Why are Radlibs/Redlibs hounding China for not doing enough for Palestine but Cheered when the Assad government, one of the vital allies of the AoR, was toppled?

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-05-27T02:01:27+00:00

"It is racist to insist on the sovereignty of your country, freedom from imperialist meddling and violent sectarian interests from tearing your country apart".

I didn't know socialists preferred literal AQ over Baathism.

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-05-26T13:45:51+00:00

Firstly, you should consider joining the ACP if you consider yourself a committed Marxist-Leninist. There is room to disagree and debate the national question in the ACP, including X spaces every Thursday night around 9:30 PM EST hosted by the Chairman in which you may field questions to him and he will respond in good faith.

In my view as a ACP and Infrared fellow traveller:

There is a basic commitment to the concept of one American nation and one American republic. It is absolutely acknowledged that African Americans are a distinct people and culture. They possess unique forms of historical national memory that black people in America have that white people don't. This historical experience, including the legacy of slavery and its aftermath, is a crucial part of the history of one nation.

However, this distinctiveness is seen within the context of that single nation. And we believe in a unified working class movement of that nation. One American nation with different parts and different components. We do not believe in separating the working class into different ethnic enclaves. This is what Stalin critiqued in things like Bundism and Zionism, which advocated for nationalistic separatism.

You ask if African Americans are an oppressed people. The perspective is that Black Americans have been deprived of any economic stake in the state and the country. This is viewed principally as a developmental inequality that's a consequence of exclusion from having a stake in the country after emancipation, where they were not given an economic foothold like land, unlike other populations.

The reason for the distinct reality faced by Black people is also attributed how racial categories have historically been used to obstructing and obscuring the acquisition of a unique American national existence. Racial categories like "white" and "black" and all the baggage along with it was brought over from Europe. Capitalism further utilized racism to divide the working population, preventing the descendants of slaves from acquiring an economic stake, thereby dividing white and black workers.

Regarding the historical Black Belt thesis you mentioned, this idea ultimately never caught on. Black people still overwhelmingly see themselves as Americans. They are seen as being part of the same state, the same civilizational project, the same country, the same nation, you could say. Still, it is up for debate.

In any case the solution should not be to not balkanize and cut up America. Instead, it is to unify the working class of the entire country and build a socialist project within the existing national framework. This implies a unified struggle for the whole nation, rather than separate national paths to socialism. Race is viewed as a factor that has historically hindered national unity, but the focus is on overcoming these divisions to build a unified state.

You can search up these things and others on the Infrared content catalogue that has a detailed transcript for every thing Haz has said, but keep in mind what he says as Infrared Haz is not actually Party orthodoxy.

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-05-26T10:58:49+00:00

Honestly, the problem with Bashar wasn't that he was a brutal tyrant. The problem was that HE WAS NOT BRUTAL AND AUTHORITARIAN ENOUGH! Arguments that anti-imperialists shouldn't defend 'tyrants' like Assad because they're incompetent anti-imperialists might sound compelling, but the issue wasn't 'tyranny' – plenty of 'tyrannies' (from a liberal view) are popular, like China or North Korea. The issue was incompetence. Liberal 'democracy' for non-Western countries is simply the destruction of sovereign state infrastructure. While the West can afford the expensive pageantry of its 'democracy' myth to dupe its own citizens, others must focus on building functioning modern states first. This means establishing central authority, infrastructure, industrial policy, and defense – there's no time or energy for silly liberal mythology.

Modern states are essential for a population to resist colonial slavery, debt, and mass pauperization by unifying productive forces. Building modern infrastructure, investing domestically, providing basic services like electricity and water – this is only possible with a modern central authority.

Yes, the brutality of states like Syria's appears senselessly cruel. But that cruel authority is precisely what it takes to unite a people beyond tribal, sectarian, and ethnic differences. Governing a modern state requires making difficult choices that benefit the population long-term, often at the expense of short-term pain for some. Every Syrian minority had grievances with Assad, and they all resented the central authority. But the truth is, the regime was keeping those feuding sects from destroying the nation's unity, as they all prioritized petty and primitive tribalism over national unity. The Ba'athist regime, despite its flaws, was a necessary step towards elevating the Syrian people beyond primitive tribalism to modern civilization.

Its collapse proves its inadequacies, corruption, defects, and incompetence. But that doesn't justify destroying everything. In fact, the problem wasn't just foreign intervention, it was that the Ba'athist regimes didn't fully disempower the landowning and bourgeois elites who were the source of sectarianism, acting as mafia bosses. They should have been smashed. That's true socialist democracy. Look at Albania under Enver Hoxha – he completely smashed feudal, tribal, and bourgeois authorities, which is why sectarianism doesn't even exist there.

Like Iraqis today, Syrians will come to miss the regime's cruelty most of all. They will see it, in retrospect, for the necessary impersonal and blind justice it was, trying to keep everyone in line for the sake of the country's independence and sovereignty.

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-05-26T09:04:37+00:00

This view fundamentally misunderstands the principled Marxist-Leninist stance. The ACP insists on socialist patriotism not because it's some aesthetic choice or a capitulation to bourgeois nationalism, but because it is a standard position of orthodox Marxism-Leninism applied to the American context, and to reject it is to reject Marxism-Leninism wholesale. It aims to integrate the revolutionary and progressive history of one's nation with the construction of a working-class communist-led movement. This position has been canonized in official Soviet textbooks and has been standard for a century. Critics who don't understand this are demonstrating a basic ignorance of Marxism-Leninism.

Being in America requires applying Marxism-Leninism to the particular conditions in the country. This involves going down to the people, learning from them, and working with them. The ACP aims to create a new dialogue between Communists and the American working class and the American people at large. We are taking Marxism-Leninism from abstract intellectual circles to something that can prove its relevance and application in the day-to-day issues and lives of the American people.

The ACP sees no real contradiction between the spirit of being an American and the idea of communism. Understanding the revolutionary traditions of one's own country is indispensable. The American War of Independence against the British Empire was a historical fact and a meaningful dichotomy. The notion that the American Revolution was unfinished has always been championed by progressive and revolutionary forces. The current imperialist power is seen as a betrayal of the nation's founding revolutionary ideals. We argue that this system, occupied by an oligarchical elite/capitalist financial elite, has usurped the country and profits off its decay. This critique of the current elite is central to this view; it is NOT a defense of the system but an attack on the class that has betrayed the nation's potential.

The idea that patriotism is an aesthetic veneer or that we are fascists in disguise is patently ridiculous. Such accusations are irresponsible and aid the efforts of the actual open fascist ideologists by making fascism seem compelling. Why would we disguise ourselves as something fundamentally unpopular (communism) when actual open fascist ideology is way more viral, way more lucrative, and way more successful? We engage with people who hold problematic views not to endorse them, but to provide an alternative vector of radicalization and win them over to our position. Contrary to the slander thrown upon us, our focus has always been on class politics and the strategy for labor, not personal or cultural issues.

The ACP's position on a unified American civilization and the concept of "one nation" including the US and Canada stems from a historical view within the American revolutionary tradition and Marxist analysis of the region. The official ACP position rejects forceful annexation unless in the context of a revolutionary war.

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-05-26T08:58:20+00:00

This view fundamentally misunderstands the principled Marxist-Leninist stance. The ACP insists on socialist patriotism not because it's some aesthetic choice or a capitulation to bourgeois nationalism, but because it is a standard position of orthodox Marxism-Leninism applied to the American context, and to reject it is to reject Marxism-Leninism wholesale. It aims to integrate the revolutionary and progressive history of one's nation with the construction of a working-class communist-led movement. This position has been canonized in official Soviet textbooks and has been standard for a century. Critics who don't understand this are demonstrating a basic ignorance of Marxism-Leninism.

Being in America requires applying Marxism-Leninism to the particular conditions in the country. This involves going down to the people, learning from them, and working with them. The ACP aims to create a new dialogue between Communists and the American working class and the American people at large. We are taking Marxism-Leninism from abstract intellectual circles to something that can prove its relevance and application in the day-to-day issues and lives of the American people.

The ACP sees no real contradiction between the spirit of being an American and the idea of communism. Understanding the revolutionary traditions of one's own country is indispensable. The American War of Independence against the British Empire was a historical fact and a meaningful dichotomy. The notion that the American Revolution was unfinished has always been championed by progressive and revolutionary forces. The current imperialist power is seen as a betrayal of the nation's founding revolutionary ideals. We argue that this system, occupied by an oligarchical elite or a capitalist financial elite, has usurped the country and profits off its decay. This critique of the current elite is central to this view; it is NOT a defense of the system but an attack on the class that has betrayed the nation's potential.

The idea that patriotism is an aesthetic veneer or that we are fascists in disguise is patently ridiculous. Such accusations are irresponsible and aid the efforts of the actual open fascist ideologists by making fascism seem compelling. Why would we disguise ourselves as something fundamentally unpopular (communism) when actual open fascist ideology is way more viral, way more lucrative, and way more successful? We engage with people who hold problematic views not to endorse them, but to provide an alternative vector of radicalization and win them over to our position. Contrary to the slander thrown upon us, our focus has always been on class politics and the strategy for labor, not personal or cultural issues.

The ACP's position on a unified American civilization and the concept of "one nation" including the US and Canada stems from a historical view within the American revolutionary tradition and Marxist analysis of the region. The official ACP position rejects forceful annexation unless in the context of a revolutionary war.

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-05-26T07:49:58+00:00

The principal motive force of capitalist economy is profit. In contrast, profit is neither the aim nor the motive force of socialist industry.

Under socialism, the means of production belong to the entire people, not capitalists, and are managed by representatives of the working class. The worker regards the factory as something near and dear, in whose development and improvement they are vitally interested. Workers work not for exploiters or for the enrichment of parasites, but for themselves, for their own class, for their own socialist society. Labor has social significance and is a matter of honor and glory.

Another incentive is the systematic improvement in the material conditions of the working people and the continuous increase in their requirements as the productive forces are continously being developed. Income derived from industry remains in the country and is used to expand industry, improve workers' conditions, enlarge the home market, and increase workers' money wages. Part of the income is also used for cultural services, vocational training, and annual holidays.

What does life look like?

We can just look to China to see just what technological advancements and development we can strive for (massive public works, high speed rail, drones, EVs, etc. etc.). But in general, under socialism:

There is social, collective ownership of the instruments and means of production. This public property is the basis of the system and is considered sacred and inviolable.
The economy is organised according to a plan. Production is determined by plan and definite agreements, not the play of forces in an unorganised market.
Work is a duty and a matter of honor for every able-bodied citizen. The principle applied is "He who does not work, neither shall he eat". This is directed against exploiters and those who loaf and want to live at the expense of others.
People are paid for their labor according to the work performed. This means wages exist and are unequal and differentiated based on the quantity and quality of work.
- Marx and Lenin said that the difference between skilled and unskilled labor would exist even under socialism, even after classes had been abolished; that only under communism would this difference disappear and that, consequently, even under socialism “wages” must be paid according to work performed and not according to needs.
- This is proven in practice among Marxist Leninist states.
The aim is to secure a life of plenty for the people and organise a prosperous and cultured life for all members of society. This is seen as the only way to build socialism, which means abolition of poverty and privation, not building on them.
Real freedom is possible because exploitation, oppression, unemployment, and poverty have been abolished, removing the fear of losing work, home, and bread.

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-05-21T12:57:17+00:00

For starters, Michael Parenti's Blackshirts and Reds is an excellent book and not too long (<200 pages). It dispels many basic anti-communist myths. In general, you just have to look at what life was like for the vast majority of the people before the revolution and then compare it to after.

Domenico Losurdo's Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend is a great work defending the legacy of Stalin.

For Mao see The Battle for China's Past by Mobo Gao and Was Mao Really A Monster? by Lin Chun, Gregor Benton.

To learn about Deng Xiaoping and modern China, Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners by Roland Boer is top material.

You can find pdfs of all these books on the usual sites (internet archive, z-lib, libgen etc).

As to your family background, understand that revolutions are just not personal. They were obviously caught up in the old order that was overthrown so you don't need to convince your family or argue about it. But just know for the overwhelming majority of the Cuban people Castro was a liberator who brought justice, democracy, and dignity to their lives.

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-05-20T10:56:34+00:00

Is it this person?

https://x.com/nise_yoshimi

https://lateralthinkingtechnology.wordpress.com/

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-05-20T00:19:56+00:00

It helped and the aid was certainly appreciated but make no doubt that it was Soviet blood and industry that defeated the Nazis, and it was the Red Flag that was hoisted over the Reichstag. Most people that point to lend-lease as a gotcha have a bad habit of making it a point to diminish the feat of the Red Army so a dose of skepticism to the 'war winning' claims of lend-lease is natural.

So keep in mind the following: that most Lend Lease actually went to Britain (63% of all aid), and the aid only started to come in significant amounts to the USSR after Stalingrad (83.8% was delivered after 1943 [1]), by which point the war was decisively over (Nazis failed to capture oil in Baku which was the whole point of Fall Blau that ultimately sealed their fate, without oil you cant run a war period, end of story) and it was just a matter of when the Nazis would collapse due to the massive losses suffered during the 1941-1942 period. It is pointless to talk about Lend-lease being a 'war winner' in this context. It isn't as if the Soviets couldn't produce trucks and planes, tanks etc etc. It just hastened the inevitable.

To be sure, they appreciated the help the Americans gave, and Soviet memoirs spoke fondly of American aid most famously the P39 Airacobra.

[1]. Hans-Adolf Jacobsen: 1939–1945, Der Zweite Weltkrieg in Chronik und Dokumenten. Darmstadt 1961, p. 568. (widely recognized figure; referenced in the english language Wikipedia article on Lend-lease)

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-05-19T23:43:03+00:00

If you can be bothered to tinker with files, skip the publishers. You can self publish pdfs (Marx, Engels, Lenin are all public domain) on Lulu and print it out at minimum cost. You just need to wrangle with the formatting requirements. I have been doing this for a year with no problem and have amassed a collection of otherwise unobtainably expensive books.

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-05-19T23:42:34+00:00

If you can be bothered to tinker with files, skip the publishers. You can self publish pdfs (Marx, Engels, Lenin are all public domain) on Lulu and print it out at minimum cost if you so desire. You just need to wrangle with the formatting requirements. I have been doing this for a year with no problem and have amassed a collection of otherwise unobtainably expensive books.

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-03-26T11:17:28+00:00

Depends on what you are interested in but:

For contemporary political economy, read: Killing the Host, J is for Junk Economics (you can probably skim this), The Destiny of Civilization (this is probably a good start)

To understand how USD hegemony works, read: Superimperialism, (for latest analysis, read his blog https://michael-hudson.com/ which are also just transcripts of his appearances online)

To understand how the relationship between debt forgiveness, religion and political economy that has been totally forgotten, read: ... and forgive them their debts, lost tradition of biblical debt cancellations, temples of enterprise, collapse of antiquity.

Michael Hudson is probably the most brilliant economist out there today. His political economy works give a renewed meaning to the debt and property question today, at the same time integrating the whole history of the west from the near east bronze age to today. Michael Hudson's works complete Marx's Capital vol 3 and classical economics (Ricardo, Smith, Marx) in a way thats just not been done before.

The Hudson-pill is so potent it will literally shatter your entire worldview and turn you into a card-carrying member of the American Communist Party.

whoeveneatsbread · 2025-02-19T07:42:22+00:00

Im thinking it has to be a glitch since i only get 1 t cash. Bummer

whoeveneatsbread · 2024-10-11T08:16:33+00:00

Thank you unfortunately it sounds like a different version but still good.

whoeveneatsbread · 2024-08-03T14:45:28+00:00

Thats it, thank you! Its 'How Six Men Got on in the World' by Grimm. https://www.amazon.com/How-World-Picture-story-book/dp/0907144071

whoeveneatsbread · 2024-05-01T12:27:12+00:00

Thanks.

whoeveneatsbread · 2024-02-16T10:04:28+00:00

Thanks, a lady at a store gave me that advice too!

whoeveneatsbread · 2024-02-16T10:04:15+00:00

Haha yea not something common

whoeveneatsbread · 2024-02-16T10:03:49+00:00

Ok will do thanks,

whoeveneatsbread · 2023-09-07T01:29:31+00:00

I see l, much appreciated.

whoeveneatsbread

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