It's not that he's wrong or cynical or the wrong kind of doomerpilled or whatever
It's just that he's pointing out problems without offering anything better. Criticizing people for being mad online but even admitting no real other solutions exist.
I really don't know what to do about that besides stay mad. :(
edit:
https://twitter.com/Solidarity_Star/status/1356820922485903361
Matt is Bashir and we're all Rom in desperate need of a Chief O'Brien to help up bridge that gap between good theory and good practice.
I am not sober right now.
I thought his solution was to log off and try to focus on more meaningfully interacting with your personal social circles and or local organizations in a way that materially builds towards class consciousness. Otherwise being too involved in national politics is superfluous at an individual level and can only help if done in coordination with a broader social cohort. I don't know if I've botched this but that's what I tend to make of it.
THIS. he also on ironically says 'Love is needed' sometimes.
❤
yes radical empathy is KEY. understanding most chuds aren’t inherently evil but a result of a plinko board of material conditions. we aren’t better because we are holy we are lucky to have the blinders removed by our lived experiences.
It would be a good take if it wasn't for the fact the pandemic is still raging, and its also very urban-centric, if you live in a rural setting or a sprawling suburban desert there are no "local organizations" worth engaging with
Good point. Geography is a real political divide especially in the US. It's definitely not the idea political terrain but that's also a point in his critique. That we have to interact in our community. If we are serious in building a better socialist world as a political project we must interact with the world. Sometimes could be helping the community and base building other times could be challenging conservative sensibilities.
if you live in a rural setting or a sprawling suburban desert there is no “local organizations” worth engaging with
there was a nice handbook for rural anarchist that i think is still useful for communists to examine
https://enoughisenough14.org/2018/06/11/new-zine-anarchy-in-a-small-pond/
I have used a bit of it to guide some things in my town of less than 4,000 to some ok results, but I might be spoiled because we already had an indigenous south american anarchist and like 3 open MLs in town.
But this ends up right back at the problem. Weak ineffective groups spread out.
I kinda feel like people just don't have any real new ideas so we just sort of circle around and pine for the good old days of unions to come back (they won't, not unless you fundamentally change something to make them immune from the attacks that already killed them).
We need someone who can form a real socialism with American characteristics (not racism. god damn't it's gonna be racism).
But really we need to completely turn away from reformism and the idea that we can just pressure the system into turning into what we want when we want it.
local organizing could be anything it doesn’t have to be DSA it’s seeing an issue in your community and uniting people with common solidarity to fix it. its not always unions and organized meetings.
That's what needs to be done, but it's not a solution.
If these organizations worked they would have worked.
deleted by creator
Numbers won't fix them.
deleted by creator
Numbers aren't going to fix organizations that lack direction or are pointed in entirely the wrong direction.
We can get more members in DSA to pressure people who are totally unaccountable. That will work.
We can get more people in unions who aren't radical, don't claim to be, and even if they were have no answer to the attacks that already killed unions.
Yea but you can’t know that until you’ve gone out and tried it. Sitting online and plotting out your perfect politic is equal to zero. You’ve got to go outside and live your politics even if they’re ultimately wrong and unhelpful because the reality is that you’ll never ultimately know either way
We can't look at history and look at how things have actually played out and draw conclusions based on that?
Who’s we? You looking at history by yourself and dreaming up the perfect answer to the world’s problems isn’t useful by any measure. Studying history as a group to inform group decisions is an entirely different thing. Locking yourself into the prison of your head is an outcome of liberalism and is exactly counter to the collective action that defines leftist politics
Idk. I mean, it is what it is. I suppose his solution in that sense would be the social transition to communism. Don't think anyone could give a step by step list of what to do and his advice is a bit vague but tbh it reflects how bad the situation is for the 'left'. Main problem is there isn't a coherent, holistic, and conscious social base that is able (or even friendly to) socialist politics. That's where he interjects calling for left to lay roots by struggling with their own community, if you like. I think he's got about the right amount of disillusionment with our politics (US) as individuals, mostly as a entertainment and self branding social commodity (clout I guess); but is very worthwhile in social coordination (like Bernie's campaign). Once again this is simply how my brain translates his takes. So, just having some fun here.