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Understanding why and how the US Empire is dying and what needs to be done to bring about Socialism is comforting.
Fuck it, shameless plug: check out my "Read Theory, Darn it!" introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list if you don't know where to start but want to begin with theory.
Indeed, it's far less stressful to watch these events unfold when you understand the underlying mechanics and why they're happening.
Haha speak for yourself. Understanding the underlying mechanics makes it obvious what comes next and I kind of wish we could just skip that part. 😅
It's not gonna be pretty that's for sure. It's still better to know what's coming than to just have it happen to you.
Wait I’m intrigued that there’s a happy ending in the long run? I’m super ignorant in this area but like…have other countries we view as relatively socialist (Euro stuff?) gone through a similar process that the US is going through? Definitely looking for some optimism these days.
Europe isn't Socialist, it's Capitalist but more solidly focused on welfare. Just like the US (and Canada) though, they depend on massive exploitation of the global south. Marxists call this "Imperialism." Imperialism is the highest, dying stage of Capitalism, where Capitalism cannot sustain itself internally and seeks external sources to prolong itself. Imperialism also causes the Imperialized to go against it, though, and because industrialized production largely gets shipped overseas, this leaves Imperialist countries in struggle.
Right now, Trump is trying to restart USian manufacturing, but it isn't working. China is quickly overtaking it, because it is both a Socialist country and therefore can more effectively plan for the long term, and has a far larger industrial capacity.
The optimism is that it will likely get better after it gets worse. Imperialism needs to be killed, but in killing it we can move beyond financial dominance and into a collaborative, industrialized economy based on collective planning, ie Socialism. In short, revolution allows us to shift from a privately driven economy to a publicly driven economy, and this revolution becomes more likely as time goes on due to conditions worsening. Capitalism can't save itself because it isn't profitable to reindustrialize, due to an era of financial dominance, only a massive FDR style New Deal could delay this process, or people continuing to capitulate to the US Empire.
Fuck it, shameless plug: check out my "Read Theory, Darn it!" introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list if you don't know where to start but want to begin with theory.
Thank you for your reply!
No problem!
We cannot choose the period of history we reside in, but we can rise to meet the occasion.
But only if you're doing what needs to be done.
What is to be done?
Really good book! A little bit inaccessible in the first two chapters though.
Jokes aside, a good start is to join a socialist org, participate, and start developing yourself politically. I believe cowbee has a good reading list.
Here's the "Read Theory, Darn it!" introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list you mentioned. Also plugged it elsewhere on the thread, lol
I just wanted to say thanks for the curated reading list.
No problem! Made it after the US election, because I thought it would be a good opportunity to help people understand what's going on and what we can actually do proactively. Glad you like it!
Exactly. This should be framed as a failed coup that will result in social reform/revolution. These clowns are poorly organized, on drugs most of the time, and have no clues how the social organism works.
It's pretty shitty that they'll cause a lot of unnecessary pain tho.
It's less a coup, and more the bourgeousie opting for a hammer to try to save itself from the trap it fell into by de-industrializing and shifting most production overseas. But you're right, revolution becomes more likely.