Post AkT5AeqG90XHfc4wgC by brashley46@mstdn.io
(DIR) More posts by brashley46@mstdn.io
(DIR) Post #AkPAKjmMMiez162aOm by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-28T23:42:59Z
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Who wants to debate me on communism?
(DIR) Post #AkPAaVbWpn6fgiUkIS by hp@mastodon.tmm.cx
2024-07-28T23:45:43Z
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@Radical_EgoCom it depends? I love a good debate but I'm probably already largely on your side.I'm more of a socialist than a communist though, so maybe that's something?
(DIR) Post #AkPAtWfB7bZETSGoAi by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-28T23:49:14Z
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@hp I suppose it depends on what kind of socialist you are.
(DIR) Post #AkPBOvX0iCuIZwQHFg by hp@mastodon.tmm.cx
2024-07-28T23:54:56Z
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@Radical_EgoCom my base assumption is "nobody chose to be here. It is immoral that being born means you have to work for someone else or suffer."I also believe government is inherently conservative and isn't necessarily well equipped to do things nobody thought of. So you need some kind of resources used to explore weird ideas.Allowing people to increase personal wealth to a point to try to keep that part going, while making sure *everyone* is not only surviving but thriving.
(DIR) Post #AkPC6SWdutJNMO0atU by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T00:02:48Z
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@hp I'm at odds with allowing personal wealth accumulation as a solution to inequality. I'm for the abolition of private property and wealth accumulation. Instead, I support collective ownership and the redistribution of resources to achieve economic and social equality.
(DIR) Post #AkPCEeWtAbLwuG1xo0 by hp@mastodon.tmm.cx
2024-07-29T00:04:16Z
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@Radical_EgoCom are we having a debate now? 😄
(DIR) Post #AkPCN7Mlq6CmeuKnQG by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T00:05:49Z
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@hp Yes, I suppose so! 😄
(DIR) Post #AkPCjoyKOXGKGpj9ns by hp@mastodon.tmm.cx
2024-07-29T00:09:54Z
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@Radical_EgoCom haha, alright!I like the idea, but in my mind that seems also inherently conservative. How do "people" pool resources to do something like build a factory to build something that nobody knows they want?For instance, integrated circuits. Most people are Luddites today. It seems to me that if we had installed that system in the 50s we'd be living in the 50s today. And the same for any time in history.I don't know if you can "democracy" yourself out of the inertia of... 1/2
(DIR) Post #AkPEuN7IV56iyM56wa by hp@mastodon.tmm.cx
2024-07-29T00:14:17Z
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@Radical_EgoCom ...large groups of individuals.Some kind of democratically elected technocrats perhaps. But I'm not sure how that would work either.My base standpoint is basically: communism is inherently conservative and people are bad at knowing that they want something they have never seen before.To me, those are fatal flaws.This is all of course assuming that everyone's needs and current wants are met. I do not believe capitalism is doing any of this either. 2/2
(DIR) Post #AkPEuOK60ywIiL4qX2 by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T00:34:11Z
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@hp The limitations you describe, such as how a socialist system can manage innovation, resource allocation, and adaptation to future needs, can be overcome through a more flexible form of centralized planning that is responsive to new information combined with a shift from the capitalist focus on profit to a focus on improving people's quality of life.
(DIR) Post #AkPF41THpe1Ajiy7F2 by hp@mastodon.tmm.cx
2024-07-29T00:35:58Z
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@Radical_EgoCom I think socialism can, but I'm not so sure communism can. At least not in my understanding of communism.
(DIR) Post #AkPIgTC5VYu7aDwsSW by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T01:16:31Z
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@hp I'm also not "sure" communism can either, and by that, I mean communism is purely theoretical, so any talk about what will happen in a communist society is purely hypothetical. Socialism, on the other hand, has long since been implemented into real world systems, and we know beyond theoretical frameworks that socialism has the capabilities to resolve the problems you mentioned. According to Marxist theory, a socialist society will eventually eliminate the class distinctions within...1/3
(DIR) Post #AkPIj2MBkCSVDatgmG by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T01:17:00Z
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@hp ...that society, inevitably leading to the state becoming obsolete and inevitably "withering away," as Lenin put it, resulting in a stateless and classless communist society. If the above problems mentioned were to be resolved during the socialist period, then the same mechanisms for resolving those problems would likely continue to exist in some form when that society transitions into communism, with said mechanisms having already being honed in and perfected under socialism, so...2/3
(DIR) Post #AkPIkODvvflbKJgHZY by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T01:17:14Z
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@hp ...it would be safe to say that the above problems would just as likely be able to be resolved in a communist society as in a socialist society. 3/3
(DIR) Post #AkPJ5dVAJz5an8s8mG by hp@mastodon.tmm.cx
2024-07-29T01:21:05Z
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@Radical_EgoCom I need to go sleep! I'll reply when I wake up.Thank you for the chat so far!
(DIR) Post #AkPJ8te0lABpj4Z3bs by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T01:21:39Z
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@hp No problem. Goodnight!
(DIR) Post #AkPf7pszRhmUltTCm8 by TheSwiftDojo@iosdev.space
2024-07-29T05:27:58Z
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@Radical_EgoCom which side of the wall went in search of better conditions when the wall fell down around Berlin?
(DIR) Post #AkQ4NDVgOMvTEp00v2 by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T10:10:54Z
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@TheSwiftDojo I'm not sure what you mean by this question.
(DIR) Post #AkQFemkDk924w0NYlE by WillA763@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T12:17:19Z
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@Radical_EgoCom Seeing how I’m a pinko, we’d probably just end up debating which variant of Communism we should have, instead. I’m not sure how fruitful that would be. Most people on the left still don’t care, & the ones who say they do have never read Marx & remain unsure what a socialist is outside of a few platitudes about equality. Honestly, we need to do a better job of educating people than anything else.
(DIR) Post #AkQPLtDCTMCt24Yw1g by hp@mastodon.tmm.cx
2024-07-29T14:04:57Z
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@Radical_EgoCom I think maybe it would be good to talk about "equality". Perhaps we have different definitions.So for me, equality shouldn't be a goal as different people have different wants and needs.I don't want a car, but other people do. Is me not having a car me being "unequal"? I don't think so.So for me, likewise, some people having more "stuff" doesn't bother me at all if I have the stuff I want.If some people are motivated by stuff, and others are not that is fine by me.
(DIR) Post #AkQQjz4aQt3y79aQhU by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T14:21:11Z
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@hp What you're taking about sounds more like uniformity than it does equality. Equality in the realms of economics, class, society, and politics is what Marxist aspire for, not for a uniformity in which everyone is exactly the same and has the exact same things. Equality, in which economic, social, and political inequalities are eliminated, should absolutely be the goal.
(DIR) Post #AkQUBhBSpxTybSi0yu by hp@mastodon.tmm.cx
2024-07-29T15:00:04Z
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@Radical_EgoCom Can you explain what you mean by equality in that context?This is probably a lapse in my imagination, but I don't quite understand what that would mean in the way you use the word.Equality in the sense of participation, power, choice, access to resources I'm all in favor of by the way! :)
(DIR) Post #AkQUwOuwZL1JYrFiIS by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T15:08:35Z
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@hp By "equality," I'm referring to the idea of eliminating inequalities across various domains such as economics, class, society, and politics, which would mean ensuring that all individuals have equal opportunities and access to resources, rights, and privileges. In this context, the goal of equality is to fix unfair differences and ensure that everyone has fair opportunities and treatment while still respecting individual differences.
(DIR) Post #AkQVWKERT0rTSEVENE by hp@mastodon.tmm.cx
2024-07-29T15:15:03Z
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@Radical_EgoCom We probably don't actually disagree there then. This debate isn't going so great.:)
(DIR) Post #AkQdFUqDZH3J4Kesl6 by hp@mastodon.tmm.cx
2024-07-29T16:30:30Z
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@Radical_EgoCom yeah, I think you recap: we both seem to want the same thing, but you are (marginally?) more convinced that communism can adapt and encourage change than I am.Do you want to try to find more differences?
(DIR) Post #AkQdFVd8dOBTW3Xx0i by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T16:41:37Z
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@hp Well, there are a few differences between ML and other ideologies. One is historical materialism, which is the idea that material conditions and economic factors primarily drive historical development. This theory allows ML to be adaptable as it evolves to address new material conditions and class struggles. Another difference is ML's advocacy of a vanguard party in leading the revolutionary process and guiding the transition to communism, which ML proposes is crucial for implementing...
(DIR) Post #AkQdGOwsxfez5ECzvU by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T16:41:50Z
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@hp ...changes effectively and ensuring that the transition to a communist society is successful. Another very important difference is ML's critique or reformism. It critiques reformist approaches for being insufficiently radical in addressing systemic issues. While other approaches advocate for gradual change, ML seeks fundamental transformation through revolutionary means.
(DIR) Post #AkQe9lk9ueJBhteoD2 by TheSwiftDojo@iosdev.space
2024-07-29T16:49:59Z
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@Radical_EgoCom when the restriction fell which people went to the other side?
(DIR) Post #AkQfzT5UcUlYrKqsbo by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T17:12:18Z
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@TheSwiftDojo The migration from East to West Germany was a result of many things. The economic and political instability in East Germany was partly a consequence of imperialist and capitalist pressures from the West, the West having vested interest in undermining socialist states. Another reason for the migrations was the Western propaganda and ideological warfare that portrayed East Germany as a less desirable place to live, leading some East Germans to become dissatisfied with socialism.1/2
(DIR) Post #AkQg0hrJBcAixdo8gq by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T17:12:33Z
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@TheSwiftDojo The specific problem of East Germany was a result of specific historical and external factors, and not due to an inherent flaw in Marxist-Leninist theory. 2/2
(DIR) Post #AkQgjJEHbYSpbap1sW by TheSwiftDojo@iosdev.space
2024-07-29T17:18:14Z
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@Radical_EgoCom right the theory is sound it’s the practice that has problems living the theory. Nice solution.
(DIR) Post #AkQkmwnpKPjl1cRCk4 by hassmeister@mas.to
2024-07-29T18:06:05Z
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@Radical_EgoCom Isn't communism a russian thing?
(DIR) Post #AkQmFqxcECNbG4MbTM by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-29T18:22:35Z
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@hassmeister No. Communism isn't just Russian. Marxism-Leninism, a specific version of communism, became prominent in Russia after 1917. Communism itself started with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who were German. Communism has influenced many countries and movements worldwide. The Russian version is just one adaptation of a broader ideology.
(DIR) Post #AkRIXDGljaF3u7dzVI by Noahharvey@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T00:24:13Z
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@Radical_EgoCom I'm a libertarian communist up to a point... I don't believe we'll reach a utopia free from struggle but the forces of history shaping our lives by way of class struggle is predictive as far as being a valid standpoint for describing our economic realities. Taken too far communism can be taken more as a religion than as a lens to reveal the causal impact of the hoarding of wealth and disregard for those left behind
(DIR) Post #AkRMjhFmTnV0BpOF96 by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T01:11:19Z
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@Noahharvey Dogmatism is a concern within communist movements. A communist movement must remain flexible to the material conditions of the society it's operating within in order to best help the people within their society, and it must do this without abandoning or moderating communist principles because it's those principles that will liberate the working class and progress humanity.
(DIR) Post #AkRNZUiAM97mLiMkgi by Noahharvey@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T01:20:44Z
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@Radical_EgoCom easier said than done. Especially with nazbols muddling the waters with red brownism. Don't get me started
(DIR) Post #AkROFQrH4XHiYscjr6 by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T01:28:19Z
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@Noahharvey There needs to be principled theoretical and practical standards to maintain ideological purity within communist movements. Not doing so would inevitably lead to the movement being infiltrated by all kinds of revisionist and reactionary people and ideas, which will degrade the movement and either destroy it or morph it into a movement completely opposed to the principles of communism. Ideological purity is the most important thing.
(DIR) Post #AkRP8IKGUsI01fLPii by Noahharvey@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T01:38:13Z
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@Radical_EgoCom good luck with the sales pitch re:ideological purityIn general I support the grass roots effort to have a center of political power outside of corporate spaces and main stream political parties.At a point though in the big picture I have to take what I can get re: allies and collaborators Which is to say I will work with communists as long as their adherence to ideology doesn't devolve into an increasingly small circle jerk that doesn't speak to the actual working class
(DIR) Post #AkRPsYhpvbGA9IQjdg by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T01:46:35Z
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@Noahharvey Alliances and collaborations with other groups will likely be necessary, but when doing so it's important to have boundaries set in place to prevent your group from diverging off their intended path, otherwise your group will become susceptible to being influenced and infiltrated by reactionism and revisionism.
(DIR) Post #AkSPOjbf1x0GQVHR1k by tofugolem@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T13:15:52Z
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@Radical_EgoCom Eh. If a politician stood up and said "Vote for me! I just made up a new economic system that involves using rotting avocado pits for currency, I would for for him. I'm not crazy about Marx's solution, but at this point I'll take anything that is not capitalism.
(DIR) Post #AkSSXlgixZuNLqeDi4 by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T13:45:28Z
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@tofugolem You say you're not crazy about Marx's solution. What is it about his solution that you don't like?
(DIR) Post #AkSUiWNSQPtKxYtJ8y by tofugolem@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T14:15:02Z
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@Radical_EgoCom He kept invoking science despite the fact that he was from the humanities department.In actual science, the first proposed solution rarely turns out to be correct, even when it is suggested by an award-winning scientist who is very intelligent and very knowledgeable about the subject.Instead of saying "This is the one and only solution, nothing else will work," what he should have done was say "This is the problem. Here is how you break it down into smaller problems…"1/
(DIR) Post #AkSW6mJSvcO1Hs9dPU by tofugolem@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T14:17:44Z
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@Radical_EgoCom "…then you iteratively break those problems down into yet more numerous simpler problems until you get something that can be tested using the scientific method.""Here's a suggested methodology for using cities, provinces, or even nations as control groups and experimental groups. Make sure to debate the results to guide the next series of tests."The solution is likely to be complex and unexpected. The above is the best way to seek a solution.2/2
(DIR) Post #AkSW6nYkIICf9YJLrk by Radical_EgoCom@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T14:30:32Z
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@tofugolem Are you trying to accuse Marx of claiming that his theories were correct without ever applying the scientific method? Because that's false. He did conclude that the solution was a proletarian revolution and proletarian class dictatorship, but he didn't just claim it to be so and expected everyone to just accept it. He and Friedrich Engels wrote dozens of books that contained logical and evidence-based reasoning to support their conclusion. "Das Kapital" is probably the best example.
(DIR) Post #AkSW6ocgL8wiS3A0dk by tofugolem@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T14:19:32Z
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@Radical_EgoCom Addendum:The Cold War was an ideal time to conduct lots of large-scale experiments on different ways to arrange socialist economies. They didn't do nearly enough of that in my opinion.
(DIR) Post #AkT36i3m2QhEaGODrs by Noahharvey@mastodon.social
2024-07-30T20:40:38Z
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@Radical_EgoCom kinda like what actually happened in history.The struggle is real but as we can see how it pans out there is always going to be a corresponding backlash. There's no point at which the forces of reaction cease to exist in a utopian harmony.Which is not to say it's pointless to organize. It's more to say let history speak to attempts at maintaining ideological purity. The beat goes on.
(DIR) Post #AkT5AeqG90XHfc4wgC by brashley46@mstdn.io
2024-07-30T21:03:25Z
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@Radical_EgoCom I am not sure I have the ability ... I used to write a pretty fair polemic style, modeled on my old former comrade Stephane Just, but I am old now.