r/leftist

You cannot be a leftist and support Israel. Fuck these mods.

Fuck Israel, fuck every single member of the IDF and fuck every zionist

If it's against the rules to say that, then fucking ban me

One thing I've noticed is how wildly prevalent bodyshaming is. If a man has a shitty opinion, the comments are all filled with how he's balding, fat, short, probably has a small dick, if a woman has a shitty opinion, she's some sorta deeply sexist slur, ugly, short, fat, etc.

All this does is hurt all of us. The shitty person isn't gonna care. They've got power, they've got opportunity, they have "fuck you" money. Even if they feel insecure about their body, they already know what they look like.

So, why are people so eager to bodyshame terrible people instead of criticizing them for what makes them awful?

Bodyshaming is also essentially enforcing western beauty standards, enforcing the cishet norm, some of it verges dangerous close into ableist "Ugly Laws";it's just deeply bigoted.

We should be calling it West Asia, or SouthWest Asia. Not "Middle East"

edit: I seem to have struck a nerve here. lol. racists love to hold on to their language and never change.

Hello Everyone! Im a politically active girl. I am making a petition to save the rights of people wearing hijabis and let them wear them freely in schools and in public. People i want to protect these rights and I was hoping i could get some help with it. It may not be ur language but name and email would really help me ❤️

Suddenly in this subreddit, it has become racist to portray a soldier whose photos are taken while commiting warcrimes, of a country who actively engages in various massacres and genocide, in front of that country's flag. I don't think that is racist or discrimination against a religion, but rather criticism of a country's current crimes.

If that is a bannable offense in this sub, due to blanket policy, you may argue against it, but it would be fine as long as it is applied against all people or communities.

In this sub and in many leftist subreddits, being subjected to racism is sadly unavoidable. There are lots of racist people even that call themselves as "leftists".

However, the course of action by moderators are highly dependent on which kinds of people are subjected to racism.

It is free to be racist against Arabs, Indians, Pakistanis, Indonesians, Malays, Turks, Azerbaijanis, Turkics, Belarussians, Russians, People of Sahel, People of Eastern Africa, Nilotic people, non-white South Americans and Chinese people. There are many number of ethnicities that face open racism here, and many more groups.

If I say that, let's bury all Z-brained Ruskis, it is totally fine here. If I say, ziodogs should be put down, I would totally get ban here. It is free to say, I hate Turks for doing X, but it is bannable offense if I say I hate Israelis for doing X.

I am not calling out any mod or anything, but that's what's happening in every leftist subreddit.

Also, when there is a tragedy, we all should light candles and sing prayers when it is in western countries, but if that tragedy happens in let's say Pakistan, suddenly rhetoric becomes "Well that's too bad. They should have ..."

By the way there are lots of genocides happened all around the world, some are disputed even, which genocide is forbidden to question? For example, you probably ban people questioning Holocaust, but would you ban people questioning Hocaly, or Srebenitca? Or is it only applied to only Jews and Christians? Can we discuss Uyghur genocide or would you call it a fiction and call it a day.

That is hypocrisy at best, and racism at worst.

If you ban me over this then so be it.

hey, so I have a bit of a conflict in myself.

I often find leftist youtubers, whose message I like. But it leaves a sour taste in my mouth when I find out they sell merch, especially if its at low prices that suggest outsourcing to countries with no labour laws. But also the environmental aspect, since climate crisis will mostly affect the poor.

How do you feel about this? Does it make you stop watching or is it a "necessary evil" in your opinion?

Conservatives live in a world where regulations are the reason why America is better than all those third world poverty countries full of brown people but also unjust and wrong because they make it hard on businessmen and corporations.

If a bunch of Chinese or Indian food street vendors are reusing sewer grease in order to save a quick buck on not having to buy more cooking oil, then conservatives will say that regulations are what keep America from becoming uncivilized, undeveloped cavemen like those third world shithole countries. "I would NEVER eat at these disgusting piece of shit restaurants in countries where they would gladly poison their own people just to make a quick buck. 😤🤮"

But if an American restaurant is reusing sewer grease or an American food manufacturer is putting carcinogenic chemicals in food, then suddenly it's "regulations are unjust and completely unnecessary and all they do is make it hard for businessmen to do business. 😡 Won't anybody think of the businessman and corporations? 🥺 No wonder all the big companies are flocking from Commie-fornia with their endless red tape and regulations to do business in states with less stupid regulations like Texas & Florida." They sure didn't give a shit when Trump rolled back a bunch of USDA food-safety regulations and closed down two of the seven FDA food-safety testing labs.

I have written an article titled "Tiananmen Square 1989: The Clash of the Working Class with the Bureaucracy" and would appreciate your opinion. I am uploading it in PDF format via Dropbox so that it is easily accessible:

This article arose after my previous post about 13 days ago, where I asked for information, sources and opinions on the same topic. I have utilized all the comments, references and ideas given to me, trying to integrate and edit into a more complete text.

I am particularly interested in your criticism, whether you agree or disagree with the conclusions of the article. Any comments regarding the historical evidence, documentation or argumentation are welcome.

P.S.: the article was translated from Greek to English using Google Translate and I apologize in advance for any ambiguities due to poor translation.

I’m not looking for commentary or detailed analysis, or discussion. I’m looking for news being told from a leftist perspective in bite-sized lengths. Like Democracy Now! But shorter.

Hello everyone!

I’m leftist since I know myself but currently I think I need to educate myself even more in terms of knowing more deeply about certain things. I want to learn more so I can give more arguments to right-wingers (unfortunately I’m living in very conservative city) and it’s pretty hard to stay silent on things that they are saying but at the same time I want to learn more so I can stay more focused.

I’m interested in different topics such as Marxism, anti-capitalism, human rights (feminism, lgbtq) consequences of religion etc.

You can suggest everything that is pretty accesible (books, podcasts, articles)

Hello comrades,

I'm working on a long-term political project in South Africa called Red Vanguard South Africa, and I wanted to share the ideas behind it with fellow leftists and get feedback.

The goal is not simply to recreate existing socialist movements but to develop a distinctly South African socialist program that combines:

Democratic socialism

Worker cooperatives

Public ownership of strategic industries

Anti-imperialism

Anti-corruption

Economic democracy

Environmental sustainability

Pan-African solidarity

Community participation in governance

Some of the major proposals include:

Economic Democracy

Worker-owned cooperatives across major sectors.

Public ownership of strategic resources such as minerals, energy, railways, and critical infrastructure.

Local processing of resources instead of exporting raw materials.

Large-scale industrialisation and manufacturing.

Full Employment

A jobs guarantee for everyone willing to work.

Major investment in infrastructure, transport, housing, energy, and environmental projects.

Apprenticeships and vocational training programs.

Housing and Social Welfare

Universal housing programs.

Expanded social protection.

Strong support for pensioners, people with disabilities, and vulnerable communities.

A Basic Income Grant.

Education

Free education from preschool to university.

Expanded technical and vocational training.

Improved teacher support and resources.

Career-focused education is linked to national development.

Healthcare

Universal healthcare access.

Expansion of hospitals and clinics.

Strong public health and disease prevention programs.

Investment in medical research and local pharmaceutical production.

Democracy and Accountability

Strong anti-corruption institutions.

Transparent public procurement.

Community oversight structures.

Greater participation by workers and communities in decision-making.

Environment

Reforestation and ecological restoration.

Clean energy expansion.

Public sanitation and environmental cleanup programs.

Sustainable agriculture and water management.

International Outlook

Support for anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles.

Pan-African cooperation and development.

Greater South-South cooperation between developing nations.

This project is still being developed, and I'm interested in hearing constructive criticism, suggestions, and ideas from other leftists.

If you're interested in discussing South African socialism, economic democracy, worker ownership, Pan-Africanism, and left-wing policy ideas, feel free to join:

Solidarity from South Africa.

Y'all need to stop. I've had enough. I'm not giving context, hopefully there are Black and brown folks in here who understand.

This might not be the right place for this but I will go ahead and ask anyways. For context, I am a leftist and feminist and I am very morally opposed to people saying racial slurs (obviously) and it makes me uncomfortable when people say them around me. Sadly, three of my closest friends (I don't have many) of 5+ years that have helped me get through very difficult times with my mental health as well as people that I believe are genuinely caring and understanding, tolerate and even openly say racial slurs. They often 'jokingly' say them when I tell them that it bothers me. I am not looking to cut off these friendships as these people are some of my closest friends and it would KILL me to not be friends with them because I wouldn't have any other good friends if I cut them off. They also say homophobic slurs and that also bothers me because I am bisexual. One of my friends also told me that they disagree with my lifestyle and to not talk about anything 'gay' with him, which I can understand despite disagreeing with him. I don't know what to do because any time I try and bring it up, it doesn't do anything and they keep saying racial and homophobic slurs the next time we meet. They have also been radicalized online and there is NO way I can change that. So, how can I keep being friends with them while standing up for marginalized people? Any thoughts on this?

Or other radically pro-capitalist youtubers

Why do I hear that according to the left it’s: slave labor. I thought y’all were educated to know the difference between a Qatari camp and some dude earning over 100K bucks? I’m not gonna cry racism, but is it possible that Asians compete with white collar jobs? Is it because people on the left are generally anti-establishment. I know Bernie’s against it but he’s no way anti-Asian.

I’d like to debate electoralism as a tool, not a means to an end. I don’t think we can vote our way out of capitalism but I still think it’s a useful tool while we organize and build a base.

Here’s my perspective: I’ve noticed in online spaces there is a lot of anti-voting sentiments that I don’t see in real life organizing. I get that the democrats are horrible, they’re fascist lite, but we usually only have two realistic choices and they’re clearly at least a little bit better than Republicans.

I live in a red state but our last governor was a dem who definitely would’ve vetoed a recent bill criminalizing homelessness. Instead we have Landry who signed it and now homeless people can be thrown in jail just for being homeless. The harm reduction argument is 100% valid IMO.

I just don’t get what not voting achieves, the elites just view it as apathy which they don’t mind at all. So what is the actual strategy behind this anti-electoralism movement? What do we achieve by doing nothing?

I get that voting for horrible people feels bad but we should analyze the material reality of the situation: usually we have two choices and not picking a side is just burying your head in the sand, it doesn’t actually accomplish anything.

Again: I don’t think our main strategy should be electoralism but I think it’s a useful tool. The Republicans are labeling us all terrorists, arresting activists, tormenting marginalized groups and the democrats are doing that slightly less. It seems obvious to me which one to pick.

But of course we should also be educating, agitating and organizing. That should be our main strategy and then, ya know, just take five minutes to vote every once in a while. It’s not even that much of a drain on time or resources ya know?

Let me know what y’all think.

Edit: I have apparently been using electoralism wrong this whole time. Just replace electoralism with “the electoral system”. My bad.

honestly it’s not shocking they went this route considering they have been basically been left out to die by whole world.

So, JD Vance has begun to signal the American right-wing's turn on Israel. They are largely doing this out of necessity as Israel's imperial ambitions have bumped up against the reality of them being a tiny and unpopular settler-colonial state. The US can simply no longer foot the bill for them. Both because it is militarily unprepared to fight Iran and the war is also unpopular with the US population. This is largely a good thing, because it means Israel will be cut off from US aid sooner or later.

However, this leads to the problem that the Republicans are outflanking the Democrats on this case. Similar to how they were able to run as the "pro-peace ticket" in 2024.

So, if the dems refuse to do the smart thing and ditch Schumer and Booker, what should we do? How do we go forward as leftists if the only electoral options are the ancient neo-libs clutching their desks desperately so no pro-palestinian can replace them or a bunch of moronic facists who have the silver lining of being against the other fascist nation?

Elon Musk has been caught using dozens of unpermitted methane gas turbines to power data centres in predominantly black and low income areas, poisoning people as well as the environment.

Peter Thiel, political lobbyist and panopticon pioneer, has said that some corruption is good for society and that freedom is incompatible with democracy.

Itamar Ben-Gvir took to Twitter yesterday to say that Israel should go "berserk" and that "All of Lebanon must burn!"

Tim Gurner claimed that he'd like to "see pain in the economy" and that unemployment should rise by 40-50% to counter the "arrogance" of employees.

Sam Altman stated that "AI will most likely lead to the end of the world but, in the meantime, there will be great companies created."

In short, there are people with views so contrary to the greater good, and with enough power to pursue these goals, that their lives are a detriment to us all. We have it instilled in us that the dead are to be treated with respect and that life is sacred, we have taboos around responding positively to someone's passing, but there are people for whom these taboos ought to be suspended.

This article is insane. An insider talks about how their crew infiltrated, monitored, doxxed and dismantled a white separatist network across the pacific northwest.

Just felt like I needed to post this for my sanity and maybe for others here….this sudden surge of American exceptionalism that some are feeling with the social media posts of of white Europeans trying American bbq that has been produced by animal torture or the happy go lucky TikTok’s of people from parts of the world partying in the streets…there’s some of that, but there’s totally social media algorithms mass producing patriotism.

I met a couple of travelers who have restored my faith in humanity by sharing how they cannot wait to go home, America has a fascist government complicit in committing genocide, and the food is “decent enough.” They were also very respectful, humble, but honest about the evil that is happening. These were travelers from South Africa and Mexico.

A thought just crossed my mind lately. Obviously I do believe in ACAB because the working justice system is corrupt and just against everything I personally stand for. It’s always been in my head that ACAB also includes anyone else who upholds this system with their occupation but I’m curious if anyone else has any input on it.

I’m based in central Florida and today it hit 97 degrees, worse the humidity was over 90%.
Every time I go outside it’s hard to breathe. As I was walking between my car and work I could help but feel for the poor people of Cuba. It must be hotter and humidity must be a bit worse.
The horror of having to deal with this weather without any hope of relief.
All because the evil emperor from an evil empire wanted to cut off petroleum in order to break you and bend you to his will. Even if they begged for mercy trump and his evil henchmen would want them to suffer more.

I swear to god if I was able to I’d spend my life savings in order to help those poor people being subjected to this cruelty just because they don’t want to be exploited.

Just wanted to share my current thoughts.

I'm from out around Lansdale, PA. It has maybe a bit of a dope problem. But other than that its a very peaceful, nice and quiet town. When i finished an inpatient rehab program in Langhorne i wanted to be discharged away from the hoarder house i lived in. I asked to be sent to Lansdale and they told me they got me set up. But on the drive i realized this was a very rough neighborhood that looked NOTHING like my hometown.

I realized they fucked up and sent me to LANSDOWNE, PA by mistake. I tried to make the best of it and stayed there anyway. Now this was during the government shutdown by the way. When i went for walks around the neighborhood i realized how rough it was. People were STARVING. Upon arrival the tenants insisted they would have my back and feed me, despite admitting they didn't have much food. They frequently complained about struggling to eat and being afraid of how they would feed themselves. Many of these people were fresh out of jail or prison and i quickly realized many of these people didn't have much education. One person was looking for jobs and then asked me what a "courier" is. Even more alarming somebody asked me what "(financial) interest" was. This was alarming because this person was well into his 30s or 40s and no doubt has taking out a loan of any sort and credit cards. I feel like something is really fucked up about people who don't really understand what money is and being taken advantage of by banks. I know that that type of person probably makes the credit card companies and banks drool at the mouth and lick their chops.

So many people mock people who either went to poorly funded schools or had to drop out to get a job and support their family. They mock them for not understanding money or accumulating debt. "Oh if these people are poor its their fault for being bad with money" that type of shit. But people on the streets and even people who are staying at these sober and halfway houses were starving and really afraid of finding out how to get their next meals. Many of these people were very caring and kind to me and all of them HAD JOBS. When i watched the news or went on social media i saw people laughing about food stamps being cut, laughing at the idea of these people struggling, ignorantly talking about how they "need to get jobs now". I saw people posting about how peaceful and nice grocery shopping was now that EBT was cut and all those Icky and *disgusting* poor people were gone. And i could just look over my phone and see people starving on the streets and see people in my house struggling to get food while i heard gunshots a block or two away from me. That absolutely pissed me off and made me so disgusted.

I was already a leftist but this whole experience really opened my eyes. I wanted to take all of those people saying and posting those kind of things and force them to go to this neighborhood and make them look at everybody starving and meet all of those really kind and generous people struggling for food and make them say that same stupid shit again after that experience.

Wokism isn't rebellion—it's the elite's Trojan horse. A fake-left virus that hijacked class struggle, neutered workers' solidarity, and redirected rage into harmless identity theater. Fascism attacks the left from outside and unites it. Wokism infiltrates, hollows it out, and kills it from within. Deadlier because it wears the left's skin while serving capital.

Case 1: Corporate Virtue Signaling — BLM, Pride, and "Racial Equity"

Show: 2020: Nike, Amazon, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Disney flood the zone with billions in donations, rainbow logos, Colin Kaepernick ads, and "anti-racism" pledges. BLM leaders buy luxury homes while grassroots demands evaporate. Same corporations crush unions, offshore jobs, dodge taxes, and lobby against living wages. Post-2020, wealth inequality exploded — yet "diversity" hires and pronoun trainings became mandatory while real wages stagnated.

Explain: This is woke capitalism in action — low-cost symbolism that buys moral cover, attracts PMC talent, and satisfies ESG scores without threatening profits. Traditional leftism (class solidarity, redistribution, unions) would unite workers across races against the owners. Wokism replaces that with racial/gender essentialism: fight "whiteness" or "patriarchy" instead of capital. Adolph Reed Jr. and Walter Benn Michaels called it precisely: the left wing of neoliberalism. Elites don't fear diverse boardrooms — they fear organized workers seizing the means. Wokism delivers the former and blocks the latter. It's elite self-defense disguised as justice.

Case 2: The Academic Capture — From Class War to Culture War

Show: Post-1960s New Left pivots hard. Unions decline under Reagan/Thatcher. Postmodernists (Foucault, Derrida) and critical theorists dominate humanities. By the 1990s-2010s: intersectionality, privilege audits, decolonize everything, standpoint epistemology. Class analysis? Ghosted. Working-class voters — Black, White, Latino — abandon "the left" as it obsesses over microaggressions, statues, and bathrooms while inequality skyrockets.

Explain: Real leftism is materialist: history as struggle over production, universal progress, Enlightenment reason. Wokism is idealist poison — power in discourse, lived experience over evidence, tribes over solidarity. It suits the professional-managerial class (academia, NGOs, HR) perfectly: endless jobs in sensitivity training, no risk to their own bourgeois privileges. Susan Neiman in Left Is Not Woke exposes it: anti-universalist, pessimistic, and reactionary. It essentializes groups ("all White people," "toxic masculinity") in ways classical leftism rejected as divisive. Result? A left that alienates its natural base and becomes a campus cult irrelevant to factories, warehouses, or trailer parks.

Case 3: Political Suicide — Elite Diversity Without Economic Teeth

Show: Obama to Biden/Harris era: record "firsts" for women/minorities in power, corporate C-suites, media. Symbolic wins everywhere (defund rhetoric, reparations talk, gender ideology). Outcome? Black/White working-class wealth gaps persist or worsen; union density collapses; housing, healthcare, and wages remain crises for the bottom 70%. Populist revolts (Trump 2016/2024, European right surges) punish the "woke left" as out-of-touch elites. Even some left outlets admit it: wokism is electoral poison.

Explain: This proves the substitution. Fascism attacks the left externally and can be fought with broad coalitions. Wokism infiltrates and hollows it out — prioritizing representation at the top (diverse elites) over dismantling the pyramid. It accepts neoliberalism's frame: the system is fine if proportionally "inclusive." Marxists from the old school see it clearly: anti-class, anti-universal, and perfectly compatible with exploitation. It turns potential revolutionaries into infighting identity factions, each begging elites for scraps while capital consolidates. More dangerous than fascism because it doesn't just oppose the left — it replaces it with something sterile and self-sabotaging.

Case 4: The Fragmentation Machine and Working-Class Betrayal

Show: Endless culture wars — cancel culture, sports biology denial, open borders mixed with identity demands — while material issues (deindustrialization, opioid deaths, housing collapse) burn. Working-class minorities often reject the script. Leftist intellectuals (Reed, Michaels, Parenti, even some European Marxists) call it out as betrayal.

Explain: Wokism's core weapon is division. Real left builds solidarity on shared exploitation. Wokism demands loyalty to ever-narrower identities, turning potential allies into oppressors/oppressed. It sterilizes resistance: energy goes to language policing and symbolic purges, not strikes, nationalization, or universal programs like robust welfare that actually lift the bottom. Elites win because fragmented groups are easier to rule. This is why wokism thrives in universities, foundations, and boardrooms — safe "radicalism" that never challenges the economic base. Fascism creates martyrs for the left; wokism creates eunuchs.

Why More Dangerous Than Fascism?

Fascism is crude, visible, and unites the genuine left against a common enemy. Wokism is insidious: it wears the left's skin, speaks its language ("equity," "justice"), but advances elite continuity. It kills the left's soul — universalism, materialism, progress — and leaves a husk obsessed with guilt, grievance, and group essentialism. The result is a "left" that defends the status quo better than any right-winger could.

Theres a very vocal movement within the liberal sphere right now trying to do two things: 1) stop talking about trans people in mainstream politics; 2) complain about having to talk about trans people in mainstream politics.

I don’t know where this comes from but it feels like they’re doing the right-wing thing where you start off with a conviction and then work backward to find the most effective rationale because I feel like to the average leftist this method completely falls apart.

A lot of these people say the issue isn’t a winning issue; that it doesn’t connect with the interests of the median blue collar voter. They say the time we Invest advocating trans politics would be better spent elsewhere.

This is really doing some damage to the brains of my liberal family. They see all these so-called “free thinkers” like Bill Maher (asshole) making a mockery of trans identity and without a strong understanding of trans theory, this seems dangerous.

Thoughts?

Something that has been bugging me is, are these big Celebrities and Idol groups apart of the proletariat.

We always hear that they are abused by Agencies and is exploited to produce money for the Agencies.

For example, the Kpop group New Jeans filed a lawsuit against their parent company Hybe for Mistreatment.

But other famous celebrities like Justin Bieber have been exploited when they were young but are billionaires

So, the previous post was locked for 'low effort', but the question of participating in liberal democracy was discussed (and solved) by Lenin over 100 years ago, as part of his criticism of left communism.

In Western Europe and America, parliament has become most odious [(adversarial)] to the revolutionary vanguard of the working class. That cannot be denied.

Very similar to conditions of today, where we have right wing parties holding that majority of the power. As expected in the dictatorship of the bourgeois.

It would, however, be not only unreasonable but actually criminal to yield to this mood when deciding how this generally recognised evil should be fought....

In Russia, however, lengthy, painful and sanguinary experience has taught us the truth that revolutionary tactics cannot be built on a revolutionary mood alone. Tactics must be based on a sober and strictly objective appraisal of all the class forces in a particular state (and of the states that surround it, and of all states the world over) as well as of the experience of revolutionary movements. It is very easy to show one’s “revolutionary” temper merely by hurling abuse at parliamentary opportunism, or merely by repudiating participation in parliaments; its very ease, however, cannot turn this into a solution of a difficult, a very difficult, problem.

As bad as the conditions are, one shouldn't reject participation in the political system altogether, just because the system itself is antagonistic to left movements. Instead, we need to objectively look at the situation and see how we can proceed.

The question is how we participate in politics.

It is far more difficult to create a really revolutionary parliamentary group in a European parliament than it was in Russia. That stands to reason. But it is only a particular expression of the general truth that it was easy for Russia, in the specific and historically unique situation of 1917, to start the socialist revolution, but it will be more difficult for Russia than for the European countries to continue the revolution and bring it to its consummation. I had occasion to point this out already at the beginning of 1918, and our experience of the past two years has entirely confirmed the correctness of this view.

A little off topic, but here he comments that while revolutions are easier to start in periphery countries, it's difficult for revolutions to continue. While it's the inverse in core countries. Something to keep in mind.

—all these specific conditions [in reference to the circumstances that led to the weakening of the Russian state following WWI] do not at present exist in Western Europe, and a repetition of such or similar conditions will not occur so easily.

Again, very similar to the current situation in US and Western Europe.

Incidentally, apart from a number of other causes, that is why it is more difficult for Western Europe to start a socialist revolution than it was for us. To attempt to “circumvent” this difficulty by “skipping” the arduous job of utilising reactionary parliaments for revolutionary purposes is absolutely childish. You want to create a new society, yet you fear the difficulties involved in forming a good parliamentary group made up of convinced, devoted and heroic Communists, in a reactionary parliament! Is that not childish?

So, here, he acknowledges that while it is extremely difficult to from a new political party comprised of socialists, forming a political party is far easier than a revolution.

If Karl Liebknecht in Germany and Z. Höglund in Sweden were able, even without mass support from below, to set examples of the truly revolutionary utilisation of reactionary parliaments, why should a rapidly growing revolutionary mass party, in the midst of the post-war disillusionment and embitterment of the masses, be unable to forge a communist group in the worst of parliaments?

He then gives examples of how this had been done before. The KPD founded by Liebknecht was one of the founding parties of East Germany. The left party founded by Höglund still exists to this day.

The German “Lefts” complain of bad “leaders” in their party, give way to despair, and even arrive at a ridiculous “negation” of “leaders”. But in conditions in which it is often necessary to hide “leaders” underground, the evolution of good “leaders”, reliable, tested and authoritative, is a very difficult matter; these difficulties cannot be successfully overcome without combining legal and illegal work, and without testing the “leaders”, among other ways, in parliaments. Criticism—the most keen, ruthless and uncompromising criticism—should be directed, not against parliamentarianism or parliamentary activities, but against those leaders who are unable—and still more against those who are unwilling—to utilise parliamentary elections and the parliamentary rostrum in a revolutionary and communist manner.

So all in all, Lenin criticizes two sides of the same coin here: 1. he criticizes people who say electoralism is useless and we shouldn't participate in electorialism and 2. (specific to our current situation on this subreddit) he criticizes the unwillingness to form a separate party.

Not a single time had he suggested that it was a valid strategy to reform a reactionary party, because you think it's futile to form a communist party.

Mind you, this is all within the context of the fact that WE ALREADY HAVE A COMMUNIST PARTY PARTICIPATING IN POLITICS which we can support. So it's not even like we're starting from scratch.

So yea. This sub is taken over by liberals.

in the troubles not the war of independence*

So for context Im a muslim born in the middle east and raised in the UAE, I came to the US for Uni 4 years ago and Im soon to graduate. during those 4 years I got to experience a lot and I would say that early on I would have sided with right wing ideologies more like closed borders, anti lgbt (kinda due to my environment growing up and faith), I was kinda anti woke too and so on.

Later on tho when I got subjected to a hellish amount of racism and discrimination I kinda caught on and realised which side kinda made sense to me or rather was more convenient for me. I think it started when I saw the queer community be very supportive about gaza and everyone really and how the left in general is pro every minority group.

So now even though Im more aware and would say woke I feel kinda ashamed that I still dont really “support” the queer community back, Im definitely more accepting than before and even made some cool friends who are queer or bisexual but I wouldnt really march in a gay parade or be vocal towards their issues maybe still due to my upbringing and pressure from family. I even needed to get bullied into oblivion to switch sides.

So I keep thinking am I really a “leftist” or did I join the side thats more convenient for me

Hey guys, Im new to the US and originally from Egypt. I consider myself a leftist but Im not too sure about politics in general as Im not used to a lot of terms but I consider myself in support of minorities and thats that.

I personally dont like Trump as he’s hella weird and a lot of other reasons but I also saw that Kamala was pro Israel and buddies with Netanyahu so It kinda seems that it was bad option vs worse option.

So sorry if my question is too vague.

Many family members tell me that I shouldn't only read classics, but also current books. Which ones do you recommend?

Happy Juneteenth to all Americans, especially to the white supremacists, the historical revisionists, the lost causers, and of course good ol’ fashioned racists.

Share opinion

(Parent post: )

I made this update because I didn't expect so much feedback and didn't want you all to think I just ignored it, I read what I could during a snack break. I'll be home all day today, checking on this periodically so hopefully I can reply to some before there's 60 replies and I'm overwhelmed TL;DR Yes it was performative, no it wasn't conductive to good therapy, I felt like an ass but it all resolved.

So I made that post yesterday morning a little too late and my ride was here, so I ended up going in the outfit. I didn't say anything during check-in I just 'passively' wore the outfit, and no one else commented on it during group. In fact the other trans person there who's politically active went out of their way to focus on and bring attention to my mask (had polka dots on it, said I was cosplaying "the spot", Spider-Man villain) which should've been a sign. I felt pretty certain I can guess who It was that said something monday, because when I started speaking they left and came back wiping tears. I was confused/surprised as to why they said anything initially as I didn't get that read from them, but mostly I just felt bad.

During break I went and spoke with the therapist, she said she didn't have any new complaints issued and personally she loved it, and shared they censored her before bc of some door decorations for halloween that were political. I wasn't asked to leave or change anything but we got to talking (last time she said something as I was leaving and didn't give much context) and she said maybe they don't disagree it's just triggering. I was already heavily 2nd guessing, but it became crystal clear to me I wasn't doing the right thing. I feel not smart that I didn't even consider this, in my mind there were only 3 options #1. therapist has a personal issue she's hiding behind an "anonymous person" (she's an older woman and we were not clicking, she subbed PHP a few times) #2. therapist is just strictly a rule follower (again I had my biases against her, consider them challenged). #3. There was a secret ICE supporter in group.

Came back from break and my anxiety was through the roof, one of my old PHP group therapists knocked and pulled me. He asked that I wipe the makeup writing and drawings off my face, he started explaining where they're coming from and I commend how well he did it but I was like "Yeah no, I completely agree, I've reached this conclusion myself, I wish I did it earlier, I feel bad". He told me not to feel bad, which was weird to me and told me I shouldn't apologize (In general, but especially to the person that spoke up). He asked about what I wanted and I'd just like to wear my boots on the days I end up wearing them, I explained I've had them for 6 years I only have 2 pairs of shoes, just these and beat up converse, they're so familiar to me I usually don't even think about the implications, but I'd be willing to cover for the wellbeing of group.

I wiped my face and returned to group and felt 10x lighter and the person also looked happier, and as we were leaving they asked about and complimented my bracelets (one says love, other says bitch) I said thank you and complimented their nails, and we wished each other a good weekend.

I'm putting this at the end as it's speculation, but if I had to guess, this person who spoke up shared they have a family that doesn't believe in mental health, that when they ask their mom for emotional support she's the type to say "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" So maybe they didn't disagree or were offended by writing but instead it's just a reminder of how much politics has divided them from their family. And then here I come cranking it up to 11 in retaliation, and now they're thinking I think they're actually a conservative when they aren't and they think I think they're a bad person.

(thinking about it I brought this onto myself because I pointed out my boots when I shared how irritating it is that sayings like that and "blood is thicker that water" are misappropriated, twisted and used in support of the thing they were initially against [you can't pull yourself by bootstraps, you just struggle and waste energy, it's a futile effort that doesn't help, I grabbed and pulled the bootstraps to demonstrate. And the saying is initially "blood of the coven/brotherhood is thicker than water of the womb" meaning intentionally formed bonds are stronger than familial, but it was twisted to support family over all others])

Other additional comments I wanted to make:

I am not actually a confrontational person (outside of apparel or protests i guess, listen I did a lot of freezing and fawning to my abusive father, and I still do when people treat me poorly in my personal life) one of my goals for therapy was handling confrontation/conflict, and facilitating healthy confrontation ( I missed the mark on this one).

We don't really have individual therapy, we're assigned individual therapists, but I met with mine twice not including discharge day for 20mins each, to set up therapy at a different place for blended case management and individual therapy, it's actually bc of insurance which is my next point.

Therapy is like so close to being political to me, everyone I've met one of their biggest problems is healthcare/insurance/their job. Denying things that should be approved, ignoring chronic pain, having limited access, jobs not respecting them, overworking them, giving them higher management responsibilities without the pay. So much of our time is used being like "I have this problem that's a direct cause of late stage capitalism and lack of worker's rights" and the therapists or well-meaning people being like "set boundaries!" and they're like "I did, but they don't give a fuck and will fire me if I'm not letting them abuse me" ad infinitum. It's so frustrating and I do really care about these people despite my self-centered actions yesterday, it's like everything in therapy is antithetical to capitalism, but we can't talk about it. At the very least I do now know the others are somewhat aware and agree, they just have the common sense to not talk about it all in therapy.

Looking for honest opinions on something I do as a business owner.

For context: I'm a cisgender straight white guy in a large southern city, and I believe real reparations are the only thing that would actually rebuild the communities that decades of policy hollowed out. I don't expect that to happen at any meaningful scale in my lifetime, so I try to do what little I can from where I sit; which isn't much under the boot of capitalism.

Here's the specific thing I want your read on. At our annual reviews, I give a slightly larger raise to employees who are women, people of color, or LGBTQIA+. It's a small bump, not a dramatic gap, but it's deliberate.

Nobody knows except my wife, who thinks it's a weird thing to do. I'm also fairly sure it isn't legal. So what do you think? Is this a reasonable way to use the small amount of power I have, or am I kidding myself?

(For what it's worth, we do plenty of other stuff too: fundraisers, free meals for staff at local orgs, fair hiring, and we're vocal politically and socially both in the shop and online. This is just one piece.)