Capital is important by no means a good starting point I would start in on some modern Marxist theory. David Harvey is on the more accessible side. Marx has to be worked through from the beginning, understanding that his critique of hegel and historiography is the basis for anything with a formula is essential
Who would be an ideal VP for Bernie(if he wins the norm? )Moderate Democrats to win over the swing votes or more/similar progressive to energize the campaign?
Capital is important by no means a good starting point I would start in on some modern Marxist theory. David Harvey is on the more accessible side. Marx has to be worked through from the beginning, understanding that his critique of hegel and historiography is the basis for anything with a formula is essential
Who would be an ideal VP for Bernie(if he wins the norm? )Moderate Democrats to win over the swing votes or more/similar progressive to energize the campaign?
I think it's gotta be another Socialist/Progressive. Everyting that has been built relies on being able to maintain the momentum of the movement and having the working class forcibly take what belongs to them. They will need motivation to keep doing that. Having a moderate as VP would stop that motivation cold if Bernie did kick the bucket.
The Republican party will not go back to Mitt Romney or John McCain types. They will put forward another Trump. Left wing populism must continue to strengthen in order to counter this. Nobody is going to unite behind a moderate anymore.
I think it's gotta be another Socialist/Progressive. Everyting that has been built relies on being able to maintain the momentum of the movement and having the working class forcibly take what belongs to them. They will need motivation to keep doing that. Having a moderate as VP would stop that motivation cold if Bernie did kick the bucket.
The Republican party will not go back to Mitt Romney or John McCain types. They will put forward another Trump. Left wing populism must continue to strengthen in order to counter this. Nobody is going to unite behind a moderate anymore.
I think it's gotta be another Socialist/Progressive. Everyting that has been built relies on being able to maintain the momentum of the movement and having the working class forcibly take what belongs to them. They will need motivation to keep doing that. Having a moderate as VP would stop that motivation cold if Bernie did kick the bucket.
The Republican party will not go back to Mitt Romney or John McCain types. They will put forward another Trump. Left wing populism must continue to strengthen in order to counter this. Nobody is going to unite behind a moderate anymore.
Yeah, the Democrats/Sanders have to strategize like the Republicans instead of always compromising. A Republican president would rather double down and choose a VP that's roughly as conservative as them, if not more, instead of pandering to centrists. As Innuendo Studios would put it, say what you will about Republicans, they do believe in something. They're shitty beliefs, but they're strong beliefs nonetheless.
Luckily, Sanders being a man of principles and convictions, I think he'll double down. People who think he'll go with someone like Klobuchar don't understand the kind of politician he is IMO.
Hello comrades! (I always find it funny when people say that, but I do enjoy it) :)
Not sure how in vogue the UK Labour Party are at the moment with you guys, I've been thinking of cutting back and cancelling my membership due to costs and starting to think that maybe party politics aren't the solution to the problems we face in our current hellhole. None the less I got the email to vote for the next leader! I haven't been paying too much attention to this but I did a little bit of reading and I made my choices (Thank goodness it's preferential voting).
Rebecca Long-Bailey - I liked her policies on replacing the House Of Lords and going for PR voting in elections, Gender Recognition Act and Trans Rights.
Kier Starmer - I actually managed to meet Kier once when I worked at a community centre in his constituency, I thought he was towering and scary! I liked his Green Industrial Revolution idea, supporting freedom of movement and ending arms sales.
Lisa Nandy - I don't know too much about her. Her mutalism of the BBC (Where the ownership is shared with those who pay for it). Very dissapointed by her commitment to renew Trident but it is understandably a pragmatic choice.
Bear in mind I've been quite ignorant on a lot of the gossip, so if I ended up making the wrong choices I'm so sorry, and if it's not appropriate for this thread I'll cut it out!
I've been looking at ways to get involved in activism and helping to fight for a fairer society outside of political parties. I know about the larger groups like Extinction Rebellion, Stop The War, etc but I want to be a bit more disobdient and not just marching occassions.
Capital is important by no means a good starting point I would start in on some modern Marxist theory. David Harvey is on the more accessible side. Marx has to be worked through from the beginning, understanding that his critique of hegel and historiography is the basis for anything with a formula is essential
David Harvey has a book that is literally "A Companion to Marx's Capital", which both enables an easier reading as well as explains it in modern context. I'd recommend that for anyone.
In recent years, we have witnessed a surge of interest in Marx’s work in the effort to understand the origins of our current predicament. For nearly forty years, David Harvey has written and lectured on Capital, becoming one of the world’s most foremost Marx scholars. Based on his recent...
Not to fall into Great Man Theory but I'm still thinking about how Bernie is the only candidate on that stage to openly condemn American foreign policy as imperialist and supporting coups to overthrow governments all over the world. That the debate moderators tried to weaponize his Jewish identity against him as he is the only one remotely critical of Israel and its government. Bernie is the only honest candidate on that stage. He doesn't self moderate, he doesn't try to give juicy soundbites, he doesn't try to play to both lanes. He says what he feels. He's the only one willing to discuss the role America plays in enabling fascist and far-right governments all around the world.
Bernie may not win the nomination, but if he doesn't, I'm glad he spoke his truth.
The election really has brought out the problem with how we traditionally choose candidates. For a long time it's been more about window shopping the candidates based on how they say things, how they look, and their overall aesthetic presentation over what they actually stand for.
It's reached this level of absurdity now that we have an actual candidate that is looking to *actually change* the system. People are dying from the status quo and people who are safe from that fate can't see why kids like cinnamon toast crunch. Not to say everyone who supports Warren is like that, but I've seen a lot of people online that care more about the candidate than the message.
i've pretty much in the same boat, been an active participant in the posting wars, regularly interact with leftist twitter, and listen to pods like chapo, but have (finally) started to organize and participate in local socialist groups (this part is especially important to me, given that true leftist movements don't have a ton of momentum in canada yet).
next i gotta read some fuckin theory. watched numerous docs but haven't explored fundamental things like das kapital, etc. and then i eventually want to pursue a career that somehow contributes to leftist causes
I have to take an introduction to business class for my accounting major and the book is just overflowing with unexamined bourgeois ideology. While I understand that neoliberalism is the party line, so to speak, coming to it after being exposed to Foucault or Chomsky or Marx or Zizek is surreal.
They think billionaires are hoarding wealth because of jetpacks
Gee I can't imagine why Sanders is popular. Any other politician wouldn't bashed like this in the name of impartiality.
The economics section thinks that the us federal budget is a household budget and is constrained by tax income. It's deficit racket ideology.
What the fuck?? Churchill never even said that he said that! He said that democracy was the worst form of government, not capitalism. Holy shit, talk about lying to the reader to peddle your ideology. Democracy is not capitalism is not democracy. They're two separate things.
Family friend from China is staying here (coronavirus fuckery) briefly and I was able to talk to them pretty well about the benefits of socialism and why it has to be the way forward, and got them on board before I had to use the dreaded C word. (They do recognize that China is not a truly communist country.) Feel like I did a good job of answering basically any question they threw at me.
Maybe my future is to make a racket being a socialist professor or something, tweeting about five hour work days while collecting royalties on books like a good capitalist.
Family friend from China is staying here (coronavirus fuckery) briefly and I was able to talk to them pretty well about the benefits of socialism and why it has to be the way forward, and got them on board before I had to use the dreaded C word. (They do recognize that China is not a truly communist country.) Feel like I did a good job of answering basically any question they threw at me.
Maybe my future is to make a racket being a socialist professor or something, tweeting about five hour work days while collecting royalties on books like a good capitalist.
On the subject of the DNC primaries, I do hope Bernie wins but given the latest developments it always seems to go the way of centerists/political right, so I'll expect the worst and hope it's not as bad as what I think is going to happen. Glass half empty and all that, but given I'm a Londoner I'm just an onlooker to this.
I read a book today called "For A Left Populism" by Chantal Mouffe. I didn't really think too much of it to be honest, I was just bored reading it and the book doesn't give any clear points as far as I'm aware. Lots of buzzwords, jargon and full of wellwishing in how to win over the public. Maybe someone in the thread can correct me on this but I didn't get out of it what I thought I would.
Absolute Beginners: Directed by Gareth Davies. With Charles Kay, Bruce Purchase, Patrick Stewart, Lynn Farleigh. In Russia in 1903, Nicholas II has been Tsar for nine years and nobody no longer doubts that revolution soon will come. The important questions at the moment are how, when, and led by...
Absolute Beginners: Directed by Gareth Davies. With Charles Kay, Bruce Purchase, Patrick Stewart, Lynn Farleigh. In Russia in 1903, Nicholas II has been Tsar for nine years and nobody no longer doubts that revolution soon will come. The important questions at the moment are how, when, and led by...