A lot gets made of left unity, but I feel like I'm only presented with the cracks.
Anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, anti-prejudice, etc. all seem kosher.
But how do we make do with authoritarian vs. anti-authoritarian? How do we bridge that gap?
Authoritarianism (in a contextless vacuum) isn't a very useful concept. It's just the exercise of power. What I think is worth talking about is the levelling of hierarchical power structures, and I think there are probably a few MLs who believe that we should minimize the number of and distances between any hierarchical system that exerts power or control.
idk maybe I'm way off base here, I'm a scientists first and only an armchair political philosopher who skims way more than they should (when they should probably be reading more deeply and carefully) at best
Arguing over stupid bullshit is one of the most time honored and long standing leftist traditions that all leftists enjoy
Marxism-Leninism isn't authoritarian and authoritarianism is not a real thing
A mutual love for Jucheism and democratically elected supreme leader Kim Jong-un.
“Communism is for us not a state of affairs which is to be established, an ideal to which reality [will] have to adjust itself. We call communism the real movement which abolishes the present state of things. The conditions of this movement result from the premises now in existence.”
― Karl Marx
Stop arguing about bullshit ideologies. These ideologies are a form of commodity of personal identity. "Oh Im a Xist Yist Zist with Wist characteristics". Literally no one cares. None of it is important. Communism is the movement of the working class. What is the working class doing now to abolish the present state of things? Almost nothing. You have to do something about that. Once you enter the concrete world of the labor movement, all these ideologies will seem so dumb and childish in context, and outright dangerous if pursued in an unironic dogmatic manner.
ML's and anarchists both want a society without unjust hierarchies.
Well... leftism.
Literally the definition of leftism is support for greater social equality and opposition to social hierarchy. MLs wish to use the tools of the state to accomplish this goal, anarchists wish to do away with the state which will get rid of certain hierarchies right away and will create conditions where less hierarchial societies based on cooperation will thrive compared to others. Same goal, different means.
We're both for common ownership of the means of production. The question is whether we want the vehicle for ownership to be the state or something else.
I think the best way to bridge the gap is through mutual alliance in the goal of changing society, and then respect for the autonomy of different groups to do different things post-change. I could see both ML and anarchist municipalities existing comfortably alongside each other and even federating in some circumstances. We don't have to agree on everything. All we have to agree is that our world could change for the better, and that different areas reserve the right to self-governance. As long as these principles are shared there's no reason MLs and anarchists cannot be effective, friendly allies.
Except for anprims, who just don't want the means of production to exist at all :anprim-pat:
Hakim's response to this question:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gUfATF8NBNo
Authoritarianism is good and I hope that if the Marxist revolution fails my Anarchis comrades will use the full authority of the people to hold me to account.
