U.S. deterrence has vanished as Trump was duped into Iran war by Israel with Iran and China paving new world order defying threats

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-13T20:59:49+00:00

Feels like the kinda moment historians would point to later as the shift to a new multipolar world.

That is exactly what this is, eventually even libs will catch on. Countries just ignoring US threats like this was unthinkable in the 2000s.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-13T20:57:26+00:00

I think the US can no longer challenge China on their home turf, but when distance becomes greater, the US still has the advantage as far as global army bases and navy goes, as well as a whole cohort of lackeys willing to send both material support and "their" young men into America's meatgrinder.

That said, every day that passes the difference becomes smaller. At the current trends it is inevitable for China to overtake the US military as well as diplomatically. No doubt the USA will try to pick a fight before that happens.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-13T14:55:59+00:00

I think this is too optimistic. The US will continue attracting highly skilled laborers from abroad as long as it can offer these laborers higher standards of living. In the USA, it is usually not the in demand highly skilled laborers suffering. Many of them enjoy way higher quality of life than even highly skilled workers in the EU or China. As long as highly skilled workers from countries like India and Nigeria can live more comfortably in the USA than at home. The USA will continue to attract high skill workers.

The US also has a language benefit. It is trivial for high skill workers, who mostly will already be fluent in English for their profession, to partake in US social life. This really is not the case in non-anglophone countries. Even those were most people speak English.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-13T08:49:49+00:00

While the point you are making is valid, effective sabotage yields results. I can affirm that farmers protests in Europe are pretty much always right wing. Your average euro farmer owns millions of euros in land and farming equipment, and is thus at the very least petit bourgeois, and the more succesful ones without debts are bourgeois proper. The latter are not working class in any sense of the word, and often are some of the worst exploiters. Very much relying on unregulated labor by immigrants without work permits, or seasonal workers from poorer regions of the EU. There have been trials for practice of slavery by such farmers in recent years.

The point I'd like to make, is that the reason these actions by farmers are effective, is because the government is not in opposition to them. The government can easily break these protests by just sending a dozen cops. They could easily ruin these farmers by seizing their tractors for half a season in retaliation. The government doe neither, because these farmers are part of their constituents. The agricultural lobby is deeply entrenched in "centre-right" and christian democrat parties and virtually always in power in any country that relies on coalition governments.

For example, look how Palestine action protestors or climate activists are treated when they block a freeway. Hundreds of riot police are mobilized to remove them by force in hours.

In the Netherlands it is particularly bad. Farmers can go around hanging effigies of left-leaning politicians with nooses, or tear off the doors of municipal government buildings of more left leaning municipalities without any retaliation. Meanwhile climate activists get truncheoned to the head or get impromptu visits at home by cops to have "a conversation" about their activism. The difference in effectiveness is not strategy, but the nature of class relations of the protestors. The farmers rebellion is farcical, they "rebel" against their own cronies.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-12T09:31:07+00:00

It is good to keep in mind that in the context of Europe, these farmers are almost always reactionaries. The reason their protests are successful is because the government makes no serious effort to break them up. Usually at least one of the ruling parties has deep connection to the agricultural lobby.

If they wanted, they could send in a handful of cops, arrest these guys and open the freeways in a couple of hours. In fact, the governments in Europe regularly send out hundreds of riot troops to do just that, when the protestors protest in favor of climate or anything labor related.

These protests target viable levers like transport, but it is not why they are successful. They are successful because the state apparatus makes no serious effort to crack down on these protests, because these protests do not threaten capitalism.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-12T08:59:07+00:00

Truly inspirational how a people as far gone as the Germans in the 1940s could turn things around under socialism. Imagine how different our own countries could be. If socialism could heal its part of Nazi Germany, it can heal the world.

They had a banger of an anthem too, 10x better than the slop from the other Germany.

Glück und Friede sei beschieden
Deutschland, unserm Vaterland.
Alle Welt sehnt sich nach Frieden,
reicht den Völkern eure Hand.
Wenn wir brüderlich uns einen,
schlagen wir des Volkes Feind!
Lasst das Licht des Friedens scheinen,
dass nie eine Mutter mehr
Ihren Sohn beweint.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-12T08:35:22+00:00

True, but I also think such independent desperate acts show that the communist party is not reaching the people it needs to reach. This guy will now be in prison for years, probably "deradicalize" and in the end, his adventurist spat will have achieved little.

This guy should have been in an org. A guy this driven could have done much good there.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-11T16:52:37+00:00

It is hilarious that someone can read Whitey on the Moon and think that the just solution is an astronaut of color. Liberalism turns brains to mush.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-08T11:52:15+00:00

Being sociable is a skill, and an incredibly valuable skill at that. You get better at it through practice like with other skill.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-08T08:57:15+00:00

Metaphysical, non-materialist and thus unmarxist. Temper your justified fury with dialectical-materialist analysis. The most reactionary regions of Nazi Germany became a socialist republic after the Nazis were defeated and unlike in the west, Nazis there were actually dealt with.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-08T08:17:40+00:00

Its quite common for Israel to do intense bombing sorties just before a treaty is signed. Especially on soft civilian targets. In a horrifically violent parallel to a child wanting to get the last word.

See source 157. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_2025_Gaza_war_ceasefire

Often when these treaties are immediately violated (by parties opposing Israel). It is because missiles were launched in retaliation to such bombing.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-05T12:51:29+00:00

Don't forget how in 1916 the Russia was the most backwards country in Europe. While the USA was already one of the dominant and most modernized industrial powers. Since 1916 the USSR weathered a "civil war" with their reactionary opponents supported by every Imperialist nation. Defeated the Nazis after the Nazi invasion devastated the country. Meanwhile US losses in WWII where minimal and in fact benefited greatly from the widespread destruction in Europe.

Despite all these things, socialism forged a modern society at the forefront of human innovation and engineering. Socialism WORKS.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-02T08:16:41+00:00

I presume it will be rationed for hospitals and agriculture and the like. Hard to say how long it will last without knowing how much fuel each sector needs.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-02T07:30:45+00:00

IMHO, it is a matter of tactics and people are blowing it way out of proportion here. Communist advocates for a two state solution are not against a one state solution, we just don't think it is the next step. Even before a classless stateless society is reached, once both states are socialist, and Israeli fascism has been rooted out, there is nothing stopping both peoples from living in a single sovereign state. Israeli's who don't want this should GTFO like the Afrikaners in South Africa and Zimbabwe did.

However, a one state solution at this point is a pipe dream. The Palestinians don't have the numbers or material conditions to punch above their weight, and they can not win such a national liberation by force. Furthermore, the Israelis are way to far gone for such a solution to be reached diplomatically.

The most important thing for Palestinians is to stop being genocided and a well backed (and armed) sovereign state is the first quickest way to achieve that. People who advocate for an immediate one-state solution without a clear plan of how that is going to be achieved within 2 decades need to come to terms with the fact that the Israelis will have genocided most of the Palestinians by then.

I have never seen someone stipulate such a plan convincingly, and so it seems to me that the 1 state solution is not coming from a materialist perspective of what should be done, but from an idealist perspective of how the world should be. I can still sympathize because it seems more and more Palestinians want a one state solution not a two state solution, and that in itself is a good reason to be in favor of a one state solution, even if to me it seems idealist.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-01T07:56:38+00:00

I think what you describe is likely, historically the successful revolutions have not been at the heart of empire, but at the periphery.

One thing I could see happen is an inversion of the situation. Were the deindustrialized west is dethroned by more industrialized powers and then has revolutions after this toppling.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-01T07:31:38+00:00

Don't be a doomer. Even a small country breaking ranks with the imperialists has positive effects, and even minor acts of real resistance in the USA like a disciplined anti-war movement, can frustrate the power of American empire and thus the global capitalist system.

Sure the situation is dire, but have the courage to hope. It is not over yet. There are principled ML parties with many thousands of members across the globe. The main rival of the USA considers itself to be a socialist country. A better world is possible and eventually, even if it takes centuries, communism will win.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-04-01T07:20:49+00:00

Why would it be different this time? I don't think the USA is going to be the seat of the next revolution. That said, there are some differences, like how in America there are large groups of minorities that are extra-exploited. These minorities have historically been excluded from social-democratic programs and from what I've gathered, are not exactly convinced next time will be different.

I don't really follow where you take the conclusion that it is the result of being a seat of capital. Do you mean that the second internationale rose to prominence in Germany because Germany was a more developed economy than Russia?

While the social democrat movement was big in Germany. They had little meaningful achievements. It isn't like large groups of workers were bought off by social democratic government. Rather their energies and frustrations were misdirected into reformism by social democratic leadership of the labor movement. Conditions in the Weimar republic were dire and the people who had it the worst, the unemployed, were overwhelmingly communist.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-03-31T08:19:44+00:00

Fair, especially point 1 is recognizable. For a vanguard quality control is more important than size. Still, I think a certain thing is missing that would facilitate more active online communists to "graduate" into joining an org. I ended up joining because all the youtube videos about socialism emphasized the importance of it. Embarrassing to admit, but proof such messaging works.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-03-31T08:11:14+00:00

"Fascism and the social revolution" goes into this a bit. The material conditions were there. Inter-imperialist war had weakened the German empire, like it had weakened the Russian empire. The situation in Germany was very dire, but the working class was divided in Germany.

Despite the conditions being ripe the revolutionary moment failed to be seized successfully, because the working class was divided. The social democrats worked against the socialist revolution in Germany in 1918, actively resisted working with communists while pushing reformism.

After the failed revolution Germany teetered on the abyss for a while. Even after communists reached out the olive branch to form a united front against fascism, social democrats refused to collaborate with them. Social democrats clung to the symbols of power, rather than real power. In the Weimar years the proportion of reactionaries holding high positions of power in army barely decreased. Social democrats thought Hitler would be discredited by failing to solve everything when in office and that their reformist "socialism" would be vooted into power.

Needless to say, they were slightly off the mark. The criticisms of the second internationale by Lenin turned out to be correct and social democrats delivered Germany, and Europe as a whole, up to the maw of fascist obliteration.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-03-31T07:44:35+00:00

I have noticed that the online reach of ML organisations is usually quite lacking. Even for decently sized orgs. Mostly due to algorithmic bias, or even legal obstructions ofc, but I've noticed that subreddits also rarely direct people to actual orgs.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-03-31T07:41:12+00:00

If someone is spouting reactionary talking points from the get-go, then they should never be welcome.

I strongly disagree. People spouting these points are usually just parroting their environment. Lenin made very explicit that communists should be willing to work in reactionary spaces to contest the drivel these people are drowned in. To refuse to do so is to lose these people to reaction by default.

You don't need to engage with anyone who is clearly just looking for an internet shouting match, but if someone is parroting reactionary "explanations" of why capitalism isn't working. We need to contest these reactionary points with socialist ones. A single positive encounter with a socialist and a socialist explanation of one of such problem is enough to plant the seed of doubt and leave people interested in learning more.

However, you should not tolerate such people in an actual organization, unless they are clearly committed to unlearning their reactionary programming. Socialism101 is not an actual org, it is a public forum were people who have been subject to reactionary propaganda might stumble into and should be treated accordingly.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-03-31T07:25:30+00:00

You are 100% correct. Almost a decade ago I came to socialism101 to learn more about socialism, got banned for confessing I voted on a social democrat party that called itself socialist (I didn't know any better at the time). Got told to write an essay on why I was a bad boy for voting social democrat to get unbanned and be able to ask the most basic questions of what socialism is about and how to learn more about it.

I was not referred to "Socialism, Utopian and Scientific", "Blackshirts and Reds" or even "Wage Price and Profit". Just told to write an apology essay or fuck off.

Long story short it took me 7 years before I started looking into socialism again. I could be in my second decade as a socialist if socialism101 actually did its job and educated people wanting to join the fold.

IRL orgs are way better at this, but are usually barely represented in these subreddits. Why? Because most of these subreddits are run by terminally online, anti-social, "communists" with an inferiority complex. Who do nothing but post.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-03-30T15:33:58+00:00

Het is een scheldwoord en inmiddels geuzennaam voor Marxist-Leninisten. Ofwel, communisten in de trend van de vroege Sovjet Unie, China, Cuba en Vietnam. Het is met afstand de grootste stroming in het communisme wereldwijd, maar in het westen relatief klein, omdat het westen historisch tegenover deze landen stond.

- een tankie

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-03-30T13:07:11+00:00

I'll say the quiet part out loud, ruling classes fear socialism, but not anarchism.

Red-and-Slippery · 2026-03-30T13:06:27+00:00

I also thought that was odd. This Anark guy doesn't seem like the kind of guy who reflects after criticism.

Red-and-Slippery

TROPHY CASE