I'm becoming a doomer. It seems like the left will never be organized enough to counter the rise of fascism. From what I've seen the left is more interested in dunking on liberals and the wrong kind of leftist than actually organizing. Is there any hope at all?
Spending less time online and more time doing praxis will reduce your feelings of doomerism
It's winter and there's a fucking plague outside. The only praxis for some people right now is online.
I know, I know. I'm not saying people need to be out volunteering. But there are other things people can do besides doomscrolling. Probably could've worded my comment better
I agree with this. There are ways to organize online, including in online spaces specifically meant for specific geographic communities.
"From what I’ve seen the left is more interested in dunking on liberals and the wrong kind of leftist than actually organizing."
Then it is imperative that you log off.
I joined a local org last year and that's made a huge difference for my personal mental wellness and also for the local community. We're doing primarily Zoom meetings right now, which does suck, but we're still bringing in new members.
Whether we can or cannot defeat fascism does not matter. We must try. We may never see the promise land (i.e. established socialism) in our lifetime. We must organize in spite of this, in spite of reactionary forces, in spite of Capital, in spite of the randomness of fate and of history.
Yes, fascism will eventually defeat itself with no outside interference. Communism will win be it in 50, 100, 200, 500 years. It’s the only sensible solution to human problems which are almost all brought about by money, the state, and class
Everyone won't die. A bunch of people will. Maybe that will galvanize the people left.
Can we defeat fascism now? Hell no.
Can we defeat fascism in the future? Maybe.
Can we defeat fascism if we admit defeat right now? Also hell no.
Fascism is the final stage of capitalism, all the same material contradictions hold and will intensify. Thus it will either be defeated by us or defeat itself and take us down with it. It cannot survive, as horrible as it is.
Socialism or Barbarism doesn't mean Socialism or Fascism, it means Socialism or Collapse.
And leftists are organising, yes, it would be much much better if we were further along. But if you look at the RSDLP between 1900 and 1910 it goes from 500 nerds in a basement to one of the steering forces of leftism, though still not the largest.
it's difficult to see a lot of the organizing going on, but there has been a huge surge of leftist support in my city since the start of the pandemic. lotsa folks being radicalized. the people only interested in dunking on libs for internet points are just the most vocal and the most Online, so if you're Very Online they're the ones you see. do not lose hope, comrade <3
Probably not in the imperial core, no. Mao was right, the third world and its imperial subjects are the most revolutionary class under global capitalism
chapo.chat is great go funnel libs to leftism but it quickly reaches its limitations. Organize with people in your community. We can build this but it’s gonna take a lot of work, time, and patience.
Absolutely. The problem with capitalism as it stands today is that it is providing strong enough material conditions that the masses can be docile.
Fascism will hasten that collapse massively. As folks start losing the comforts they're accustomed to like Starbucks and WalMart and loved ones, suddenly their minds will change. Look throughout history; every fascist revolution has been destroyed either by itself or by an outside influence, and almost always it ends up left-er than where it was before said fascism.
I would love for the left to be strong enough to actually stop this from happening in the first place, but if it doesn't, don't lose hope: we'll win in the end.
probably who knows they are not good at this either they just have institutional support
Fascism can only thrive so long as the material conditions created under centrist/reformist/neoliberal capitalism support it.
We need to study the mechanisms behind which Trump exploited and manipulated the mainstream narrative and subvert them for leftist cause.
That's the mechanism. Neoliberal capitalism supported fascism. There is no mechanism available for the left to manipulate and subvert because unlike fascism, the left is a threat to their power structures. Now neoliberals have a few choices going forward but none are good for the left. Dems can react with force and become the fascist state themselves, they can do nothing and be crushed in four years by the next fascist Republican candidate, or if they want to continue with the neoliberal experiment they can coopt leftist causes temporarily (ala the New Deal). That third option may be best for us and the general population, but know that it's the most difficult for them to pull off and it's not worth the effort considering there will never be any threat that those holding power now will be marched off to concentration camps. But since the camps and the ovens are a threat to us it's good to game out various scenarios.
Dems go fascist:
They lean hard into law and order legislation in reaction to yesterday's coup attempt. Protest action is extremely curtailed. Private property will be protected at all costs. This will only hit the left and minorities because fascists will lie low after the inauguration and be treated with kid gloves when they rise to claim power.
Dems do nothing:
The cupboard is bare. Time to enact austerity. K shaped recovery continues as performative concessions to the people are blocked by Republican filibustering. Losses in the 2022 midterm lead to gridlock in the congress. Real fascists are elected in 2024 or lead a successful coup in January 2025.
Dems coopt leftist policies temporarily:
Very difficult because they'll need to purge Republican congressmen that supported the coup attempt. No meaningful change can happen as long as they block any action with the filibuster and votes. They'll need to make immediate $2000 payments to every American to prove they can do what Trump couldn't and they'll need to repeal PAYGO to make the $2000 payments recurring until vaccination levels reach 80-90%. They'll need to enact a tepid public option and have it go into effect within 4 years to defang demsocs like Bernie.
Fascism organizes itself dialectically wherever there are leftist/populist movements that threaten the status quo of capitalism. It doesn’t only mean that you are acting like Hitler or Mussolini, things like the Patriot Act, the militarized police, endless wars, extreme racism/sexism, etc. All just products of American fascism struggling to pump life into the dying empire.
