• TreadOnMe [none/use name]
    ·
    6 hours ago

    To expound on @Cowbee@hexbear.net's point, ideology is not, nor ever has been a linear progression.

    Not to harp on it but ideology is primarily informed by material conditions, and our general awareness of the state of ideology is primarily informed by the media.

    So what does this mean?

    By my just talking to people and attending every advertised meeting I know of, there are more leftists in the U.S. than there have ever been, and to be sure these leftists are more ideologically coherent and informed by deteriorating conditions than ever before, with many of them never even stopping at socdem (as they were too young to ever be actually ideological Berners). However, because their ideology is informed by material conditions, they are not cavalier in proselytizing those ideological beliefs, because they know that the fascism is coming/already here. The ones that are more cavalier are often more cavalier because they do not have a choice to hide and be mentally sound (transitioning people in particular).

    However, from the outside it would appear as though these people do not exist, as they will not get interviewed, and if they do they will usually be cautious on what exactly they say on camera. To be frank, in any ad hoc leftist meeting I have attended, even in deeply conservative areas, MAGA communists are an absolute minority, but they are not cautious because they are (for lack of a better term) pretty much all morons who do not care who records them or what they say on camera, because their beliefs are not usually informed by material precarity, but more by personal conviction.

    The issue is that solid comrades are often waiting for a direction to be pushed into.

    • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      6 hours ago

      Excellent point, thank you. My experience as a former-debatebro helps solidify that people don't decide positions based on raw logic, they are receptive based on material conditions, hence why when combatting pure myths we succeed merely by providing simple proof of falsehood. Video is especially effective.