Nate Robinson has a knack for criticizing doctrinaires for screeching "read theory" at everybody, and he's right about that. Not everybody needs to read theory. However, people like Nate Robinson, the editor-in-cheif of the largest or second-largest print socialist magazine in the United States absolutely fucking need to read theory. That's basically my point.
As individuals, we should all do what's right. We don't have to put much thought into this. You see someone struggling, you help them out. You don't need to read an encyclopedia to understand this. Throughout history, there have been countless illiterate peasants who understood this. Elitism is the twelfth kind of liberalism. However, when you are laying down a political line which is supposed to represent masses of people, you need to do your homework. You have to think strategically. You have to reflect on history and the insights which have been gleaned from it. You have to engage critically with the subject matter. If you claim to speak for millions of people, you owe it to them to do some due diligence and not lead them into a dead end.
We should never assume we know what's best. Most leftists are humble. Most leftists know that they aren't all-seeing and all-knowing. They try to contribute to the understanding of the collective, and they try to expand their own personal understanding by listening to others. Then there are people like Nate who are like, "You know, the people who keep bringing up this Marx guy are really annoying. Maybe I individually am smarter than generations upon generations of revolutionary thinkers."
me tbh
furthest I've ever gotten was Chomsky
ill just be cannon fodder when it's needed
cos my heart's in the right place
Nate Robinson has a knack for criticizing doctrinaires for screeching "read theory" at everybody, and he's right about that. Not everybody needs to read theory. However, people like Nate Robinson, the editor-in-cheif of the largest or second-largest print socialist magazine in the United States absolutely fucking need to read theory. That's basically my point.
As individuals, we should all do what's right. We don't have to put much thought into this. You see someone struggling, you help them out. You don't need to read an encyclopedia to understand this. Throughout history, there have been countless illiterate peasants who understood this. Elitism is the twelfth kind of liberalism. However, when you are laying down a political line which is supposed to represent masses of people, you need to do your homework. You have to think strategically. You have to reflect on history and the insights which have been gleaned from it. You have to engage critically with the subject matter. If you claim to speak for millions of people, you owe it to them to do some due diligence and not lead them into a dead end.
We should never assume we know what's best. Most leftists are humble. Most leftists know that they aren't all-seeing and all-knowing. They try to contribute to the understanding of the collective, and they try to expand their own personal understanding by listening to others. Then there are people like Nate who are like, "You know, the people who keep bringing up this Marx guy are really annoying. Maybe I individually am smarter than generations upon generations of revolutionary thinkers."