this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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Liberal? They’re as extreme as conservatives who call communism everything they don’t like (cause they call everything they don’t like “fascist”)
I believe the comrade is making a joke about our politics. Not everything we don't like is fascism, some of it is liberalism. But of course, we all know what bleeds when a liberal gets scratched.
What exactly are you seeing as pro-russia?
As communists we're staunchly anti-NATO and against the US imperialist order. There's a degree of critical support for the Russian Federations struggle against NATO, but thats not really pro-russia, or at least how we would define being pro-russia.
Similarly we have critical support for Iran in its struggle against the US led imperial order, and we support when they do things like engaging in trade with AES like Venezuela. Thats not the same as direct support for the theocracy there or all their domestic policies for example
The war would end, a whole lot of people would stop getting killed, and it would open a sliver of space to organize on class lines instead of nationalist ones.
As it is, it is basically illegal to be a communist or an anarchist in Ukraine, and the country is under martial law with NATO-armed and trained fascist brigades doling out summary justice. Could it get worse? Why should the left advocate for people to die on the hill of a country which arrests communists, dismantles labor unions, and liquidates public infrastructure on internet auctions for foreign investors?
If you take the most vulgar Anarchist approach, all states are bad, full stop. Political practice doesn't even operate on that paradigm. You struggle to undermine oppressive hierarchical systems that you come in direct contact with through direct action. If you take the vulgar Leninist approach, the Proletariat should struggle for the overthrow of their Bourgeoisie (this would include the proletariat of Ukraine and Russia respectively, as well as the proletariat of Western countries which see this conflict only as a means to strengthen their military alliances and diplomatic positions). Of course, the situation is too nuanced to apply such a vulgar approach, but that should be the STARTING POINT for anybody who considers themselves anti-capitalists. You should be able to justify any deviation from those bedrock positions.
Thank you PP, whether PoA responds to this comment or not, I found it very clear and insightful.
Signing off on this comment as Cool and Good. Hexbear seal of approval or something like that.
What if I told you that in March 2022 the Ukrainians and Russians came this close to closing a deal that would end the war... that is, before the Ukrainians decided to accept effectively unlimited NATO aid in exchange for scrapping said deal?
Ukraine offered neutrality which was what Russia wanted and Russia rejected it. Then Ukraine accepted aid.
Ukraine also repeatedly broke Minsk II treaty
How does communism inform your perspective?
NATO aid and their not allowing Ukraine to negotiate peace is what is prolonging this war. We aren't arguing for all of Ukraine to become Russian territory, which hasn't been the position of the Russian Federation either.
We would like a negotiated peace that alllows the Donbas republics to leave Ukraine and join the Russian Federation as they've voted to do, and a promise for Ukraine to not become part of NATO. That senario is not the alternative you're talking about, or what you're implying we support.
I don't even know what this means because it has no grounding in reality.
They can't negotiate peace because they are in a war? How is it possible to resolve this conflict in any realistic way if thats the criteria?
Your way of conceptializing this is so childlike as to be useless.
I want the war in Ukraine to end. I want them to negotiate the best and most obvious solution to this conflict for the parties involved. I want the war to end because then people will not be getting killed.
You want NATO to keep supporting Ukraine, to keep Ukraine away from negotiating. You want this, because... i don't know why.
I sure am glad that libs are aware that international relations are complex issues that cannot be boiled down to household analogies. It sure would be frustrating if they tried to make this into some simple black/white scenario with good guys and bad guys separated from material reality and historical context
So in your mind they should not negotiate and fight to the last Ukrainian because your conception of geopolitics is a home invasion?
So if the Ukrainians were shown to be persecuting jews, roma, russian-ukrainians or commies you'd be against Ukraine?
Well have I got some news for you
And then get couped and have the war continue under the leadership of a right wing hardliner
Please look up critiques of great man theory as it seems relevant to your line of thinking on this matter.
No, if he didn't he would have been couped and the invasion launched anyway. Russia is a dictatorship of capital. Putin answers to the national bourgeoisie of Russia.
Also hypotheticals like that aren't really relevant to discussing actual exit strategies. Unless you've found a way to hop realities.
I disagree, but even if I agreed I'd accept the material reality that is that Ukraine is bleeding people. The have a volksturm going on, it's a meat grinder, I think they should stop this mindless slaughter
Okay, but it doesn't seem Ukraine is winning, even with NATO supporting them. So, that means a settlement is probably the best option to save lives all around.
The fact that Russia didnt shock and awe it's way across a country that has the entirety of NATO backing it means Russia is losing? Lmao ok.
NATO is running out of equipment because it's supplying Ukraine. Russia is basically taking on NATO and winning, but go off
Lol.
No, it means its getting increasingly bloody as more and more Russians and Ukrainians get thrown in the meat grinder without a path to victory for Ukraine. That isn't winning.
And Jeff Bezos should give me all of his money, but that's not gonna happen either
Eh, it's a lot like reddit.
Two thirds of the rabid ones here are keyboard socialists. They type a good game, know all the stock phrases, but when it comes to actually doing shit, well, touching grass is scary.
They stay inside and rant and rave about how things SHOULD be while we are out there actually making the incremental changes to try to bring it about.
Then they post and pat themselves on the back for saying we're not doing enough.
It's very clear that this is every bit the senseless, thoughtless, reactionary, pathetic echo chamber that t_d was, just with red flags instead of red hats.
Thank you all for helping me to realize that so quickly.
Incremental changes like allowing abortion bans, trans bans, the cost of living to skyrocket, drone striking workers around the world, doing nothing about the climate, allowing millions of avoidable covid deaths for the sake of the rich... Oh and presiding over the restoration of child labour? Those incremental changes? Anything I missed?
You're useless. You are projecting enormously when you say we socialists only talk when literally everything is going backwards even when you're in power.
What do you even do anyway? Are you organising? Or do you just vote every few years and act like that means you do something? We organise.
What organization have you done?
Me personally, I teach and make my students aware of the dictatorship of capital, imperialism, the profite motive.. Basically marxism-leninism 101 on a introductionary level.
Other than that, I'm active in the teachers union and volunteer in the local chapter of the Marxist leninist party tog et local projects of the ground, like extending the public transport network, social housing, and most important of all, talking with people about their problems, the rise of fascism where I live and how to counter it, as well as the current neoliberal line of thought in both local and federale government.
What have you done?