“anti capitalist” media is "not real capitalism" media
:doomer:
This is true in my experience, but the algorithm absolutely pushes other theory driven users as well so it isn't a total wash.
I spent the last year carting folks around doing rideshare, at least a few times a day people bring up politics ( :cringe: ) and I can usually get them to agree that capitalism is the problem. Throw out the S word though and they recoil in terror. Most of the time they will say that this brand of capitalism is really the problem. Then I tell them that the system is functioning exactly as it was intended and tell them to read Marx. I'm sure they all do.
So many people hate capitalism and know it's destroying the earth and our lives, but they're unwilling to step outside the box and embrace revolutionary thought.
Those who haven't decided that change is impossible still put their faith in our democracy. If we can just vote the right people in, we can address the problems with capitalism and make it work more fairly.
They don't realize that our democracy is super hollow. That the ones that are allowed to get into office are the same ones keeping us poor, pushed to our limits, and picking fights in culture war bullshit. That we fight our imperialist wars for securing resources, and it's because of those measures that allows us to live our somewhat comfortable lives.
The system can't be changed without more people becoming revolutionary. I've come so far in my understanding of the world and theory in just the last two years, so I know it's possible. I just don't know how we spread it fast enough to make a difference.
It's a combination of organizing whoever's willing to organize now, and preparing for when things get so much worse that people are disillusioned and desperate enough to embrace revolutionary politics on a large scale.
I wonder: what percentage of the Russian Empire's public supported the Bolsheviks, say, three years before the October Revolution?
Millions of people living in poverty conditions under a Tzar is the gunpowder that sparked the October revolution.
In America, too many people are comfortable with their adequate material conditions to really ignite a class war. Capital knows this too. Keep the leash just long enough to grant just a little bit of freedom
I'm pretty sure Lenin said in 1913 or 1914, that there was no chance of a revolution ever happening in his homeland while he was still alive. Of course he didn't quite foresee the absolutely idiocy the Tzar would display in the Great War, or probably even that a war of such destructive proportions could even happen.
It’ll take very drastic measures to fully radicalize the rest of the population. War coming home to our doorstep, massive inflation hikes that we feel down the street at our local grocery store, almost apocalyptic economic conditions for people to actually think different. Sadly. But I try to be hopeful
The problem is that America is almost impervious to those things. There is 0 chance of any war ever coming home, unless the American millitary decides to start shit and just overtly start murdering people at random. The American state has spent the past 80 years destroying the earth and everything on it, just to prevent that exact thing from happening. I know that we currently see a lot of the contradictions laid bare, however unless americans actually start learning how to read, then the struggle seems almost insurmountable.
this has been the trend since occupy. people hate the present system more than ever. but somehow it still hasn't been enough to form a revolutionary movement.
i think we seriously underestimate how good the neoliberal order is at recuperating anger.
I have a few younger friends who have definitely been radicalized** by tiktok.
**My caveat is that these people aren't going out and reading theory or really engaging with anything beyond surface level critique. However, they have been far more willing to listen, and are less likely to backslide into liberalism. This is certainly in contrast to the older, lib friends I have.
Just getting past the reflexive rejection of anti-capitalist material is a significant step.
Look at this fancy motherfucker with his "major life accomplishments"
