I'm not one to post often. I'm not really one to rant to strangers online often, even. But, after migrating from r*ddit to lemmy, I've had this on my mind and this seemed like the place to vent.
I see discourse about tankies constantly on Lemmy. This struck me as odd. Why are these so called tankies such a threat? Why do I see people calling themselves left-wing and attacking tankies more voraciously than neoliberals and, sometimes, even fascists?
I think I know the answer, just as well as most people who will read this. These are the Zizeks of the world: people who do indeed think in a left-wing oriented way, but fail to recognise that they're also Western to the core and the biases that come with that.
I sincerely care about this much less than the actual reason I'm making this post. That is: why don't these people notice that their talking points, left-oriented as they may seem, always end up supporting US allies or attacking US enemies? I mean, do these people not see that Ukraine winning the war is a boon to the US, regardless of who is "right" in that conflict? Many other such cases, but I think I've made my point, or, rather, my confusion, clear.
That's it. That's the post.
I think another factor here, especially considering a certain tendency of Libs who think they're leftist, is that bourgeois democracy actually works okay for them. Not great, bad enough in fact that it makes anti-capitalism appealing, but they still enjoy a relatively decent amount of social stability and pedestrian civil liberties. Even if we push all the BS propaganda aside, they probably wouldn't enjoy either of those things as much in a developing world AES state.
A stable, secure, prosperous capitalist state doesn't really care if you want to engage in some cute grassroots leftist organizing, community gardens and DIY punk spaces aren't really a serious material threat to them. They enjoy a degree of freedom and even some passing social acceptance because they're ultimately seen as a well meaning if misguided subculture within the broader bourgeois liberal society. They dislike "Tankies", partially because they believe (correctly or not) that life in an AES state unpleasant and also a serious ML Party would be an actual threat to the bourgeois liberal state which could in turn result in a crackdown on them.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. This is something I consider myself, seeing as I live a somewhat okay life and things like revolution and civil war would certainly destabilise that. But I don't know if most people would have this level of self awareness; at least, not on a conscious level. I think the libs you are referring to would not be able to articulate fully that the status quo benefits them and that is enough to warrant their support. No, what bothers me, I think, is that there is no such recognition, only proclamations of submission to greater ideals, such as democracy, freedom and, of course, the very recent and not nearly far-reaching enough LGBTQ rights. In this sense, I almost find fascists more tolerable, because they at least seem self aware and honest about their intentions (when talking to each other, at least).
I see them articulate this sentiment a lot, I've seen a lot of "well at least America is a democracy", "I can go to the White House and hold a sign saying 'fuck Biden' unlike with Xi in red fash China", "at least we don't eat rats". Their insistence on believing even the most ludicrous accusations about socialist states is also a demonstration that they want to be convinced the US is better, because it is better for them and the lifestyle they want to lead.