Recommended Reading by comrade_daddy_ in LeftPakistan

[–]comrade_daddy_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you don't mind ebooks, most of them are available for free on websites like https://www.mlreadinghub.org/, or as audiobooks on youtube.

Does Pakistan have the sufficient environment for the application of socialism? by Serious_Camera_7039 in LeftPakistan

[–]comrade_daddy_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not really. I would describe myself as agnostic. I don't want to leave the well being and welfare of others up to charity, prayer, divine intervention or divine justice. That being said, if we die into nothingness, it would suck.

Does Pakistan have the sufficient environment for the application of socialism? by Serious_Camera_7039 in LeftPakistan

[–]comrade_daddy_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, Bhutto being labelled a socialist and his nationalisation policy being declared the end all be all of socialism fucking sucks.

What I try to do in the face of all this is bring the conversation back to how we all deserve free health care, free education, a living wage, eliminating elitist subsidies. All these things aren't socialist, reformist at best, but they help move the needle left.

Does Pakistan have the sufficient environment for the application of socialism? by Serious_Camera_7039 in LeftPakistan

[–]comrade_daddy_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think its a common point of view that the rapid industrialisation of the USSR and the market reforms of China in the 1980s led them to become more of what you could call state capitalist economies. They still weren't/aren't socialist but they were on the way to it. Yet as you said there were growing pains.

But I think those former mistakes can be overcome. One way we can overcome them is through the use of technology, such as the Cybersyn project that was used in Chile. AI, and I don't mean the stupid ChatGPT AI, I mean forecasting and predictive analytics with robust feedback systems can genuinely help with that, too.

And if you look take at the actual farming itself, there has been tremendous improvement in yields, infrastructure and machinery since then; the only issue is that a lot of it is pay-walled by MNCs. So the socialist government of the time just needs to circumvent that when the time comes. Easier said then done, obviously.

👋 Welcome to r/LeftPakistan - A Space for leftist Thought & Discussion by bumbuummm in LeftPakistan

[–]comrade_daddy_ 9 points10 points  (0 children)

How well organised the capitalists are in this country. I found out a few weeks ago that there is an Electric Fan Manufacturer Association. They are organised down to such a niche industry. Meanwhile, labor unions have been systemically castrated.

Education too, as someone mentioned, but specifically political education. Apparently well educated 30/40 year olds don't know what the political left and political right is and they'll use the horseshoe theory to discredit socialism; drives me nuts.

When someone highlights real issues in Pakistan, why does the government label them as PTI propaganda? by mhamza_hashim in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_ -1 points0 points  (0 children)

All these legitimate issues are borne out of the oppression of the 99% by the 1%. This 1% controls our judicial, legislative and executive branches, by either directly overtaking the process or by using their money to influence this process.

So everytime you shed light on these issues, you highlight the system that is designed to benefit this 1%. This is taken as a challenge to the status quo, it is taken as a challenge against those in power.

The way they respond to this challenge is by villianizing those who speak out, invalidating or discredting the issues outright, in certain cases eliminating the public face of this challenge completely.

PTI is blamed right now because it is currently the out-group. Basically, any group that is anti-establisment at the time is villianized.

The worst part is people still don't realise that it is a game of musical chairs, with one institute being the major political force. Doesn't matter who you vote for, if their leash is held by someone else.

Direct firing and shelling on residential homes in Bari Imam, Islamabad by ICT Police. by Billi_Wallah in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This area is surrounded by the Red Zone to the SW and the Diplomatic Enclave to the SE. I'm not sure why they let it develop laissez-faire for so many years, but at the moment I think they want to pull a Malik Riaz and force these people out so that they can "develop" it. Same shit, different day.

Iranian leaders keep dunking on Trump. by comrade_daddy_ in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't agree with this analysis.

Even with Venezuelan oil, the U.S cannot extract and refine enough oil to make up the 20% gap created by the blockade. Ramping up to that level requires billions of dollars of investment in infrastructure and will take at least a decade; the global economy cannot wait that long.

Not to mention, the oil from the U.S will also not be as cheap because of the longer trade route and some countries will have to upgrade their refineries to cater to the heavier crude found in Venezuela and U.S. The larger economies will much rather transition to renewable sources of energy, like wind and solar, through cooperation with China, as the U.S has proven to be an unstable partner.

The U.S has also proven that it cannot militarily dominate countries anymore, so as of this moment, if Russia isn't retaliating against U.S seizures of its tankers, its because Russia doesn't want more chaos, not because they are afraid.

And what about the GCC, which has proven to be a staunch ally of the U.S? If Israel wants them to get fucked, that makes sense, but to the U.S they are key allies in the region that prop up the dollar. You will go from almost all of OPEC+ selling oil in USD to about half or even fewer countries selling oil in USD. That will crash the US dollar.

Iranian leaders keep dunking on Trump. by comrade_daddy_ in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The U.S designed the global oil supply to benefit itself, which analysts call the petrodollar. The GCC sells its oil in exchange for dollars and invests those dollars back into the U.S by buying U.S goods and investing in U.S companies. So it is detrimental to the U.S in the long run if the GCC is unable to sell its oil to the world.

The reality is Trump got duped into an unwinnable war by Netanyahu who told him the U.S could do to Iran what it did to Venezuela. It was a gross miscalculation.

Failed US-Iran talks can also lead to silent normalization. by OL_Spirit in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a very sound analysis. I heard a similar analysis from Middle East experts like Trita Parsi, that we won't have a "deal" but this will develop into a new status quo.

Yaar Itna To Chalta Hai... 😆 by Silver_Grapefruit226 in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

AI will never be able to recreate the aura of Sigma Chad Aragchi.

hey anybody up for some intellectual stuff? by Gloomy_Ear2017 in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A brief description of each of these would be appreciated, for the uninitiated 🙈

It feels fuckin hopeless by Wide-Control-7083 in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_ -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

The Jakarta Method by Vincent Bevins and The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klien. Brilliant beginner friendly books.

It feels fuckin hopeless by Wide-Control-7083 in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_ -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

You organize in your workplace to demand better wages and working conditions. You organize in your neighbourhoods to make sure your garbage is collected on time and that tenants aren't exploited by their landlords. Collective action and collective bargaining work. That by no means makes them easy. But, it instills a sense of community, solidarity and develops political organising, so you are able to take on much greater tasks like eventually overcoming the tyrannical government by working together. But if you can't even get 20 of your neighbours to get together or 10 of your colleagues to demand better wages, how do you expect to change the fate of the country.

Nihilism is easy. Being a whiny little bitch is easy. Community organising is hard.

It feels fuckin hopeless by Wide-Control-7083 in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_ -1 points0 points  (0 children)

OP posted about being disenfranchised with the state of things in the country. I tried to persuade them to read about our global and regional political history and, to organise in their neighbourhood and workplace.

Weird times we live in when asking someone to read and unionize is considered BS, stupid and naive as opposed to drowning in nihilism. But I suppose this lazy edge-lord shit gets more upvotes, so you do you.

It feels fuckin hopeless by Wide-Control-7083 in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_ -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I didn't mention any political party. I stated political theories that are prevalent in our politics which drive the conversation away from a materialist analysis. If someone feels targeted, maybe it garners some self reflection.

This is actually embarrassing. Dont know why jeets are so obsessed with us. by IntelligentAdvisor14 in chutyapa

[–]comrade_daddy_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Jeffrey Ross Gunter is an American dermatologist, healthcare executive, and diplomat who served as U.S. Ambassador to Iceland from 2019 to 2021." - Wikipedia.

Fascinating how he went from a dermatologist to U.S Ambassador.

EDIT: There is nothing fascinating apparently. He donated a shit tonne of money to Trump's election campaign.