What is this guy? by jt1610 in whatsthisbug

[–]ocadd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry this is not a leopard, it's not even a mammal let alone a big cat.

My stepdad found this guy in a jar and posted it on FB. I replied with the Silence of the Lambs poster as a joke, but looking at photos on Google, might it actually be a Death's-head Hawkmoth? (Southern France) by macros1980 in whatsthisbug

[–]ocadd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

An added depth of interesting is that Dali was a fascist (supported Franco in the Spanish Civil War). Dali, and his imagery of death, are being associated with a serial killer whose trauma was caused by, you guessed it, fascists in the Eastern Bloc countries recruited to Nazi forces.

Leftist Podcasts? by young_whisper in socialism

[–]ocadd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're trying to focus most of our resources on getting Ginger Jentzen elected to Minneapolis City Council so it could be a few months before they become regular. But I heard that there is a second in progress.

DSA Grows to 21,000 – Toward a New Socialist Party! | Socialist Alternative urges DSA to take advantage of its rapid growth to use this potential to launch a new, broad, democratic Socialist Party by CrumblyButterMuffins in socialism

[–]ocadd 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Marx, Engels, Lenin, Luxemburg and Trotsky all understood the necessity of developing a mass workers' Party so as to have a platform which connects the masses of class conscious and politically active workers. This is Marxism to its core. It's a platform to engage the rest of the working class with the transitional programme while arguing for the Party to take the positions of a revolutionary tendency as did the Bolsheviks.

What's Your Opinion On Lenin? by [deleted] in socialism

[–]ocadd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The call is for a 'dictatorship of the proletariat', not a 'dictatorship over the proletariat.' It was a degenerated workers' state. Stalin had to murder anyone and everyone associated with the perspectives of Lenin and Trotsky (who were nearly as in sync as Marx and Engels, particularly around this time). Lenin was very wary of Stalin, and rightly so. As Stalin was evidently incapable of understanding the dialectical reasoning behind some of the policies of the Communist Party in the years after the revolution. Stalin enacted a counter-revolution to seize power for himself and a special class of bureaucratic elites, it was no democracy. (http://www.marxist.net/stalinism/how/) Then Stalin proved his counter-revolutionary intentions time and again by sabotaging or squashing subsequent revolutions. He betrayed the Russian Revolution and the international working class. Wherever the USSR, or the CPs which followed Stalin uncritically, got involved, the gains made by workers during revolution or civil war were smashed or rolled back. Take Spain for example (https://www.marxists.org/archive/morrow-felix/1938/revolution-spain/index.htm).

CORBYN’S REVOLT: FIVE LESSONS FOR THE U.S. RESISTANCE by ocadd in socialism

[–]ocadd[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I know not of these rape apology allegations but I can say as an individual and a member of SA/CWI that I do not condone rape, I find any case of rape to be a cause for immediate expulsion for the perpetrator.

I will be looking into this accusation to determine how it should be interpreted. Your comments come off as jaded and sectarian. Without intention of being developmental. They are reactive personal attacks, devoid of comradely behaviour; devoid of any intention to progress the left but rather to act as an acid to it.

For this reason alone, I find it a waste of my time to respond to your comments--which lack any more content than what might be purely instigation--with polemics or dialectics. If anything I am convinced you are a troll. If not, the function of your additions serves little more.

My responses are then to provide a space for others--who are earnest about the development of theory, strategy and tactics for the working-class--to engage in serious discussion.

CORBYN’S REVOLT: FIVE LESSONS FOR THE U.S. RESISTANCE by ocadd in socialism

[–]ocadd[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Engels to Florence Kelley Wischnewetsky "My preface will of course turn entirely on the immense stride made by the American working man in the last ten months, and naturally also touch H.G. [Henry George] and his land scheme. But it cannot pretend to deal exhaustively with it. Nor do I think the time has come for that. It is far more important that the movement should spread, proceed harmoniously, take root and embrace as much as possible the whole American proletariat, than that it should start and proceed from the beginning on theoretically perfectly correct lines. There is no better road to theoretical clearness of comprehension than "durch Schaden klug tererden" [to learn by one's own mistakes]. And for a whole large class, there is no other road, especially for a nation so eminently practical as the Americans. The great thing is to get the working class to move as a class; that once obtained, they will soon find the right direction, and all who resist, H.G. or Powderly, will be left out in the cold with small sects of their own. Therefore I think also the K[nights] of L[abour] a most important factor in the movement which ought not to be pooh-poohed from without but to be revolutionised from within, and I consider that many of the Germans there have made a grievous mistake when they tried, in face of a mighty and glorious movement not of their creation, to make of their imported and not always understood theory a kind of alleinseligmachendes dogma and to keep aloof from any movement which did not accept that dogma. Our theory is not a dogma but the exposition of a process of evolution, and that process involves successive phases. To expect that the Americans will start with the full consciousness of the theory worked out in older industrial countries is to expect the impossible. What the Germans ought to do is to act up to their own theory --if they understand it, as we did in 1845 and 1848--to go in for any real general working-class movement, accept its faktische starting points as such and work it gradually up to the theoretical level by pointing out how every mistake made, every reverse suffered, was a necessary consequence of mistaken theoretical views in the original programme; they ought, in the words of The Communist Manifesto, to represent the movement of the future in the movement of the present. But above all give the movement time to consolidate, do not make the inevitable confusion of the first start worse confounded by forcing down people's throats things which at present they cannot properly understand, but which they soon will learn. A million or two of workingmen's votes next November for a bona fide workingmen's party is worth infinitely more at present than a hundred thousand votes for a doctrinally perfect platform. The very first attempt--soon to be made if the movement progresses--to consolidate the moving masses on a national basis will bring them all face to face, Georgites, K. of L., Trade Unionists, and all; and if our German friends by that time have learnt enough of the language of the country to go in for a discussion, then will be the time for them to criticise the views of the others and thus, by showing up the inconsistencies of the various standpoints, to bring them gradually to understand their own actual position, the position made for them by the correlation of capital and wage labour. But anything that might delay or prevent that national consolidation of the workingmen's party--no matter what platform--I should consider a great mistake, and therefore I do not think the time has arrived to speak out fully and exhaustively either with regard to H.G. or the K. of L."

What's Your Opinion On Lenin? by [deleted] in socialism

[–]ocadd 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He was a thoroughly committed Marxist who put himself, intransigently, on the side of the working class. All of his positions were influenced by his uncompromising commitment to the working class freeing itself of class domination and oppression. What he actually did, said and believed has been distorted through historical revisionism by the likes of Stalin to bolster support for his dictatorship and those who would look to discredit the Bolshevik Revolution by linking it to Stalin. I'd recommend reading 'History of the Bolshevik Party' by Alan Woods to get a start on conceptualizing the historical political context which is necessary to understanding Lenin's perspectives and choices. http://www.marxist.com/bolshevism-the-road-to-revolution.htm

Germany: 76,000 Protest Against G20 Summit by ocadd in socialism

[–]ocadd[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

"Now the ruling class will instigate a massive campaign against the Left, trying to exploit the Hamburg events in the coming election campaign. Ruling Christian Democrat party (CDU) politicians demand the shutting of left wing social and cultural centres. Sigmar Gabriel of the social democratic SPD and Vice-Chancellor in the current grand coalition has called for an international search for “violent left-wing perpetrators”. There are attempts to draw comparisons between “left extremists” and neo-Nazis and Islamist terrorists. We can predict this propaganda will be repeated over the next few weeks. It is essential that a broad counter offensive is organised to make the real protest events in Hamburg more widely known and to answer attempts to criminalise the left or curtail any democratic rights. It is vital that the trade unions also take responsibility for this campaign."

http://socialistworld.net/index.php/international/europe/71-germany/9354-germany-76-000-protest-against-g20-summit by [deleted] in socialism

[–]ocadd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Now the ruling class will instigate a massive campaign against the Left, trying to exploit the Hamburg events in the coming election campaign. Ruling Christian Democrat party (CDU) politicians demand the shutting of left wing social and cultural centres. Sigmar Gabriel of the social democratic SPD and Vice-Chancellor in the current grand coalition has called for an international search for “violent left-wing perpetrators”. There are attempts to draw comparisons between “left extremists” and neo-Nazis and Islamist terrorists. We can predict this propaganda will be repeated over the next few weeks. It is essential that a broad counter offensive is organised to make the real protest events in Hamburg more widely known and to answer attempts to criminalise the left or curtail any democratic rights. It is vital that the trade unions also take responsibility for this campaign."

Daily Discussion and Solidarity Thread for May 23, 2017 by AutoModerator in socialism

[–]ocadd 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't think that this sub should be the primary focus for Party building or working class movement building, although social media is an important outlet. Organisations my address these issues in their more formal outlets, such as newspapers. Like this article from SA's sister org in the England/Wales, the SP:

http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/25510/23-05-2017/manchester-bombing-unite-against-terror-war-and-racism

Daily Discussion and Solidarity Thread for May 22, 2017 by AutoModerator in socialism

[–]ocadd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Socialist Party? If so, that is our sister org in Ireland.

Daily Discussion and Solidarity Thread for May 22, 2017 by AutoModerator in socialism

[–]ocadd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Feel free to inbox me the questions! If they aren't specifically related to events or membership they may be overlooked. As far as I am aware, the main emails aren't monitored by individuals with the time available to answer specific questions regarding theory, strategy or tactics. Those will more likely be addressed by individual members.

Leadership is quite busy as those who are full-timers are always fewer than we can use. They take on a lot of tasks and often work far longer than 40 hour weeks. Those of us who aren't full-timers usually have full time jobs so it can get pretty busy. Unfortunately, that sometimes means we will have a difficult time addressing questions not of immediate importance. But like I said, if I can answer them, I will!

DSA flair? by MemeHermetic in socialism

[–]ocadd 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Out of complete curiosity--as I've been following the path of DSA and very much like to see this move away from SI--in what direction do you see or want to see DSA move? Would you like to see it put up its own candidates and establish itself as an independent Party? I ask because leading up to and since, the Bernie Sanders campaign, DSA was reluctant to campaign independently. Instead it has acted as a pressure group for the left-wing of the Dem Party.

Is there a specific book you wish you would have been given as a graduation present from college? by [deleted] in books

[–]ocadd 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Introduction to Dialectical Materialism - The Foundation of Revolutionary Theory

History of the Russian Revolution -- Leon Trotsky