By criticizing an entire community as not completely, thoroughly materialist or not completely read in “intellectual tradition”, they’ve ironically gone completely around and become idealist.

It’s actually a non-criticism, since of course we are supposed to (and strive to) beat the idealism out of us that we grow up with. It’s already a given -everybody knows that.

So it looks like they are just using that and their “intellectual tradition” to pat themselves on the back.

Thanks comrade! Will investigate that book if I can find it. I was thinking of checking out a book by a Chinese-Australian author, I remember Jeffrey Sachs interviewed her, called Chinese statecraft. I think there is some geographic/material analysis about ancient China but it’s more geared towards modern times. Could be a bit socdem as well but I found Sachs interview with the author very good.

I’ve read a bit about the transition to serfdom post-Rome and this is generally correct, and is certainly the correct way to think about it.

There are some additional concerns when it comes to large scale slave society like Rome was, among other things includes stuff like geographic and technological limitations (roads, ocean, ships, animal and human muscle power), biological limitations (slaves die under horrific conditions). Basically a web of things that long term suggest an expanding slave society (or slavery itself) is unsustainable, and that the transition to serfdom is based in the eventual material need of the ruling class to transform labor from slaves to serfs as slave influx becomes less, and thus they become more expensive.

Then there are things like debt that polarize economies and change human relations, and steer economic policy to serfdom as well. Geography can influence the policy towards emerging peasantry, too - like if there is too much free land then you’d want your peasants to bound to your land. And the opposite: if there isn’t free land then your peasants can have more rights and mobility.

Just thought I’d add these additional concerns to a really good post.

Do you have anything to read about Chinese “feudalism” or whatever Marx called the Asiatic MOP? It’s so hard to find anything and I basically know nothing at all about what is going on at that point in time/space. My hunch is that geography is really really important.

The downvote count is counting votes for genocide

Maybe even

trillions

of deaths

I floated around several different jobs. Never found anything I liked so I decided to move back in with my parents so I can do the last few things I need to change careers/apply for physical therapy school, and I’m older than you.

I don’t know if there’s any otherworldly insight to it other than I just really love exercise and training.

When I was working other jobs, I felt like two different people. I had my job that I honestly didn’t give a flying fuck about, had no motivation, made me depressed and just couldn’t force myself to be interested in. I had to pretend to care while surrounded by people who did care.

And when I was doing my physical training for the sports I love I was/am a completely different person- much happier and learning new things because I care.

On mental health: I think not being in a career adjacent to my passions really, really hurt me. It’s not like I’ve solved my depression but I can wake up now with something to look forward to, a path that I actually want to walk on.

It was passion that I had to build on but there was always an interest in exercise even before I can say I developed it into a passion. I was previously going to college for physical therapy, changed direction, but built my passion and now coming back to it, it all seems to make sense. Maybe there is something you have enjoyed in that past that you can return to build on?

And the big thing I can say is try not to get too down. This isn’t uncommon nowadays for people around our ages.

Don’t think of these years as wasted years, but learning years. I always felt like I was spinning my wheels and there’s a lot of truth in that. My parents always wondering what I was doing etc., is a terrible burden. But maybe in a way, I wasnt ready to go down that road since I hadn’t the passion for it yet, and the world didn’t make sense to my neurodivergent brain because I hadn’t learned Marxism yet, either.

And I suppose while we’re at it (to use Marxist terms), my experiences and internal contradictions weren’t strong enough yet that they’d need to resolve themselves by producing a new decision to go back to school.

I became an ML the day I found r/GenZedong lol. Didn’t get banned from anything.

“Barbarians raid another state for their plane”

The socdem failure is now complete. When I left them I was but the learner now I am the master.

Cheers comrade

Shucks it wants me to download an app

You’re trying to get as many people introduced to Marxist ideas as possible. And whilst you will get some people to explore further down and eventually some will become Marxists, others will reject it or stay aligned on only certain issues. That’s just how it is.

This kind of applies to every level of radicalization to be honest, bar like once someone grasps the historical materialist/scientific interpretation of history. But that is much further down the pipeline than someone like Hasan is.

So for example he will have some viewers who become Marxists after hearing the deprogram podcast and then checking out Hakim, and then falling even further down (Hasan has been on the deprogram), whilst some viewers might stay and watch Hasan only for info about Palestine, or some may stay social democrats.

I will disagree with this on my interpretation of “how the sausage is made”. I don’t think I’ve seen a fascist who understands how capitalism actually works.

Telling someone they’d be speaking German were it not for Lenin or Stalin usually shuts them up pretty quickly

If making memes is what you like to do, ideally you read some theory to help make memes that better convey ML ideas. Only reading theory is not enough by itself.

Also I kinda will walk back, or maybe clarify, a little of what I said, specifically about Hasan “occupying an important niche”. Whilst he occupies that niche, that’s not to say that he’s the only person in that niche nor that there’s only room for one person in there. Also not saying that someone else cant come along and do better.

But the real world results matter and I know there are a lot of people here who might not be here without Hasan, myself included. And remember not everyone is going to become a Marxist when you’re that high up on the pipeline.

I go back and forth on Hasan. But in general I think he occupies an important part of the pipeline that isn’t an actual dead end ala destiny/vaush. And whilst he has criticised China, the last time I heard him do that it was honestly rather feeble or felt like stock criticism (“they could loosen up censorship”). Then he’s got gigachad Xi/China emojis that you’ll see in his chat all the time. This is obviously the beginning of normalizing China for many watchers, not unlike the memes that many of us saw on GenZedong before reddit shut it down (although GZ was way more radical).

This, with his connections to the deprogram, who directly interface with non-MLM Marxist theory, is a pipeline. From there you’re a hop away from Professor Wolf, who isn’t far from Geopolitical Economy Report/Hudson/Prashad etc. I’d like to see a bit more direct interface between creators at the level of the deprogram etc make an effort to lead to Wolf/GER a bit more but I’m so out of the loop with “breadtube” maybe that’s already happening.

Hasan (and the deprogram, but especially Hasan as a giant “influencer” ) does have to work within a capitalist framework which makes him petty bgz but it feels wrong to group him with the rest.

There absolutely can be a contradiction between his material interest of keeping his followers vs keeping the valve to the pipeline open. Maybe he could make more an effort to lead his followers to unknowingly allow themselves to fall further down the pipeline, but again Ive moved beyond that area of the pipeline (as you’re supposed to) and haven’t made an effort to monitor it so I can’t offer much more than just giving an outline of how this works and what problems can arise.

But at what cost??

I don’t usually get too mad but this story really pissed me off.

Amazon is fucking disgusting and Bezos is human filth. This cannot be said enough. I had a coworker who worked one day and quit because they told me it was the most dehumanizing and depressing place they had ever been.

The only justice is that Bezos and his kind will eventually go the way of history and will be remembered as filth and losers. And they will be swept away, and all the capital in the world cannot change the tide. But for now they are the worst of the worst.

There were many good arguments. Youre just ok with genocide and/or weren’t smart enough to understand them 👍

Most people in Taiwan want the status quo continuation, which does not require American involvement. That status quo is also beneficial to both Taiwan and China, so there is no need for China to do anything like invade.

You believe in a fantasy where you think China is acting in a manner without consideration for American aggression. In other words you don’t know what you’re talking about.