Idk I'd argue votes do matter because even though they don't actually provide any substantial change, they help create the idea of a mandate for the people who receive the votes. For instance, more votes for a fascist candidate or party emboldens the far-right. And inversely, the fewer votes socialist parties receive the more marginal they seem.
The revolution will never be won at the ballot box but it's important for socialists to demonstrate that they exist, to stand and be counted. And it's also important to sway people away from liberals and fascists.
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1920/lwc/ch07.htm
You're right but you also aren't really the "Bert" here.
While I do agree they can, in a small way, help create that idea. There are multiple western voting systems where even undeniably winning the popular vote does not win or lead to mass discontent for failing to be governed by the actually mandated parties. If people aren't even reacting to that, winning a lot of votes is never going to mean that much.
translated from liberal: "I am reasonably comfortable in the imperial core and I want that material privilege to continue, even if it means the death of the biosphere."
The common cold in question having killed about 200,000 Palestinians? I think I'll pass.
I mean, a choice between cancer and the common cold is still a choice.
What a strange, ill-fitting analogy. First of all, who in the hell gets to choose between getting cancer or getting a cold? But even if we ignore that, it's still not a fitting analogy because one is typically a deadly disease and the other is just a temporary discomfort, so it absolutely does not apply to the US regime's political parties. With democrats and republicans, we still have 2 deadly diseases, so the analogy should be more like "a choice" between colon cancer or bladder cancer.
Both siding Republicans vs Democrats, while both bastions of dirty capitalism, is an intentionally superficial take
You know what's "superficial"? Failing to see through this obvious goodcop/badcop routine and thinking both of their goals aren't exactly the same.