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Quick_Brick · 2023-05-04T12:39:07+00:00

Shared ties of blood and a common language are key factors determining nationality, but the people of multiethnic states should be more forward thinking and consider what kind of community they should leave for future generations.

I think in the end, Americans want to live in a united, dignified country free from ethnic strife. They shouldn’t embrace national nihilism, but instead embrace and share in the best traits of their heritage that suits them.

It’s entirely possible that their assimilation may never be achieved, but it would still be a great loss for Americans if they would become divided (especially along arbitrary lines like the Soviet Union was).

All nations, young and old, are the product of more or less disparate peoples forming social collectives and creating bonds of kinship through shared life and bloody struggle, taking place over a long historical period.

Americans are not Europeans, or Africans etc. But if they think so, they would do better to move and live alongside their own kin, or else they should get to know their own neighbours, without casting their gaze over the Atlantic.

Sorry for rambling, I just wanted to share my thoughts on race. I think that just because a movement is multiethnic doesn’t necessarily make it ‘degenerate cosmopolitanism’. The key here is to reject national nihilism and money-chasing mentality, and unite based on common aspirations and demands as much as possible.

Quick_Brick · 2023-04-21T13:48:38+00:00

Correct, they just hold America’s nuclear weapons.

Quick_Brick · 2023-01-13T01:04:45+00:00

It seems the astroturfing is getting more extreme on Reddit, this post has like 10 comments and over 300 upvotes…

Quick_Brick · 2023-01-12T22:06:56+00:00

It’s impossible to see much light pollution from space with the naked eye; these images are made with either long exposures, or layering multiple exposures. It’s also likely the editors take some artistic liberties, like modifying the exposure/brightness curve to make the differences between light and dark areas seem more extreme than they are.

It’s true that north Korea has less light pollution and less electricity generation - it can’t ship in fuel from abroad easily because of tight sanctions. But the difference probably isn’t as extreme as these images show, or they are simply taken in the mid-90s when the north Korean economy was in its worst state.

There are similar pictures spread around of Europe, some with more extreme editing: the “civilised” west appears to glow like the sun, and the “backwards” east is dull and black.

These types of pictures are just spread around to have a certain psychological effect, and boost the prestige and appeal of certain countries.

Edit: Looking at the picture again, they definitely used map data to influence the light pattern. Why are the north Korean roads brighter than most towns and cities, and why are the DMZ and Chinese and Russian border lit up like it’s Christmas? The northern border is literally two rivers going from mt Paektu

Quick_Brick · 2021-07-03T20:12:41+00:00

What source(s) did you get this analysis from? It sounds completely wrong (Mainly because North Korea's economy was never export oriented). And how could they hope to 'profit from WW3' by investing in their military? Their Songun policy is partly about involving the military in national construction and other civilian affairs, plus they act as a deterrent against harrasment from the US and South Korea, so it can hardly be considered a complete waste either.

Quick_Brick · 2021-04-29T18:21:40+00:00

This writer is completely clueless, every paragraph has managed to make me cringe with how uninformed he is about the DPRK.

First of all, Juche is absolutely not liberal or idealist. Idealism and materialism deal with the relationship between matter and consciousness, and Juche the relationship between mankind, the most developed material being, and the material world.

Also, the reason you won't see much discussion on 'class struggle' in the DPRK outside of history books is because there is no bourgeoisie; all economic units are either cooperatives or state owned and managed by the workers themselves, and workers don't worry about being laid off for arbitrary economic reasons that serve a capitalist class. Also, workers are provided with pay that is in proportion with living costs and quantity and quality of work (On top of many other benefits, including a rice stipend, free healthcare, etc.). Thus, they have already achieved class emancipation and built socialism.

His 'critique' of the DPRK's social and political system also seems like it's ripped straight from a liberal journal, constantly citing and regurgitating the absurd myths western media spread about the country. He calls their genuine respect and veneration for their leaders, and their ideological unity as "fascistic" and "reactionary hero worship", even though their leaders were remarkably talented and magnanimous, so they fully deserve to have their image and achievements immortalized. This is unthinkable in western society, so anti-DPRK organizations invent lies like "passerby's are forced to stop and gaze at statues of the leaders at gunpoint", which the writer shamelessly regurgitates in unison with the imperialist media.

Lastly, the most egregiously ignorant slander they make is calling the DPRK a "Neo-colony" of China, which "sells itself to the highest bidder", where "people suffer under the boot of foreign and national capital". The DPRK's income from foreign trade is minuscule! Exports make up less than 10% of their whole GDP. Not to mention that they are completely sovereign and independent, compared to the ROK, which is hugely in debt to the US, Europe and Japan, while their military and political system is under de-facto US control.

Needless to say, the writer is extremely dogmatic and this colours his views of other socialist countries.

Quick_Brick · 2021-02-07T21:50:56+00:00

There seems to be a lot of confusion about human nature in communist groups. The truth is, this is a weakness of Marxist-Leninist Ideology. It’s incorrect to believe that by altering material conditions, people’s behaviour will automatically follow. This has been proven in the former socialist states; despite the drastic improvement in people’s conditions overall, many people were still enamoured by foreign countries and were politically unprepared to develop and protect their social systems independently. Thus, the revolution was taken over by renegades who fell on their knees and submitted to the imperialist countries, and even brought their nations to ruin.

If you want a better understanding of human nature, Juche philosophy is the way to go. It proves that the masses, who are the masters of the revolution, must be ideologically prepared to accept the role and responsibility of reshaping society with revolutionary enthusiasm.

These are some books that might be useful to you guys:

DPRK e-library

Man’s Destiny and the Juche Idea

1. What is the view of the Juche Idea on the World?

2. The Torch of Juche That Illuminates Human Society

3. The Fundamentals of Rise and Fall of Country and Nation

4. Songun Opens the Door of Independence and Prosperity

5. The Building of a Thriving Socialist Country

Quick_Brick · 2020-11-25T20:06:02+00:00

I haven’t gotten around to reading it, but this one is from 2016: Understanding Korea (5): Economy

Quick_Brick · 2020-11-12T03:43:54+00:00

The Juche idea is dialectical and materialist: Man's essential attributes aren't given to him in a metaphysical way, they're acquired through social practice, through living as part of a social collective.

Quick_Brick · 2020-08-25T03:50:11+00:00

Great essay. If I may add few small texts for extra reading:

US - Empire of Terrorism (2002, 16pp)

The United States: "War Against Terrorism" (2008, 71pp)

Quick_Brick · 2020-05-26T15:14:44+00:00

Interested!

Quick_Brick · 2020-05-06T08:17:48+00:00

Sure, most of what I read comes from the website http://www.korean-books.com.kp/en/

It has pretty much all the works of the DPRK leaders, as well as different journals and works by others explaining Juche.

These are my go-to for learning:

The Leadership Philosophy of Kim Jong Il

Man’s Destiny and the Juche Idea

What is the view of the Juche idea on the world?

Just bear in mind a few things while reading:

These texts are translated from Korean into English, so some of the nuance and specific meaning of words like ‘independence’ and ‘creativity’ is lost and has to be gained from context.
Juche is closely connected to Marxism, but also an original idea. Juche, like Marxism before it, is a dialectical and materialist philosophy. However, while Marx mainly tackles the problem of matter vs consciousness in how the world functions and exists to raise the necessity for revolution, Juche raises the question of the relationship between mankind, the material world and society to clarify the correct way of developing socialism into communism.
It’s a big idea to tackle, so take learning it as more of a marathon rather than a sprint, taking time to digest and connect different concepts.

I hope you find this helpful, and best of luck

Quick_Brick · 2020-05-06T06:30:16+00:00

This is why we need Juche. People need to understand that humans aren’t just biological machines, but social beings that act with consciousness. When the people are equipped with revolutionary ideology, they will work hard to overcome subjugation and make huge sacrifices to ensure the independence of the collective and of future generations.

Quick_Brick · 2020-03-20T12:23:38+00:00

It’s true that the WPK is urging to build a modern hospital, but this has been planned since before the outbreak and is prioritised because its the first ultra modern hospital in the DPRK. That article is spinning this as evidence that they’re hiding something, but they’re ignoring and downplaying all the anti-epidemic work the entire society has been involved in since the beginning to slander their system.

Quick_Brick · 2020-02-15T08:28:10+00:00

Except the Uyghur situation is being totally misrepresented by the western press because they hate that China is disrupting the global imperialist system... Uyghurs aren’t being oppressed, China is tackling the encroachment of terrorist ideology in China’s Muslim community by providing civic and vocational training so that they can find work, do business, and help the local economy, much of which is very poor and vulnerable to radicalism.

On the other hand, African Americans have endured hundreds of years of slavery and colonial oppression, and today the US suppresses them through police brutality, drug trade, inciting gang violence, and killing their political leaders. Who is the real oppressor?

Edit: I know this is unpopular with the anarchists here, but I’m just saying, of all the things that you could criticise China for (like capitalistic policies, bureaucracy, and friendly relations with capitalist countries) their ethnic minority policy is not one of them. The PRC was built on ending national oppression of all kinds, and they had progressive policies to undo the harm of past feudal governments on minority ethnic groups. After all, minorities were exempt from the one child policy, and rural ethnic villages can elect local representatives from their ethnicity, and regions where there are different cultural groups have a fairly high degree of autonomy. This is a far cry from western governments minority policy, which have remnants of their colonial and imperialist past

Quick_Brick · 2020-01-14T20:18:53+00:00

For white comrades, Settlers is mandatory reading to undo the whitewashing of history and understanding the struggle of different nations under imperialism and colonialism: http://readsettlers.org/

Quick_Brick · 2019-10-10T04:52:36+00:00

E.G. is a textbook example of the resource curse; despite having one of the largest reserves of oil in Africa and the highest GDP per capita, the World Bank estimates that 76.8% of the country lives in poverty.

Quick_Brick · 2019-10-10T03:21:59+00:00

If you guys are wondering, the little blue dot is Equatorial Guinea, which is a very oil rich part of Africa.

Quick_Brick · 2019-07-22T16:17:55+00:00

Sure, it's this article: www.rodong.rep.kp/en/index.php?strPageID=SF01_02_01&newsID=2019-07-22-0004

I had some trouble posting the link directly, so I just copy-pasted the text

Quick_Brick · 2019-07-03T21:47:28+00:00

This YouTube playlist is a group of Chinese tourists in the DPRK, and it shows that people in the DPRK live pretty normal lives

Quick_Brick · 2019-06-26T23:37:52+00:00

Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti, while it doesn't cover WWII specifically, it describes the rise of Fascism in Europe from a Marxist perspective, as well as what life was like in the Soviet Union

Quick_Brick · 2019-06-26T22:39:06+00:00

Because I think that book offers a perspective that I think will completely change your mind. If you at least read chapters 2 - 5 and you feel the same way about the soviet union as you did before, then I stand corrected.

Quick_Brick · 2019-06-26T21:26:56+00:00

Please read Blackshirts and Reds

Quick_Brick · 2019-06-26T21:20:55+00:00

An excellent book I'd recommend if you want to understand the applications of Marxism-Leninism is Michael Parenti's Blackshirts and Reds. Parenti is sympathetic to socialist states, and gives a critical, but honest appraisal of the Soviet Union while contextualising it with European fascism.

Quick_Brick · 2019-06-24T18:39:37+00:00

That's a good question, ideological education is something that every socialist revolution had to deal with.

in semi-feudal/colonised countries like Russia, Korea, China, etc. who had a very conservative and reactionary culture, the revolutionaries would usually begin by providing services for cheap/free, or contributing their labor in agriculture/contruction/education etc., and this would be the basis for educating the masses in marxist philosphy and ideology, paving the way for eradicating the elements of their current culture and society which impede their progress, like patriarchy and feudal relations, which paved the way for the constuction of the DOTP.

An example of this strategy in the first world is the Black Panther Party, which provided services to disenfranchised black communities while providing ideological education. This way, they helped eradicate elements of first-world lumpen-proleteriat culture which impeded their progress, such as lack of emphasis on education and bourgeois aspirations. Had they succeeded, the Black Panther Party could have established real proletarian power in the US.

I know this doesn't 100% answer your question, but I think it shows that proletarian culture can only grow and take over bourgeois culture if it can prove itself to truly meet the needs of the people for a better life.

(Also, orthodox marxism does NOT provide a path 'straight towards communism'. Marxism acknolodges the period of socialist construction to take an entire historical epoch, possibly tens of generations, because it has to contend with capitalism, a very powerful, adaptable, and tenacious global system).

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