#know your political systems

[contemplatingoutlander]

I'm so tired of my peers on the left who DON'T know what "socialism" is and who consequently inadvertently feed into right-wing disinformation about socialism.

Apparently Simon Donald who wrote the above meme doesn't know what "socialism" is and neither does the OP of this post @rickmctumbleface.

However, they also apparently don't know how "communism"--as it is practiced today in mainland China--has evolved, or they wouldn't have posted this:

Communism - nobody can be rich.

As Statista reports:

According to the Hurun Global Rich List 2023, China housed the highest number of billionaires worldwide in 2023. In detail, there were 969 billionaires living in China. By comparison, 691 billionaires resided in the United States. India, Germany, and the United Kingdom were also the homes of a significant number of billionaires that year. [color emphasis added]

So "communism," as it is practiced today in China, allows for some free enterprise, capitalism, and wealth accumulation. My guess is Marx would be turning in his grave if he knew what was happening there.

Back to "socialism." Here is a basic definition of "socialism" from the Google English Dictionary (i.e., Oxford Languages):

a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole. [color emphasis added]

The problem is that when many Americans talk about "socialism" (like they do in the above post) they are actually talking about "social democracy" which is a movement to reform and regulate capitalism, and provide a basic safety net, without the goal of eventually abolishing the capitalist system. This fits with the above post's definition of "anybody can be rich but nobody should be poor."

These Americans are also generally not even talking about "democratic socialism," which can be temporarily reformist in similar ways, but which ultimately hopes there will be a transition to full socialism, where basically no one is rich, but no one is poor.

Consequently, when some people on the American left (who are in fact "social democrats") proudly proclaim they are "socialists," they feed into the fears that the right wing spreads that they are actually "socialists" who want to abolish capitalism and take over all the means of production.

This confusion allows the right to get away with absurdly proclaiming that the U.S. Democratic Party is "socialist," as is Joe Biden. I mean Joe Biden? Seriously?

If you don't believe me about how even the most left-wing American politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are NOT "socialists," read this article by Annalisa Merelli:

Here are some excerpts from the article:

Sanders, who describes himself as a “democratic socialist,” provides fuel to Trump’s rants against a socialist takeover of America. But despite the longstanding negative connotations of socialism—and its powerful effect in halting social reforms such as universal health coverage—the senator from Vermont doesn’t seem too concerned about the effect a socialist label can have on his campaign or proposals. While it might not sound as dramatic, what Sanders is isn’t a socialist—democratic or otherwise—it’s a social democrat. Social democracy is a reformist approach that doesn’t do away with capitalism in its entirety (as, instead, socialism eventually suggests) but instead regulates it, providing public services and substantial welfare within the frame of an essentially market-led economy. Other leftist politicians such as Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also fall into this camp. [...] The Democratic Socialists of America describe their proposals as social democratic, essentially using the two labels interchangeably, advocating that social democratic reform “must now happen at the international level” and using northern European countries as references for their vision. This seems inaccurate, however, and feeds the misunderstanding Trump is banking on. Democratic socialism does not pursue a model like Finland, for instance, which has not done away with capitalist ways of production or a private market. The key difference between democratic socialism and social democracy is precisely that the former advocates for social ownership of the means of production, and does not believe in reforms within capitalism (although it does support temporary social democratic actions), but in a revolution of the system. The platform Sanders is running on is reformist, and what he is proposing is a US that looks much more like Canada, or Europe—which certainly are not socialist nations. Whether he believes that the end goal is beyond what Europe has achieved (and the history of his political beliefs suggests so), he still isn’t proposing an actual revolution (not within his lifetime, at least) and should just label himself accordingly. [color emphasis added]

So, my fellow people on the left, please don't arrogantly define political economic systems that you don't understand. You are giving the far right political ammunition against us.

[edited]

[atissi]

kras mazov lookin ass

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

At your side [End of Season 2]

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[m-a-d-e-l-e-i-n-e]

I hope leftists who think they’re above voting for president or are voting for Jill Stein or whoever because it’s their stupid way of protesting the system feel good about themselves, especially if Trump wins partly because of your negligence 😍 I know you’re not doing shit to plan the proletarian revolution, especially before January, so you guys better not complain about something harming you that you didn’t even bother to try and change

(edit: changed the last part bc I wrote “…if life gets a lot worse for you” cause that does nottt sound right at all and I apologize for writing that)

[alarrylarrie]

Hey super quick:

You might see some friends/people making some pretty rapid decisions/changes in the next few months. You might see some people doing some personality 180’s, so to speak.

You are the one who gets to decide what behaviors you can or cannot get on board with from other people.

What we do not get to decide, however, is what a person who feels threatened does to keep themselves, and/or their families, safe. There are different types of physiological responses to danger. (Or even the perception of danger.) So a friend might change pronouns, or their appearance, or their name. Or their personality might change drastically, or they start behaving “out of character.” They might start (or stop) dating someone that they wouldn’t have before.

We all have to make our own decisions about what’s best for us. And support each other, and keep each other safe, as often as possible. Okay?

[uncanny-tranny]

The bourgeois or "exploiting class" doesn't inherently include the person who gets their nails done biweekly, or the disabled person who has a carer, or the guy who got a $70 video game for full-price, or the person who relies on medication (yes even the ones you don't think they "need"), or anything else like this. None of these people will, on average, have the ability to exploit workers by means of ownership or whatever.

While you are busy fighting with fellow workers, you are still being exploited by your boss, by capitalism, by (potentially) not having healthcare, by being overworked and underpaid, and so are they.

[doomdoomofdoom]

When I said "Vote Blue now so you can vote Third Party in the Future. Because if you don't vote Blue now, you may not be able to vote in the future at all", I wasn't exaggerating.

[the-paris-of-people]

The past couple days online have been... interesting. I consider myself a leftist, think capitalism is corrupt, and think that it needs to be seriously reformed/overthrown. I admit that while I've thrown around phrases and terms like "burn it all down" and "the revolution needs to come" out of frustration without actually thinking about what a revolution entails: excellent organization, unity, and strategy to defeat the United States, the world's largest military superpower which has inflicted political and social destabilization across the majority of countries around the world. There also needs to be superb infrastructure and community to support the disabled, elderly, and poor populations who rely on government assistance and programs, healthcare, and accommodations while this so-called revolution rages on.

All I've received from the far leftist movement are lectures from condescending intellectuals who rattle off academic citations regarding ideological theory rather than practical, tangible steps to advocate for change in our local and regional communities. I have not seen one of them actually discuss conversations they've had with their friends, family, or Americans about what they want to see reflected for the future of the country. I have not seen one of them discussed how destructive, detrimental and traumatic a Trump presidency was for social prejudice and morale in the United States. I understand that for many marginalized groups they've been living in a facist state for centuries so the possibility Project 2025 doesn't galvanize them to see the two parties differently, but I don't think it is fair to white leftists falsely equivocate the election of both parties for the entire American population at all??? Or like at least specify the issues you're referring to in which you view both parties as the same????? Literally one TikTok creator who I used to follow talked about how true leftists are so much better than liberals because they aren't waiting for a presidential candidate to save the world NOW due to the accelerated apocalypse due to climate change but when asked how to change the world they suggest sharing ideas of your future utopia with other leftist groups. How the fuck is sitting around talking about living in a walkable community is great considered "saving the world now"? How are you going to dismantle and restructure American infrastructure to create these communities? How are you going to remove existing racial and social tensions to create a community where everyone lives happily side by side? Do people not consider reality at all?????

And is it not wrong for people to have a fucking sliver of optimism and hope at incremental change that's achieved within the corrupt bipartisan system of American politics, even if they know it's propaganda??? Is it wrong for people to have a singular fucking moment of relief in feeling like their values, beliefs, and lives will be better protected and THEY can advocate for change better??? Is it wrong when there's a couple months until the most pressing election in recent history for people to make the choice they feel will reduce the most amount of harm???

[baura-bear]

what's pissing me off most about the election is how many people who have similar opinions are absolutely tearing into each other in search of someone to "blame" for the trump win. It doesn't matter what we could've done differently because at the end of the day it's done. blaming each other and turning on each other is only gonna help the white supremacists who want to run this country. so instead we need to focus on creating community so that we have a network of resistance and care built into our lives. tear into trump supporters all you want but if you are anti trump, if you were discontent with both options, if you were/are whatever, focus on people who share the same ideas as you and how you can build each other up and make your community stronger. that is where revolution begins. not yelling about ballots that have already been cast.

[ruelpsen]

Hey USAmerican followers: if you are eligible, please for the love of all that is good, go vote tomorrow if you haven't already voted early. There's so much on the line not only nationally, but internationally given how powerful and influential the US is on a global scale. Everyone presently worried about what the future might hold under a wannabe-fascist dictator wants you to do your part in preventing that outcome.

No matter what anyone tells you, voting is important and you should do it. If it didn't matter, why are many conservative politicians fighting tooth and nail to make it harder for you to vote? Of course, voting's not the only way to do your civic duty- getting involved in mutual aid, volunteering for causes and movements that matter to you, showing up for local politics, and many other ways are all important too!- but it's a damn good start and means a lot when it comes to elections this important.

[llitchilitchi]

I get hating certain political systems and trying to abolish totalitarian regimes but at the same time many of them are so interwoven with our history and society they have become tropes and when I consume media with a setting where the monarchy is absolute and revered then I am playing my part and sucking that princeling off

[songofwizardry]

happy election eve, uk folks!

going to give a shoutout to https://voteforpolicies.org.uk/—their quiz is a super useful summary of the largest parties’ stances on various policies (you can pick the topics that matter to you and do a little quiz where it removes their names so you vote unbiased, and then it gives you your results), and even if you end up voting tactically, it is *extremely* useful and interesting to get a succinct summary of what the various policies are in different fields (spoilers: reform are extremely easy to spot and utterly terrible, and there’s… lots of transphobic policies.)

also bit of a shoutout to https://tactical.vote/ which is just ‘get the tories out’, and will probably tell you to vote Labour in most constituencies in England which yknow you may not want to do bc *gestures at Labour*, BUT it is a handy place to see both the 2019 results and recent polling for your constituency. do with that what you will.

see you at the polls tomorrow, and don’t forget ID! we ARE getting the tories out tomorrow, and we keep building after that bc the world and activism and change does not start or end at westminster and electoral politics will only take us so far! replacing the tories (particularly with Labour) will not fix all our problems (we will retain many of the same problems, have you seen those policies?) and we have to keep actually… doing shit, taking action, getting out there, not letting the name of the party sway us.

also, not going to tell anyone how to vote – make the decision that makes sense for you and your constituency, tho I feel like my stance is pretty clear here – but tomorrow I’m wearing green, yknow? 🌱

[sureuncertainty]

it's also the way that the same people who have been spreading "don't vote! democrats are just as bad! voting does nothing!" posts online for months now are ONLY NOW posting "uwu take care of yourself, we're gonna get through this" like yeah no you don't get to fucking do that. don't fucking act like you care about me or my mental health today after you stood by and watched this happen. you can't even do the bare minimum.

[kaurwreck]

The average American's ignorance of federalism and the separation of powers is going to fuck us on child online protection legislation if the same energy that is going towards KOSA isn't dedicated towards state legislatures too.

The federal efforts towards KOSA have moved much more slowly than state efforts, and Section 301 of KOSA is drafted with language that permits much more restrictive state legislation because Congress is trying to avoid preempting the 23+ child online protection bills already passed by states, and the many more being considered by states.

[vryivs]

I always forget that monarchists exist and then I see someone with the username duchessofmyheartforever or williamisababe posting about how it's mean to giggle at an ultrarich economic leech experiencing just a fraction of struggle and inconvenience (because lets be honest, he probably wont kick the bucket—his doctors are paid to keep his corpse animated long after it ceases to be humane)

[marietheran]

My condolences to all Americans who were forced to participate in today's sad proceedings.