The collapse of the American empire would benefit almost every other country. I am starting to feel that since I live in America I should want to accelerate the collapse (or make sure one happens if things start to go back to business as usual). Can someone tell me why this is a bad idea so that I don’t make a mistake here.
In my mind, accelerationism comes from the same thread of thought that adventurism comes from. It comes from an alienation from the masses & a certain amount of nihilism that leads us to believe the only way is for us to accelerate. Being isolated from people who think the way you do, especially about the way out, will also produce these feelings.
When I first understood communism as the solution, I tried to convince everyone around me. While I did convince people, it required a long & concerted effort over time. People in the US grew up their whole lives learning that communism was literally the fucking devil, even if logically it is the correct solution it is still going to be resisted. But when things get bad, those same people I tried to convince over time start to see it for themselves & they reach back out for answers. Your ability to convince people will not just be a quick conversation - establishing socialism in the US will be a generational project. The Soviet Union developed their project for arguably 20-30 years before the October revolution. China had a 30 year civil war before they won.
There is a fascist regime currently consolidating power wherever it can. There is more open defiance of the regime in power than we’ve ever seen before. There is plenty of energy to be redirected into organizing the masses & radicalizing people. This will continue - the degradation of material conditions will continue with or without you. The collapse will also come. But now is the time to put in the ground work so that people will look to you in the future.
Accelerationism increases the degradation of material conditions with no alternative. This simply leads to nihilism & creates a breeding ground for fascism. When the collapse comes, the means of production aka the way this society produces the things we need, will be degraded without an organized working force that can take control of it. These are the times when the masses can fight & take control, not react to & say “i told you so”. The qualitative change, aka the “collapse”, is the time for revolution - don’t you want to be ready?