From the guest list, the show looked like it was created to have a space where left commentators of various sorts would come on and hash out ideological differences as the US left is in the wilderness post-Bernie. It would be interesting, I thought, to have a show where an ultra like Sean KB from The Antifada could explain Marxist theory on a panel with social democrats and have some kind of discussion.
It turns out that its basically just a radlib version of The Five from Fox News, where they just take turns kicking the tires on the days news.
Does anyone actually want a show like this? It seems like its trying to fill a market that doesn't exist - or maybe existed a few years ago and doesn't today. When I look around, I don't think to myself, "You know who has some understanding of the political struggle we face in this moment? This DSA-backed state legislator from NYC."
Listening to it was deeply unsettling. I don't recommend it.
Yea. That's what I meant too. What makes a poster on r/CTH different politically than a Bernie supporter?
We generally aren't scared of talking about communism in a good light, many of us actually want capitalism to be completely destroyed, we are very pro-gun and aren't morally opposed to violence. You won't see regular Bernie fans talking about US Imperialism or defending Assad for instance.
It's not like everyone on here is a professional revolutionary, but we generally aren't just people who want regulated Capitalism. I know real estate agents who stan Bernie and donated/volunteered for him. People that legitimately dream of opening their own real estate business, and work towards that goal lol.
I really do think there is a class component in the difference. Most people here are poor, working class or maybe labor aristocracy. Lots of highly educated, comfortable PMC types in the S4P crowd.
I agree with everything you just wrote. The question is how does the average poster to this board differ in their actual political actions than the typical Bernie supporter. There's not a communist party to be a member of, labor unions are basically all business unions, nobody is holidaying in the PRC to meet up with other communists, there's no international to speak of.
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Of course there are orgs that are nominally parties. There are not professional party members in PSL though. The PSL can't organize strike actions. It's not the hub that directs organizing. This is what is meant when talking about a party.
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It's kinda hard to have paid professional revolutionaries when you're small. They're just in the beginning stages but they're growing rapidly. They currently organize tenant unions and those campaigns have shown some benefits and made inroads work a segment of the Proletariat that the mostly white left has been unable to for decades.
I'm knocking PSL. Lots of good comrades. They are nearly solely responsible for maintaining some modicum of an antiwar movement during the Obama years. But I cannot imaging a future of a 3,000,000 member PSL. I think if we are able to build a real communist party in the US again, it will come out of a synthesis of mostly new orgs bourn out of developing material conditions. The PSL will likely have a role in that, but I don't think it will be The Party
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This website is far more tankie and anti electoralism the old sub. What made the old sub unique from /r/wayofthebern though was that chapo hated non leftists far more and was better at bullying them.
I think this is mostly a matter of timing since the Bernie ship has sailed. The change is fine with me though.
This place is materially more pro China in uncritical ways than the old sub was. That could also just be timing, but I was one of the more pro China people in some threads there for just giving critical support.