To be fair, there hasn’t really been a dismantling of oppressive social systems in a long while (major ones anyway), so that’s not really that great of a strategy to rely on
You must believe before everything else that the revolution must come, that there is no other choice.
-Abdullah Ocalan
The belief that “history has ended” and that there will be no major revolutions in our lifetimes is one of the greatest weapons of capital and the ruling elites in general.
If we are to progress as a species, socialist revolution is a historic necessity, there is no other way.
Trying to make capitalism care for humans, animals, nature, our environments and climate; trying to mate it more “humane”/green/queer-friendly/feminist etc. etc. is simply impossible since all those things are in direct opposition to the interests of capital (e.g. profits forever growing).
Sure you might get a few concessions here and there, but those are usually funded by outsourcing the gravest forms of exploitation to the global south; in the rare case that capitalists do give in and decrease their profit margin, a timer starts ticking towards one of the following: either neoliberal austerity or fascism
Don’t get me wrong, I fully agree with you and the post. It’s what SHOULD be happening - after all, the rich and powerful are not going to let power be voted away from them, which means some kind of direct action is needed.
My issue, however, is that there’s just no such action happening in reality and there really hasn’t been for decades - there are protests, there are some attempts, but they’re nowhere close to being successful enough to make an impact. Hell, the right seems to be doing a better job on that regard for some reason, with events like January 6th being something that the left should have been doing.
With all this in mind, that kind of rhetoric starts sounding more like empty slogans or even LARPing in a way.
I’m not from US, but rather Eastern Europe, though I do admit that the most news I see is from US due to them being the majority on most popular internet sites.
That being said, I’m not talking just about the US but rather western world as a whole, particularly US, Western Europe and my home country, Lithuania. Unless I slept through some event where oppressive systems there got dismantled this century, what I wrote should, at least from my perspective, still apply to those regions and not just the US.
I agree, but also, sometimes “dismantling oppressive social systems” means things like volunteering at a community food bank, or using one’s privilege as a cis woman to obtain free, prescribed estrogen that you can give to a trans woman who is unable to get her HRT officially, or joining a tenants union and turning up to resist an unfair eviction because fighting back as a tenant is hard even when the law is on your side.
It sort of reminds me of trying to stop biting my nails; I made multiple attempts to do so over the years, and I only found success when I realised I needed to replace the habit I was trying to break with a new one, rather than just subtracting the nail biting habit.
For me, recognising that systemic problems lie at the heart of many of my ails led me to look outwards and find solidarity within my community, which has led to me being more securely supported by mutual aid networks and the like.
To be fair, there hasn’t really been a dismantling of oppressive social systems in a long while (major ones anyway), so that’s not really that great of a strategy to rely on
The belief that “history has ended” and that there will be no major revolutions in our lifetimes is one of the greatest weapons of capital and the ruling elites in general.
If we are to progress as a species, socialist revolution is a historic necessity, there is no other way.
Trying to make capitalism care for humans, animals, nature, our environments and climate; trying to mate it more “humane”/green/queer-friendly/feminist etc. etc. is simply impossible since all those things are in direct opposition to the interests of capital (e.g. profits forever growing).
Sure you might get a few concessions here and there, but those are usually funded by outsourcing the gravest forms of exploitation to the global south; in the rare case that capitalists do give in and decrease their profit margin, a timer starts ticking towards one of the following: either neoliberal austerity or fascism
Don’t get me wrong, I fully agree with you and the post. It’s what SHOULD be happening - after all, the rich and powerful are not going to let power be voted away from them, which means some kind of direct action is needed.
My issue, however, is that there’s just no such action happening in reality and there really hasn’t been for decades - there are protests, there are some attempts, but they’re nowhere close to being successful enough to make an impact. Hell, the right seems to be doing a better job on that regard for some reason, with events like January 6th being something that the left should have been doing.
With all this in mind, that kind of rhetoric starts sounding more like empty slogans or even LARPing in a way.
you seem to be talking about the USA specifically. The USA is not the only country that exists
I’m not from US, but rather Eastern Europe, though I do admit that the most news I see is from US due to them being the majority on most popular internet sites.
That being said, I’m not talking just about the US but rather western world as a whole, particularly US, Western Europe and my home country, Lithuania. Unless I slept through some event where oppressive systems there got dismantled this century, what I wrote should, at least from my perspective, still apply to those regions and not just the US.
ah I misunderstood you then, mb
Before the monarchies started falling they had been in control for a long while too…
Just takes one coordination signal loud enough and a population displeased enough…
And, ideally, a good idea for a replacement system, so we don’t just end up with power held by the most ruthless…
I agree, but also, sometimes “dismantling oppressive social systems” means things like volunteering at a community food bank, or using one’s privilege as a cis woman to obtain free, prescribed estrogen that you can give to a trans woman who is unable to get her HRT officially, or joining a tenants union and turning up to resist an unfair eviction because fighting back as a tenant is hard even when the law is on your side.
It sort of reminds me of trying to stop biting my nails; I made multiple attempts to do so over the years, and I only found success when I realised I needed to replace the habit I was trying to break with a new one, rather than just subtracting the nail biting habit.
For me, recognising that systemic problems lie at the heart of many of my ails led me to look outwards and find solidarity within my community, which has led to me being more securely supported by mutual aid networks and the like.
Obergfell was 9 years ago.