Yeah there is a massive range of disagreement under the umbrella term “leftists”. Marxist, Marxist-Leninist, Trotskyist, Maoist, Communization theory, Anarcho-communist, Eco-anarchist, Christian anarchist, etc. etc.

The political spectrum in the U.S. omits leftists entirely. Both Republicans and Democrats are pro-capitalism and pro-U.S. imperialism.

Easy, they just conclude that only white males are qualified. You know, because white supremacy and sexism.

As a POC, I’ve encountered this form of argument implicitly in several conversations. Why do X group of people not have better outcomes concerning some metric? Don’t blame the system (it’s a meritocracy) so blame the group of people.

In how many worlds did the internal contradictions of capitalism lead us into a global fascist techno-feudalism? That’s what I’d like to know.

Particularly good

Actually inspiring.

omg I am so sorry

I try to take care of my health as much as possible because I cannot afford to have a medical emergency.

If you only saw a bear in a circus you would think it’s nature was to ride a unicycle.

Humans have had to live in brutish/nasty conditions; including the present day, where many of us are drowning in debt, two paychecks away from homelessness while a few are trying to make more money than they could ever spend.

The boot of capitalism is on our necks, but I’m not sure my countrymen are worth fighting for. Americans may be too far gone. Maybe I should just leave.

Obligatory: everyone should read The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin. (The aforementioned quote is hers.) Science fiction anarcho-comminist community depicted as having tangible benefits/detriments.

The problem isn’t “human nature”. The problem is that, under capitalism, profit must always be increased. Marx talked about the inherent contradiction here, viz, we use the finite materials of nature in a quest for infinite profit. Put simply, if the table company wants to make more money, they’re going to have to chop more trees.

Just as the rise of merchants was an untenable contradiction in the logic of feudalism, the many contradictions within capitalism indicate that it cannot last. It will likely collapse into a technologically advanced socialism or a technologically oppressive fascism.

Human labor transforms the physical materials of nature into useful goods. Humans can decide how to collectively organize their labor.

We don’t actually need money to feed anyone (look at indigenous tribes for example). We have collectively decided to put paywalls on everything we produce. Which is a shame, because we produce more than enough for everyone.

Would you say that gives you … Food for thought?

I supported Bernie but the DNC are not legally required to be impartial. I voted for Obama, twice, but he turned out to be an establishment Democrat (despite the “Change” slogan).

Setting my own voting aside, imagine someone complaining about voting in Russia and you respond with: 1) Either run for office yourself or 2) Vote for who you like. That response completely misses the point. The electoral system is inherently flawed and aggressively suppresses attempts at reform that would actually represent the people.

Unironically typing “repeat the mistakes of the past” with ignoring the history of how we got here displays an astoundingly myopic view of recent events. Both parties serve the same billionaires, which is why the Republicans do what they want and Dems are content with “decorum”. In fact, our two-parties have displayed a remarkable overlap on the Venn Diagram:

• Republicans and Democrats both vote to increase ICE funding every year. 
• Republicans and Democrats in Congress both practice insider trading. 
• Republicans and Democrats presidents both bail out corporations that are "too big to fail" (i.e., Bush Jr., Obama).
• Republicans and Democrats both vote to give corporations subsides (i.e., corporate welfare). 
• Republicans and Democrats both receive campaign finances from billionaires (i.e., legal bribery). 
• Republican and Democrat presidents both order drone strike, resulting in mass civilian casualties.
• Republican and Democrat presidents have both bombed countries without Congressional approval (e.g., Trump, Biden). 
• Republicans and Democrats both kept Guantanamo Bay open for decades. (A precursor for Trump's treatment of immigrants.) 
• Republicans and Democrats both crack down on whistle blowers. 
• Republicans and Democrats both maintain a surveillance state on its citizens. 
• Republican and Democrat administrations both assassinated democratically elected leaders overseas. 
• Republicans and Democrats both fund Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people. 

Trump was not created ex nihilo. Presidential power has been growing for decades. Congress has been blatantly corrupt for decades. We have broken (and supported breaking) international laws for decades. Trump is a symptom of a larger problem: our government functions to serve profit rather than people. The problem will continue long after he is gone, unless the American people demand more.

They will just deny reality. It’s funny how the conspiracy theories always work in favor of their political party.

Which begs the question: how long have they been knowingly sitting on these emails?

That’s helpful, thanks Cowbee. I know socialism is a transitional state but I thought that the bar was much much higher and/or the weeding out of private property/profit would happen faster by necessity. Which isn’t to downplay China’s achievements but it is confusing for someone just reading this stuff.