I just came back from a walk along the beach this morning...helps to center along with music. Your reads/talks/video usually knock me off center a little but what really knocks me off center is what the hell we're doing it the People of Palestine and the peoples of Ukraine/Russia. Not to mention our meddling here and there and everywhere.
Paul in this system you hope will evolve thru revolution....will it stop the waring. I don't care much about what system we live in just as long as that system lives by the golden rule that killing folks that disagree with your philosophy need to be wasted.
It's systemic. Sy Hersh had a good recent Substack on Harris, Gaza, and Ukraine. I took Oreo out for a walk right after this and a British lady from the humane society fell in love with her and told me all about Oreo's breed(s).
Do you think greed, cruelty, exploitation and violence are a product of and caused by capitalism ? Or do see as I suspect these are destructive impulses within human behavior which predated any modern political or economic ism by a few thousand years. If so how can any ism focused primarily on external social and political organization alone address this root issue? Lastly do you see any political utility in Trump as a disrupter of the establishment, that could open the way for a wider rebellion. The deep state certainly wants him gone at all costs and by any means.
Marxists 4ever have said that capitalism selects and elevates these negative characteristics. There is no scientific basis for saying that those characteristics are the dominant essence of "human nature." A different and more desirable "human nature" will be nurtured by socialism done right, having learned the lessons (both positive and negative) of the first socialist states and the collapse of radical movements (seen in the pathetically lowered sights and narrow vision of the US "left" today) after the 1960s-70s. If "the deep state" (if it exists and of course definitions of what it is differ -- Mike Lofgren's meaning in a book by that title is quite different from what right wing conspiracists mean by the phrase) "wants him gone at all costs and by any means" than why on Earth is he still alive?! Not much of a deep state, then! :) I think much of the ruling class is quite okay with Trump -- this in different ways and for different reasons, some because they really are white nationalist authoritarians, some because they just want big tax breaks and deregulation, others for other reasons perhaps). Trumpism versus bourgeois democracy or what's left of it reflects real and serious divisions from top to bottom: the coming and ongoing chaos does I think have potential to bring an opening for re-polarization (the Revcoms'/Avakian's term) from red v blue to the people v capitalism-imperialism. Avakian has been writing about this on his social media posts including on Substack. This basic analysis applies I think across the different post-election scenarios. I think every possible immediate election outcome is going to be followed by some very intense "red-blue" conflict...who knows, perhaps something like a civil war. We are more polarized between major parties and regions than any time since 1861. And as with the Confederacy in 1860-61, one of the two major parties no longer accepts defeat in elections. Some kind of "storm" (hate to use the RepubliNazi language but there you are) is on the horizon.
Is it important or necessary to, for example, explain to the workers in the three different plumbing companies in my town why a socialist revolution is necessary? Each of these men takes pride in their work, which has taken them a good amount of time to learn to do well. What will be the fate of their companies and their work after a socialist revolution? Is the notion of worker-owned enterprise the logical next step?
These are just some musings, Paul. Your presentation makes incontrovertible arguments for the necessity of replacing capitalism. Thank you.
Class does not go away under a DSR but a DSR (a) gets rid of the savage exploitation and exterminist anarchy inherent in the rule of capital/ism and (b) works in dedicated fashion to empower workers and shrink class divisions understood down to the labor process in accord with (c) the goal of ending not just class exploitation but all exploitation of one group of humanity by another group of humanity (that would be the attainment of communism: from each according to their abilities to each according to their needs, actually not about "equality" and "democracy," but that's another talk) .
Joe "I Saw Beheaded Babies" Biden made clear to any revolutionaries: "those who think they need weapons to overthrow a tyrannical government would need F-15 fighter jets and nuclear weapons." How do you propose to wrest State Power from its present practitioners?
Have you studied any revolutions? They always involve parts of the armed forces ultimately refusing to fire on the people. Political work with people in the military is essential. Fissures open up within and between elites including military elites. Revolutions are of course not just about arms. Strikes can cripple economies. Moral force and example matter. Revolutions happen in history, toppling regimes. Class defectors come over. Splits within ruling class cause chaos that change all kinds of factors on the ground. Who thought the shit that's gone on the last bunchya years would go down. History has speeded up. The usual ways of ruling, previously normative bourgeois democracy and rule of law are fading and may disappear. Wild times. Don't rule out an actual revolution. Under current balance of forces and consciousness, not a chance. As things shake out and they are going to shake our radically, it may one of those rare times.
"beheaded babies Biden" -- LOL. Yes, Genocide Joe trotted out that story line, reminiscent of false charges against the Kaiser in 1914 and against Saddam Hussein in 1990-91.
We might need this revolution but I don’t see it happening because they’ve done a thorough number on us. Even as I write this, there’s a live-streamed genocide and extermination of defenceless Palestinians by a malevolent ultra apartheid regime of Israel backed to the hilt by the US and its posse. Have we done enough to stop this? No! I think humanity is stuffed!
Well, one of the problems with that remarkable movement, frankly, is an excessive unwillingness to go to the taproot problem: global and US capitalism-imperialism. "The left" (whatever the F that is in 2024 - dark laughter) recurrently sets its sights way too low and far too narrowly. Too much dreaming of"speaking truth to power" on this and other issues. You don't "speak truth to power." You don't beseech imperial criminals/sociopaths to be less awful; you organize to topple them and more importantly their system.
Thanks again Paul. Oreo has been well potty trained since you made her wait quite a few minutes to go out, til you were finished with your talk. And you have calculated well how long our capitalist addled brains can follow your arguments before we fade out at 26 minutes.
enjoyed the talk Paul.
Oreo barking may mean it's time for a walk.
I just came back from a walk along the beach this morning...helps to center along with music. Your reads/talks/video usually knock me off center a little but what really knocks me off center is what the hell we're doing it the People of Palestine and the peoples of Ukraine/Russia. Not to mention our meddling here and there and everywhere.
Paul in this system you hope will evolve thru revolution....will it stop the waring. I don't care much about what system we live in just as long as that system lives by the golden rule that killing folks that disagree with your philosophy need to be wasted.
It's systemic. Sy Hersh had a good recent Substack on Harris, Gaza, and Ukraine. I took Oreo out for a walk right after this and a British lady from the humane society fell in love with her and told me all about Oreo's breed(s).
Do you think greed, cruelty, exploitation and violence are a product of and caused by capitalism ? Or do see as I suspect these are destructive impulses within human behavior which predated any modern political or economic ism by a few thousand years. If so how can any ism focused primarily on external social and political organization alone address this root issue? Lastly do you see any political utility in Trump as a disrupter of the establishment, that could open the way for a wider rebellion. The deep state certainly wants him gone at all costs and by any means.
Marxists 4ever have said that capitalism selects and elevates these negative characteristics. There is no scientific basis for saying that those characteristics are the dominant essence of "human nature." A different and more desirable "human nature" will be nurtured by socialism done right, having learned the lessons (both positive and negative) of the first socialist states and the collapse of radical movements (seen in the pathetically lowered sights and narrow vision of the US "left" today) after the 1960s-70s. If "the deep state" (if it exists and of course definitions of what it is differ -- Mike Lofgren's meaning in a book by that title is quite different from what right wing conspiracists mean by the phrase) "wants him gone at all costs and by any means" than why on Earth is he still alive?! Not much of a deep state, then! :) I think much of the ruling class is quite okay with Trump -- this in different ways and for different reasons, some because they really are white nationalist authoritarians, some because they just want big tax breaks and deregulation, others for other reasons perhaps). Trumpism versus bourgeois democracy or what's left of it reflects real and serious divisions from top to bottom: the coming and ongoing chaos does I think have potential to bring an opening for re-polarization (the Revcoms'/Avakian's term) from red v blue to the people v capitalism-imperialism. Avakian has been writing about this on his social media posts including on Substack. This basic analysis applies I think across the different post-election scenarios. I think every possible immediate election outcome is going to be followed by some very intense "red-blue" conflict...who knows, perhaps something like a civil war. We are more polarized between major parties and regions than any time since 1861. And as with the Confederacy in 1860-61, one of the two major parties no longer accepts defeat in elections. Some kind of "storm" (hate to use the RepubliNazi language but there you are) is on the horizon.
Is it important or necessary to, for example, explain to the workers in the three different plumbing companies in my town why a socialist revolution is necessary? Each of these men takes pride in their work, which has taken them a good amount of time to learn to do well. What will be the fate of their companies and their work after a socialist revolution? Is the notion of worker-owned enterprise the logical next step?
These are just some musings, Paul. Your presentation makes incontrovertible arguments for the necessity of replacing capitalism. Thank you.
Class does not go away under a DSR but a DSR (a) gets rid of the savage exploitation and exterminist anarchy inherent in the rule of capital/ism and (b) works in dedicated fashion to empower workers and shrink class divisions understood down to the labor process in accord with (c) the goal of ending not just class exploitation but all exploitation of one group of humanity by another group of humanity (that would be the attainment of communism: from each according to their abilities to each according to their needs, actually not about "equality" and "democracy," but that's another talk) .
Joe "I Saw Beheaded Babies" Biden made clear to any revolutionaries: "those who think they need weapons to overthrow a tyrannical government would need F-15 fighter jets and nuclear weapons." How do you propose to wrest State Power from its present practitioners?
Have you studied any revolutions? They always involve parts of the armed forces ultimately refusing to fire on the people. Political work with people in the military is essential. Fissures open up within and between elites including military elites. Revolutions are of course not just about arms. Strikes can cripple economies. Moral force and example matter. Revolutions happen in history, toppling regimes. Class defectors come over. Splits within ruling class cause chaos that change all kinds of factors on the ground. Who thought the shit that's gone on the last bunchya years would go down. History has speeded up. The usual ways of ruling, previously normative bourgeois democracy and rule of law are fading and may disappear. Wild times. Don't rule out an actual revolution. Under current balance of forces and consciousness, not a chance. As things shake out and they are going to shake our radically, it may one of those rare times.
"beheaded babies Biden" -- LOL. Yes, Genocide Joe trotted out that story line, reminiscent of false charges against the Kaiser in 1914 and against Saddam Hussein in 1990-91.
We might need this revolution but I don’t see it happening because they’ve done a thorough number on us. Even as I write this, there’s a live-streamed genocide and extermination of defenceless Palestinians by a malevolent ultra apartheid regime of Israel backed to the hilt by the US and its posse. Have we done enough to stop this? No! I think humanity is stuffed!
Well, one of the problems with that remarkable movement, frankly, is an excessive unwillingness to go to the taproot problem: global and US capitalism-imperialism. "The left" (whatever the F that is in 2024 - dark laughter) recurrently sets its sights way too low and far too narrowly. Too much dreaming of"speaking truth to power" on this and other issues. You don't "speak truth to power." You don't beseech imperial criminals/sociopaths to be less awful; you organize to topple them and more importantly their system.
Thanks again Paul. Oreo has been well potty trained since you made her wait quite a few minutes to go out, til you were finished with your talk. And you have calculated well how long our capitalist addled brains can follow your arguments before we fade out at 26 minutes.
She was okay; had a great time after. 26 is too long.