Yes, these are features of "human nature" that are selected and promoted by the bourgeois order. Here's a good quote from a couple of German drinking buddies in 1848: 'The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his “natural superiors”, and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous “cash payment”. It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom — Free Trade. In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation.
The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honoured and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage labourers.
The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation.' I'm not joking. I'm serious. Think about it!
A Hideous Example: the Party “for” Socialism and Liberation Digging the Mass Murder of Dancing “Hipsters”
Recently in New York City, a top member of the so-called Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) expressed snarky delight over the murder of "hipster" dancers by clever Islamist terrorists in southern Israel. Here are actual words that actually came out of past PSL vice presidential candidate Eugene Puryear’s mouth after Hamas’ criminal action: “As you might have seen, there was some sort of rave or desert party where they were having a great time until the resistance came in electrified hang gliders and took at least several dozen hipsters (crowd: Woooooo!). But I'm sure they're doing very fine no matter despite what the New York Post says."
This is some heavy dark shit. This “socialist leader’s” heroes are revanchist, blood-drenched Islamo-fascist terrorists? Puryear digs the slaughter and hostage of taking of noncombatants at a peace dance, who he mocks as "hipsters”?
As the revolutionary communist Lenny Wolf observed last week on the Revolutionary Communist Party’s weekly Revolution Nothing Less (RNL) Show:
“It is crucially important that people come together to oppose what America and Israel are doing in Gaza right now. But among those who have opposed US and Israeli oppression over the years, there has been another ugly and destructive trend. Let’s look at this example: Eugene Puryear, from the group calling itself the Party of Socialism and Liberation, speaking at a rally this past few days…[see above] Listen to the callousness and contempt that drips from [Puryear’s] voice in his dismissal and dehumanization of people who were killed and kidnapped by his heroes in Hamas. Haven’t we seen and heard that same kind of curled lip contempt coming from oppressors and enforcers as they mouth their racist and sexist slurs and they hammer on masses of people?, Just look at what Puryear is describing and dismissing in this way [here the RNL Show showed clips of the bloody attack on dance party participants, with video of people being shot down and taken as hostages]. These people being shot [weren't] acting as soldiers or cops or fascists enforcing oppression. These are people dancing at a concert. Puryear can call himself anything he wants. We can’t do anything about that. But by the evidence, this group should more accurately be known as the Party Against Socialism and Liberation.”
“Be clear: people do have to fight against what imperialists are doing. And communists have to unite broadly in this fight. But as we do, we have to fight against the outlook we’re talking about here [of revenge as opposed to revolution]. And this kind of infection takes other forms. It ranges from acting as if it just never happened to the woke orthodoxy that people living in colonial countries must not criticize the colonized for any ways in which they fight. And for just plain old ‘what do you expect after what the oppressor has done?’ No that can’t be the terms that are set in the movement we need….Do we really want people to be forced to choose between the hypocritical brutality of US imperialism and its allies or the blatant revenge-seeking of Islamic fundamentalism. Are you really okay with those being the alternatives in front of people?”
Regarding your latest piece at 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑐ℎ, "Ten True Things Regarding the Election and America:" Please correct me if I'm wrong, but could it be added to your list what Harris and her supporters have made clear, and that is that Trump is not only unfit to be president, but that his presidency would mean the end of elections and democracy in the U.S.? That being the case, how can they allow him to take office if he wins? We know Trump will never go quietly if he loses. Aren't the Democrats essentially indicating the same? Haven't both sides made some degree of post-election conflict all but inevitable? Best, Jim
Well, the Dems stopping Trump from taking office after a win would require the Dems having their own Stolen Election narrative (and a Trump win will likely be a steal on numerous levels) and having reached out to and won support from the Pentagon, no? I have no idea if the Biden-Harris forces and the Dem campaign are working on these things. They probably ought to be, wild as that sounds. But I don't think the Dems really have it in them. They can’t properly call the other party fascist even as that party openly exhibits neo-fascist and indeed (classic historical fascist values and agendas. Maybe I'm wrong. And I have no idea where the military is on this.
This is the first US election in my life where it seems like the military is part of the equation of how it shakes out between the two reigning parties. At least never to this degree. Wild times but perhaps not all that surprising. Underlying contradictions come to the fore and shit changes.
And, by the way, what the Dems call the ‘end of democracy’ is really the breaking of the outer shell of what Marxists rightly consider to be bourgeois democracy atop the underlying dictatorship of capital. That dictatorship will remain intact under a consolidated Amerikaner version of fascism in the US and is actively cancelling prospects for a decent human future through its environmental consequences regardless of which our two dominant parties gains or retains the White House.
I'm approaching the end of being on this earth. I've observed this Hell on Earth so I'm hoping I don't have to stay in it after I die. Good work Paul, BA and others. Deep Thanks, bonnie
For sure Trump and Vance remarks have not helped quell the racism so prevalent in American society as well as across the pond. Thier comments helped bring it from a simmering to a boil in our society. But Paul....so many folks out their in our society triggered too easily to violent racist acts with even a little provocation. So sure blame Trump but also blame pur sick, society. Politicians of the duoploy are well versed in knowing their audience and pandering to their prejudices. A votes a vote
With half the voting public trumpeter ls and the other half war mongering exceptionalists...we're doomed.
So ya bring on the revcoms and their revolution you won't get much resistance from me. Hell I'll even join.
No doomer-ism, please! :) "have not helped quell the racism so prevalent in American society" is quite the understatement. I'm not sure where I have made a hint of a suggestion that white supremacism isn't societal in the US and elsewhere. Check out this book I did on the history of racism in my home city -- hardcover available for just $83-$102! By ten for all your friends and family for just $1,020! https://www.amazon.com/Racial-Oppression-Global-Metropolis-Chicago/dp/0742540820
Becker is the guy behind the PSL I think. Very different guy and party. They run POTUS candidates. for example (So does the SEP/the folks behind the WSWS). LOL. A trade unionist friend of mine voted or their candidate in Iowa City 2016. He knew absolutely nothing about the group's history or line...just liked the word socialism. I am told the PSL was jogged by Avakian's constitution to write one of their own. Someday I'll take a look at it.
Wow. Substack will let me comment again, with no profile.
So much info here, Paul. I might have to study the transcript unless I only want to remember the joke — no joke — about quoting Biden.
I love your recognition that we are not all inherently competitive, selfish, and dominance seeking.
Yes, these are features of "human nature" that are selected and promoted by the bourgeois order. Here's a good quote from a couple of German drinking buddies in 1848: 'The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his “natural superiors”, and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous “cash payment”. It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom — Free Trade. In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation.
The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honoured and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage labourers.
The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation.' I'm not joking. I'm serious. Think about it!
Just found this from something I wrote last year - from https://paulstreet.substack.com/p/rev-o-lution-v-re-venge:
A Hideous Example: the Party “for” Socialism and Liberation Digging the Mass Murder of Dancing “Hipsters”
Recently in New York City, a top member of the so-called Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) expressed snarky delight over the murder of "hipster" dancers by clever Islamist terrorists in southern Israel. Here are actual words that actually came out of past PSL vice presidential candidate Eugene Puryear’s mouth after Hamas’ criminal action: “As you might have seen, there was some sort of rave or desert party where they were having a great time until the resistance came in electrified hang gliders and took at least several dozen hipsters (crowd: Woooooo!). But I'm sure they're doing very fine no matter despite what the New York Post says."
This is some heavy dark shit. This “socialist leader’s” heroes are revanchist, blood-drenched Islamo-fascist terrorists? Puryear digs the slaughter and hostage of taking of noncombatants at a peace dance, who he mocks as "hipsters”?
“I’m sure they’re doing fine.” Puryear actually F’ng said that. Unreal.
A Brilliant Critique from a Leading Revcom
As the revolutionary communist Lenny Wolf observed last week on the Revolutionary Communist Party’s weekly Revolution Nothing Less (RNL) Show:
“It is crucially important that people come together to oppose what America and Israel are doing in Gaza right now. But among those who have opposed US and Israeli oppression over the years, there has been another ugly and destructive trend. Let’s look at this example: Eugene Puryear, from the group calling itself the Party of Socialism and Liberation, speaking at a rally this past few days…[see above] Listen to the callousness and contempt that drips from [Puryear’s] voice in his dismissal and dehumanization of people who were killed and kidnapped by his heroes in Hamas. Haven’t we seen and heard that same kind of curled lip contempt coming from oppressors and enforcers as they mouth their racist and sexist slurs and they hammer on masses of people?, Just look at what Puryear is describing and dismissing in this way [here the RNL Show showed clips of the bloody attack on dance party participants, with video of people being shot down and taken as hostages]. These people being shot [weren't] acting as soldiers or cops or fascists enforcing oppression. These are people dancing at a concert. Puryear can call himself anything he wants. We can’t do anything about that. But by the evidence, this group should more accurately be known as the Party Against Socialism and Liberation.”
“Be clear: people do have to fight against what imperialists are doing. And communists have to unite broadly in this fight. But as we do, we have to fight against the outlook we’re talking about here [of revenge as opposed to revolution]. And this kind of infection takes other forms. It ranges from acting as if it just never happened to the woke orthodoxy that people living in colonial countries must not criticize the colonized for any ways in which they fight. And for just plain old ‘what do you expect after what the oppressor has done?’ No that can’t be the terms that are set in the movement we need….Do we really want people to be forced to choose between the hypocritical brutality of US imperialism and its allies or the blatant revenge-seeking of Islamic fundamentalism. Are you really okay with those being the alternatives in front of people?”
Regarding your latest piece at 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑐ℎ, "Ten True Things Regarding the Election and America:" Please correct me if I'm wrong, but could it be added to your list what Harris and her supporters have made clear, and that is that Trump is not only unfit to be president, but that his presidency would mean the end of elections and democracy in the U.S.? That being the case, how can they allow him to take office if he wins? We know Trump will never go quietly if he loses. Aren't the Democrats essentially indicating the same? Haven't both sides made some degree of post-election conflict all but inevitable? Best, Jim
Well, the Dems stopping Trump from taking office after a win would require the Dems having their own Stolen Election narrative (and a Trump win will likely be a steal on numerous levels) and having reached out to and won support from the Pentagon, no? I have no idea if the Biden-Harris forces and the Dem campaign are working on these things. They probably ought to be, wild as that sounds. But I don't think the Dems really have it in them. They can’t properly call the other party fascist even as that party openly exhibits neo-fascist and indeed (classic historical fascist values and agendas. Maybe I'm wrong. And I have no idea where the military is on this.
This is the first US election in my life where it seems like the military is part of the equation of how it shakes out between the two reigning parties. At least never to this degree. Wild times but perhaps not all that surprising. Underlying contradictions come to the fore and shit changes.
And, by the way, what the Dems call the ‘end of democracy’ is really the breaking of the outer shell of what Marxists rightly consider to be bourgeois democracy atop the underlying dictatorship of capital. That dictatorship will remain intact under a consolidated Amerikaner version of fascism in the US and is actively cancelling prospects for a decent human future through its environmental consequences regardless of which our two dominant parties gains or retains the White House.
I'm approaching the end of being on this earth. I've observed this Hell on Earth so I'm hoping I don't have to stay in it after I die. Good work Paul, BA and others. Deep Thanks, bonnie
For sure Trump and Vance remarks have not helped quell the racism so prevalent in American society as well as across the pond. Thier comments helped bring it from a simmering to a boil in our society. But Paul....so many folks out their in our society triggered too easily to violent racist acts with even a little provocation. So sure blame Trump but also blame pur sick, society. Politicians of the duoploy are well versed in knowing their audience and pandering to their prejudices. A votes a vote
With half the voting public trumpeter ls and the other half war mongering exceptionalists...we're doomed.
So ya bring on the revcoms and their revolution you won't get much resistance from me. Hell I'll even join.
Cheers
Huges and kisses to oreo.
No doomer-ism, please! :) "have not helped quell the racism so prevalent in American society" is quite the understatement. I'm not sure where I have made a hint of a suggestion that white supremacism isn't societal in the US and elsewhere. Check out this book I did on the history of racism in my home city -- hardcover available for just $83-$102! By ten for all your friends and family for just $1,020! https://www.amazon.com/Racial-Oppression-Global-Metropolis-Chicago/dp/0742540820
Thought provoking as usual. Thanks Paul.
Check this out defense of Avakian on IG: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAFLreUv8Dj/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFaettleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHfBmO5jpVdXpSps8VQeNVPsVfrWh2AqF79UryVPFcHWVFeFPTckN-6ZtHQ_aem_d8K3T7J2eLW-_vBSj7q-aw
Is Brian Becker heir to Bob Avakian? I rode the bus to dc with some great communists and they kept asking me if I knew "Boh-Bah". I'm not trying to annoy, just absorb. I'm glad you are wearing a more cheerful shirt. https://medium.com/@stephenloveshow/once-more-unto-the-breach-9717214f1c29
Becker is the guy behind the PSL I think. Very different guy and party. They run POTUS candidates. for example (So does the SEP/the folks behind the WSWS). LOL. A trade unionist friend of mine voted or their candidate in Iowa City 2016. He knew absolutely nothing about the group's history or line...just liked the word socialism. I am told the PSL was jogged by Avakian's constitution to write one of their own. Someday I'll take a look at it.