depression is an understandable reaction to living under capitalism, but it doesn't have to be inherent to being communist or understanding the structures of exploitation around us
in fact i find the more theory i read, and the more i agitate among coworkers, the less depressed i am
like instead of everything being a hopeless problem that's just a personal issue or "just the way it is" i can start to see the mechanisms at play and envision ways to interact with them to build a better future
You must realize that I am far from feeling beaten…it seems to me that… a man out to be deeply convinced that the source of his own moral force is in himself — his very energy and will, the iron coherence of ends and means — that he never falls into those vulgar, banal moods, pessimism and optimism. My own state of mind synthesises these two feelings and transcends them: my mind is pessimistic, but my will is optimistic. Whatever the situation, I imagine the worst that could happen in order to summon up all my reserves and will power to overcome every obstacle.
There are other parties. A vote for neoliberalism is a demand for one. Doesn't matter if you
holding your nose and kicking the can or with a smile. Stop giving the dems life support.i suspect a fast death for the democrats would in theory be preferable, so they stop existing as a crippled placeholder for leftish energy to coagulate around and dissipate while republicans entrench their power and dismantle protections. a new political party could then potentially arise without half of the dissipation mechanisms, ideally an actual progressive party with teeth. and without the establishment faux left party taking up space, passively political people opposed to republicans will vote for the new progressive party by default.
unfortunately we're probably doomed to a slow trudge into worse and worse gerontocracy and a slide rightwards.
but yeah regardless the best we can do within the bounds of electoralism is play on the representatives' material interests: as long as they feel their seat is secure, they have no reason to give up corporate money at the behest of workers. there has to be an actual threat that faux left politicians won't get elected if they don't follow through on progressive policies. lesser evilism in this context just lets them get away with being milquetoast and ineffectual
meanwhile we can organize outside of electoralism so that hopefully in a few years there's leftist power structures that can seize opportunities, be they electoral/political or economic.
So where my Cornell West peeps at
If we want to push a third party why nobody fucking DOING IT
Isn't he advocating for black banks and black finance and black business? Sounds more like a lib that wants the oppressed to become the oppressor.
What. Sorry this sounds so stupid I gotta step back and what a minute
I dunno I'm vaguely remembering that from somewhere, can't really drop much on you about it as I've forgotten the details. I have some others though:
https://twitter.com/cornelwest/status/23848928873021440
Ronald Reagan was a freedom fighter in terms of supporting our Jewish bros & sis in the Soviet Union & opposing vicious forms of communism.
https://archive.ph/UhpsG
Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn and civil-rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. were imprisoned for their views.
https://twitter.com/alwaystheself/status/1665807177880092673?t=iBgpjQvIbSJjd-8s-RRHOw&s=19
Here's a link to list of the board members of CLT Tests - Jeremy Tate's company. West is sitting there right alongside R*fo and the president of the Heritage Foundation, among others
Socdems are gonna socdem. The man is not a socialist, he is in fact explicit in one of his books that he is not a "marxist socialist", and that he is using the word socialist differently:
Show
By all means, pick him to spoil the libs if that's your intention. But I don't think that he's actually in it for socialism.
Of course he's a lib. The only thing we get in this political environment is fascist right center right and an occasional gesture towards what people actually want.
So. Fukkin Bernie got Caesar'd, nobody even remembers Dennis Kuchinich or Jessie Jackson. Yall ready to go on strike or what? How's that union drive going. Seriously electoralism is a fuck and only organized labour will make a ding dong difference, but at the same time, WHERE IS THE GODDAMN SUPPORT OF THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES
mind explaining why? I've only heard the reasons not to, as @Awoo@hexbear.net explained up thread.
Just because he's the best option and a visible rejection of the Democratic party is important to me.
Because third parties can't win and if Republicans get a super majority for even 2 years they will basically create a one party state of authoritarianism then you won't even have the illusion of choice
We knew in 2020 when Biden won that there was practically no way we would have any viable choices until 2028.
Biden is the incumbent and about half of Trump's base believes he is literally the incumbent, so they both can only lose the primary by having an aneurism.
both can only lose the primary by having an aneurism.
Not out of the realm of possibility.
Yep and that's why people are running. They know it's like a 5% chance, but a 5% chance of being the president is, let's be real, a HUGE chance.
