Communism

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Discussion Community for fellow Marxist-Leninists and other Marxists.

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Marxists of all tendencies are welcome here.

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Check out ProleWiki for a communist wikipedia.

Communism study guide

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founded 6 years ago
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176
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2026007

Excerpt:


A movie “based on” the life of a real person is a tricky proposition, especially when that person is already the subject of much historical study. How can the ambiguities, contradictions, ironies, paradoxes, and other complexities—not to mention sheer unknowability—of a person be fitted into narrative coherence? Entertainment, story, spectacle, and celebrity/star power have often taken precedence over historically verifiable facts.

A “biographical picture” or biopic is supposed to be distinct from a documentary. Documentaries purport to be nonfictional, but they may include dramatized recreations. Biopics are fictional but purport to avowedly dramatize real lives, or at least parts of lives. Do an internet search for “biopic lawsuits” to get a taste of the resulting controversies, going back to, at least, Lawrence of Arabia (1962)—individuals and relatives have taken serious exception to their cinematic portrayals.

Just as the movie version of a classic novel may be a bad way of studying for an English literature exam, biopics may not be the best biographical sources. This is not to suggest that these can’t be good movies. Last year’s Napoleon isn’t a good example, as it’s made with what seems complete contempt for biography and history. Oppenheimer is a better example: it’s relatively accurate. Critics have generally been affirmative. The box office has been especially boffo. Thirteen Academy Award nominations, including for all the major awards, highlight the industry’s own approval.

Oppenheimer is a rich, complex, impressive entertainment that whets the appetite for more: more biography, more history. I doubt I was the only one wondering about Lewis Strauss (pronounced “straws”), who is played by Robert Downey Jr. Luckily, there’s a much more about Oppenheimer and his times to dig into.

If you haven’t seen the movie, this is your SPOILER ALERT. Of course, history is nothing but spoilers, giving real impetus to the proverb “forewarned is forearmed”…

An iconic twentieth-century figure celebrated and damned as the “father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–67) has often been described as a Hamlet-like enigma torn between his pride and guilt over the A-bomb, his celebrity, and his governmental humiliation. This clearly presents a challenge to historians, biographers, and dramatists.


I had heard about this from other CPUSA members, but wasn't sure.

Article says so at the end.

177
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2020230

Best Marxist YouTuber.

Some anti-China stuff, but it's to be expected. I'm used to it.

178
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1987995

An excerpt from the article:


Gone are the days when former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz could argue that the company’s upstart barista network would be no more than a blip in the coffee behemoth’s history.

On Tuesday, Starbucks Workers United (SBWU)’s parent union and Starbucks announced that they had reached a “foundational framework” for substantive negotiations over a range of issues.

“The fight is worth fighting for. This victory alone proves that no workplace is out of reach for organizing,” fired former Starbucks barista Alicia Flores of Portland, Oregon told In These Times, speaking in a personal capacity.

The two sides hope the agreement will form the basis for contract talks at nearly 400 union shops, the resolution of ongoing litigation, and an agreement over rules governing future organizing at Starbucks locations. While the publicly announced details of the agreement include few specifics and even fewer guarantees, the barista network has won at least the potential for negotiations over a first master contract.

“This agreement…is a very, very big deal,” said Dave Kamper, Senior Strategist at the progressive think tank Economic Policy Institute. “Starbucks Workers United has shown that determined workers, willing to use all the tools of worker power at their disposal…can bring companies to the bargaining table.”

Starbucks also announced that, as a measure of good faith, it will provide credit card tipping and other benefits to union stores that it has provided to nonunion stores since May 2022.

Some SBWU members were reluctant to speak to In These Times about the framework. But those who did open up were enthusiastic.

“I’m excited for the gang at SBWU to bargain a fair contract and to hopefully get reinstated as a fired worker,” said Flores.

Similarly, barista James Greene of the Pittsburgh area, also speaking in a personal capacity, said that he is “encouraged by the company’s [message]” and hopes “we can negotiate in good faith soon.”


A milestone battle and victory for Starbucks Workers United!

Read the rest of the article through the link up top (which also talks about labor and the anti-Zionist movement in the USA).

179
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1976670

Check it out. Also:


“George Bush doesn’t care about Black people.” These were the words of famed rapper Kanye West during the 2005 nationally televised telethon benefit for victims of Hurricane Katrina. In this notorious quote, Kanye expressed a popular conception of the Bush administration for a whole generation of people. How is it then, that less than 15 years later the same Kanye West — son of a Black Panther who had previously made commentary on racism in the U.S. — would go on a national tour professing his love for Hitler? Even more recently, beloved star in the Black community, Nicki Minaj, cozied up to Ben Shapiro after rapper Megan Thee Stallion blasted her for misogynoir. Both of these instances illustrate the right’s newfound investment in popular culture in response to young people, people of color and the LGBTQ community’s increasing acceptance of socialism.


Kanye was the son of a Black Panther?! Holy shit...

Anyway:

It's only a few paragraphs long and is for a pre-convention discussion (since CPUSA is in discussion period for our democratic process).

180
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1971306

Damn, this was a record for me.

It was a rally and march for Palestine at the city nearby.

@Othello@hexbear.net might know about it, but I don't think they're here now (I'm just tagging in case they are).

Ask me about it if you want, but right now I'm "venting" about something positive; I'm really proud of myself for keeping up the pressure regarding Gaza and helping to do that.

Definitely join an org or activist group if you can.

That's all. Cheers!

181
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1968230

Pretty expected, to be honest.

Especially now that Joe Sims is in and not John Bachtell.

182
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1967643

20 minutes or so.

183
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1967517

It's just 10 minutes, but very enlightening.

184
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1962122

Subscribe, comment, like, etc.

185
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1958803

The article argues that some federal government intervention earlier during WWII jump-started the tech innovations we saw from the 1950s to 1970s.

It also talks about how the Internet seems to be the only really new game-changing innovation since the 80s and seeks to explain why this is the case.

Among other things, of course, such as the nature of "tech clusters" such as Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas.

186
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1941627

Just found out about this an hour ago.

Holy shit, this is good, and it's Marxist writers' group too.

We need more stuff like this.

@muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml Thought you might be interested in this, old friend (since you're the only other person I know right now besides myself that knew BayArea415, at least online).

But anyway, on another note, I'm glad that the PatSoc infiltration attempts were sorted out, otherwise the content would just be a repeat of Haz's trash ideas lol

Glad they're experimenting with a writing and literature group; very early in its initial phase, from what I know.

It's a pity that one of the people didn't get a chance to finish his own fictional work and had to stop at the beginning before it got to the crux or point of it all.

Anyway, enjoy, y'all.

187
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1934744

Check it out.

188
 
 

It's like China is just that one country (aside from the Khmer Rouge) that every ML (aside from Dengists like us) agrees to hate on.

Fellow Traveler and leftypol uploaded videos criticizing them, the Shining Path hung up literal dogs to protest them, Maoists go all insane saying that it's some red fash social-imperialist nation because (insert nato propaganda here). And Hoxhaists claim that China was never socialist and that the only socialist nation ever was USSR before Khrushchev and almighty holy Albania.

What is it that makes China so controversial even among MLs? I get that it's not perfect and every AES state has their Ls, but jesus.

189
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1904493

Good discussion and a long one too. Nearly an hour. I felt Ben was a good guest too. And of course, there's Justine Medina as well.

190
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1863958

The book is this one:

191
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1856459

How to Be a Good Communist

Written/Published: July 1939

Source: Selected Works of Liu Shaoqi, Volume I

First Published: Foreign Languages Press


I'm reading this for the first time, btw, based on something I heard online. Someone also recommended it to me and said Liu Shaoqi was underrated.

Definitely giving this a go.

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193
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1852949

I talked about this video in this post here.

It really helped me. I mean, this was a godsend (except for the jump-scare near the beginning). I would heartily recommend it to people who struggle with productivity either way.

194
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1849807

Love these!

I hope everyone else enjoys this episode.

I didn't know about the recent call for more colonialism in Africa by Erik Prince till now.

If anyone has any more info on that, let me know.

Thanks!

195
 
 

are you ready to program for the revolution, camarada?

196
 
 

We already know that socialism is going strong in China, Korea, and Cuba. But we (or at least I) don't hear that much about Vietnam and Laos.

How is it going over there? What is their trajectory towards becoming developed? How much progress have they made so far? Is the socialist ideology going strong there? Where can I keep up to date on these countries?

197
 
 

Title says it all. I'm in a country that has public health care, and in many aspects it is very good. Only downside is wait time. There's also less and less funding every year, less and less quality, the whole process to destroy and later privatize what is a natural monopoly (such as water, electricity, etc) and a basic necessity for human life and dignity, and so on.

With that said, is it wrong for me to benefit from what is essentially a better service (because of factors mentioned above, not because private = "better") because it is a capitalist enterprise? Same debate could arise from private energy companies, private transport providers, etc.

198
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1833747

Good stuff.

Love Henry Winston.

You can read the book for yourself here.

Check it out. I highly recommend this book.

Oh yeah, and there's a sequel to it as well. Maybe I'll do a book club on both later on.

199
 
 

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1795146

Video is about 50 minutes long.

You can listen to it while you're doing other things.

Glad they touched on the AFL-CIO and the recent developments in the labor movement, especially vis a vis the South.

200
 
 

Wikipedia says they are both libertarian and communist so obviously theres a lot of disinformation about them.

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