Lefty Memes
An international (English speaking) socialist Lemmy community free of the "ML" influence of instances like lemmy.ml and lemmygrad. This is a place for undogmatic shitposting and memes from a progressive, anti-capitalist and truly anti-imperialist perspective, regardless of specific ideology.
Serious posts, news, and discussion go in c/Socialism.
If you are new to socialism, you can ask questions and find resources over on c/Socialism101.
Please don't forget to help keep this community clean by reporting rule violations, updooting good contributions and downdooting those of low-quality!
Rules
0. Only post socialist memes
That refers to funny image macros and means that generally videos and screenshots are not allowed. Exceptions include explicitly humorous and short videos, as well as (social media) screenshots depicting a funny situation, joke, or joke picture relating to socialist movements, theory, societal issues, or political opponents. Examples would be the classic case of humorous Tumblr or Twitter posts/threads. (and no, agitprop text does not count as a meme)
1. Socialist Unity in the form of mutual respect and good faith interactions is enforced here
Try to keep an open mind, other schools of thought may offer points of view and analyses you haven't considered yet. Also: This is not a place for the Idealism vs. Materialism or rather Anarchism vs. Marxism debate(s), for that please visit c/AnarchismVsMarxism.
2. Anti-Imperialism means recognizing capitalist states like Russia and China as such
That means condemning (their) imperialism, even if it is of the "anti-USA" flavor.
3. No liberalism, (right-wing) revisionism or reactionaries.
That includes so called: Social Democracy, Democratic Socialism, Dengism, Market Socialism, Patriotic Socialism, National Bolshevism, Anarcho-Capitalism etc. . Anti-Socialist people and content have no place here, as well as the variety of "Marxist"-"Leninists" seen on lemmygrad and more specifically GenZedong (actual ML's are welcome as long as they agree to the rules and don't just copy paste/larp about stuff from a hundred years ago).
4. No Bigotry.
The only dangerous minority is the rich.
5. Don't demonize previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.
We must constructively learn from their mistakes, while acknowledging their achievements and recognizing when they have strayed away from socialist principles.
(if you are reading the rules to apply for modding this community, mention "Mantic Minotaur" when answering question 2)
6. Don't idolize/glorify previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.
Notable achievements in all spheres of society were made by various socialist/people's/democratic republics around the world. Mistakes, however, were made as well: bureaucratic castes of parasitic elites - as well as reactionary cults of personality - were established, many things were mismanaged and prejudice and bigotry sometimes replaced internationalism and progressiveness.
- Absolutely no posts or comments meant to relativize(/apologize for), advocate, promote or defend:
- Racism
- Sexism
- Queerphobia
- Ableism
- Classism
- Rape or assault
- Genocide/ethnic cleansing or (mass) deportations
- Fascism
- (National) chauvinism
- Orientalism
- Colonialism or Imperialism (and their neo- counterparts)
- Zionism
- Religious fundamentalism of any kind
view the rest of the comments
That's why even if I have my own personal views, I identify primarily as an anti-sectarian Leftist. Whether Marxism, Anarchism, or some other flavor of Leftism begins to truly lead the movement, it will be more important to push the movement forward than to spend effort on infighting.
Only a mass worker movement can get any real change.
I can get behind that. I'm not nearly as left as a lot of folks on this platform but in the US we're so far to the right that at this point we should all just be pulling left. We can duke it out once we move the Overton Window a bit.
I would even argue that open discussion of ideas is fantastic and shouldn't be discouraged, but that this shouldn't stand in the way of praxis and collective action.
If Marxist groups are leading the charge and Anarchists spend more time disagreeing with Marxist principles than actually moving forward, or vice-versa, then those people are no better than Counter-Revolutionaries.
Again, if the Revolution doesn't exactly take on the character I want it to, I am still supporting it far more than criticizing it, because movement to the Left is the primary necessity.
Of all -isms that's probably Platformism. Whatever helps reach the goal. I find that pragmatic and rational.
I try to be. I have more sympathy towards some -isms than others, but seek an alliance among all with the same trajectory. Strawmanning and bashing other leftists accomplishes absolutely nothing.
Winning an internet argument may seems small, but it's a brick in the foundation of the next revolution (not to say it's an excuse to masturbate before the mirror).
I'm with you on that. I hold a strong belief in anarchism or\and mutualism, but if TEH LIBS are those who are helping political prisoners or minorities at the moment, I'd help them to do so. Since my state is happy to torture activists and is soon to ban satanism as extremism with a 10+ year sentences, it seems chameleoning is the only way to keep acting and causing a little, but difference.
Yep. I personally lean more Marxist, I think a worker-state is a more effective means of protecting the revolution, but if my Anarchist comrades make a real breakthrough and pose serious potential to topple Capitalism and establish Anarchism, you bet your ass I am going to side with the Anarchists and not waste anyone's time fighting against that.
That is very distinctly not Platformism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platformism
How narrow or broad should we go? They come from a different side, but being flexible and 'work within what works' is a pretty close thing. It's telling 'anarchism' is unusually ommited from the name.
The platformist organization itself has a high degree of theoretical unity. The platform was invented because the Ukrainian anarchists were so disparate and constantly bickering about theory that they couldn't form a consistent strategy.
Dual organizationism and social insertion are not necessarily platformist. They precede it by many decades.
Anarchism is omitted from the name because it is implied. There are no non-anarchist platformists.