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Joined 2 months ago
Cake day: June 28th, 2026
  • yuki_gassen@lemmy.mltoSlop.@hexbear.net•Yeah, his radlib ass hasn't understood shit about Marxist theory
    1·
    12 days ago

    Burns’s inital post was “You should not make politics your entire personality.” Critical comments were mainly along the lines of “White privilege take! / Anti-fascism is the most import thing and is my sole priority, why would I spend any energy on anything else? / etc.”

    My understanding of the passage Burns quoted, and of the full passage provided below (thanks RedWizard), is yes, the basic joys for a dignified life (and critical needs, ofc) are enclosed upon, privatized, and accessible only to those with enough money, and is especially enjoyed by those who do not have qualms against making the accumulation of wealth their ultimate goal, whether they are a wannabe capitalist or are simply conditioned to tie moral excellence with wealth. The position of the capitalist is to have workers run as lean as possible, since no one really “needs” any of those things in order to come back to work the next day. So, their ideal is to give as little as these joys to us as possible, since less of that is more of our labor-power for them to exploit.

    Nighhawk seems to understand this, and is rightly upset at this situation. We can’t afford the joys of life! Don’t just tell us to do things that make us happy, how can we!?

    Burns knows this, he never says that Nighthwak is wrong. Also, as far as I can tell, that was Nighthawk’s first comment in the discourse. Coming in spicy!

    I think Burns’s point is, is that the misery of the alienated prolitariat is by design. It is the natural state to be in, especially if you have any inkling that infinite accumulation is wrong. To be forced to play the game, to be forced to join in the activities of accumulation just to have access to the basic joys of life, of course it’s miserable. We all* fucking hate it. It’s not an accident, it is the natural incentive of owners looking to cut costs.

    But not all those things are truly inaccessble to us. There are still ways, while not where they should be, to find joy in our lives. Not that we should just turn over and try to find happiness in the crumbs they don’t bother in trying to privatize (yet), but we should resist the misery out of spite. Wallowing in the misery is exactly where they want us, or just above it. Resisting the misery and making our own joy, rooted in our social connections, is rebellious, imo. It’s not one or the other; you can be anti-fascist and anti-capitalist, and you can express your own life. I think they are two sides of the same coin.

  • yuki_gassen@lemmy.mltoWorld News@lemmy.world•China, Russia, North Korea: the authoritarian axis looms over wars in Ukraine and IranEnglish
    32·
    23 days ago

    I’m arguing for the least worst? I’m sorry, who said that they would “would rather live here than fucking Iran, North Korea, China, or Russia”? When did I say that one is a “better” place to live? I am not interested in such shallow analysis. No one “chooses” to live in either USA or Iran. Hypothetically choosing between imperialist blocs does not help anyone but the ruling class. It is always in my, and the working class’s imo, to oppose especially your own nation’s class oppressor first and foremost. And as the hegemonic state, the US is quite the oppressor to much of the world. This ofc does not excuse other imperialist actions by other states, but am merely stating where my own practical responsibility lies. You seem to think being critical of the US, to the appropriate degree, the highest degree, is somehow an allowance for other states to commit crimes. The question is immaterial; rights under US capital are contingent and conditional, just as they are under Chinese state-capitalism. Domestic minority rights that we do have are structurally dependent on the exploitation of global south. How can we enjoy a “safe” liberal democracy at home while our tax dollars bomb hospitals, subvert elections, install dictators? You do know how Iran got to become the theocracy it is today, right?

    You must analyze materially, not morally. Why is the US defending Ukraine? To “defend democracy”? No, to weaken a rival imperial power and secure energy corridors. Why is China trading with Iran? To secure oil for Chinese industry. The conflicts on the global stage run on capitalist, inter-imperialist incentives. Ranking genocides to show how the US is actually not that much worse, is immaterial.

    The “genocides” you list, while I will not deny outright and are certainly concerning, have many red flags and leave questions unanswered, mainly due to how vague and biased much of the research is (Adrian Zenz is quite the character). But whether US interests are exaggerating these reports or not, there is plenty to criticize China for, using a state-capitalist structure to suppress labor and rely on growth and extraction, as well as their expansionist, bourgeois nationalism in Taiwan. Same goes for every capitalist state, like Russia and the incentives of their oligarchic class to defend against NATO encirclement and secure Black Sea trade routes. But these critiques are independent from US propaganda, and does not make Russian invasion or Chinese oppression more commendable. And again, much of these criticisms of other states can be similarly made right back at the US, and arguably amplified, given the global scale of US military and financial hegemony.

    Your immediate whataboutism pivot to other “genocides” makes me wonder, how recent did you acknowledge the Palestinian genocide?