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Cowbee [he/they] @lemmy.ml

Happy Birthday, Karl Marx!

On May 5th, 1818, Karl Marx, hero of the international proletatiat, was born. His revolution of Socialist theory reverberates throughout the world carries on to this day, in increasing magnitude. Every passing day, he is vindicated. His analysis of Capitalism, development of the theory of Scientific Socialism, and advancements on dialectics to become Dialectical Materialism, have all played a key role in the past century, and have remained ever-more relevant throughout.

He didn't always rock his famous beard, when he was younger he was clean shaven!

Some significant works:

Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte

The Civil War in France

Wage Labor & Capital

Wages, Price, and Profit

Critique of the Gotha Programme

Manifesto of the Communist Party (along with Engels)

The Poverty of Philosophy

And, of course, Capital Vol I-III

Interested in Marxism-Leninism, but don't know where to start? Check out my "Read Theory, Darn it!" introductory reading list!

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245 comments

  • Today I honor Cowbee's Sisyphean task of explaining that production/trade and capitalism are two different things 🫡

    • It gets easier, actually! So I wouldn't call it Sisyphean. Different parts of Lemmy have different levels of understanding, if I can get parts mostly aware to be more aware, then that helps trickle into other instances, and it's easier than doing so in instances where Marxism is seen hostiley.

      • trickle down economics lessons. Reagan was right all along

        • Not really "trickle down." If I go to a MAGA conference, I am going to be immediately attacked. If I go to a place with progressives, I'll face less hostility. If I go to a place with Leftists, then I'll generally be recieved favorably. If this Leftist base solidifies, it can expand and fold in the more radical of the progressives, and then expand outward.

          In other words, if it takes immense effort to "wololo" a MAGA into a Leftist, but much less effort to "wololo" a progressive into one, then it's better to focus on the progressive so that the new Leftist can also aid in the "wololo-ing." As the proportion of Leftists grows, and more proletarians go from MAGA to liberal, and liberal to progressive, this Leftist movement becomes better able to fold more people into it.

          • Well that’s a very meme description of shifting the overton window to the left.

            • As Marx's favorite maxim goes, "Nihil humani a me alienum puto [Nothing human is alien to me]"

              I love memes and gaming, same with Marxist-Leninist theory, same with space, science, and technology. Connecting to others with shared culture is part of what makes us human.

              • @Cowbee @Cypher Marxist-Leninist theory is fine. Theoretically the concepts of communal ownership and resources sharing is a laudable one. Too bad the only example of this concept actually working is Star Trek. The instances when it's been tried in the real world, ended in authortarainism and/or collapse.

                • All countries are "authoritarian," what matters most is which class is in control and thus exerting its authority. In Capitalist society, that class is the Bourgeoisie, a tiny minority of society. In Socialism, that class is the Proletariat, the majority of society. Countries like the PRC are labeled "authoritarian" not due to how the people themselves feel, but because Capital is limited by the government. Even if over 90% of Chinese citizens support the CPC, western media slanders the system as "authoritarian" because their corporate masters can't move as they please in Chinese markets.

                  • Countries like the PRC are labeled "authoritarian" not due to how the people themselves feel, but because Capital is limited by the government.

                    Countries like the PRC are labeled authoritarian because they do not provide basic human rights such as freedom of speech.

                    I will quote exclusively from your own source you have linked

                    “Gathering reliable, long-term opinion survey data from across the country is a real obstacle,” said Ash Center China Programs Director Edward Cunningham. “Rigorous and objective opinion polling is something that we take for granted in the U.S.”

                    You were accurate about the satisfaction rate towards Beijing.

                    in China there was very high satisfaction with the central government. In 2016, the last year the survey was conducted, 95.5 percent of respondents were either “relatively satisfied” or “highly satisfied” with Beijing.

                    Why do they suggest this rate is so high?

                    According to Saich, a few factors include the proximity of central government from rural citizens, as well as highly positive news proliferated throughout the country.

                    What about local government approval rates?

                    At the township level, the lowest level of government surveyed, only 11.3 percent of respondents reported that they were “very satisfied.”

                    This result supports the findings of more recent shorter-term surveys in China, and reinforces long-held patterns of citizens reporting local grievances to Beijing in hopes of central government action. “I think citizens often hear that the central government has introduced a raft of new policies, then get frustrated when they don’t always see the results of such policy proclamations, but they think it must be because of malfeasance or foot-dragging by the local government,” said Saich. 

                    Saich contends that the lack of trust in local governments in China is due to the fact that they provide the vast majority of services to the Chinese people.

                    That was a very interesting read, thank you for linking it but I don't think it says what you think it says.

                    • The reason I include it as a source is because it's conducted by a group hostile to the CPC and interested in undermining it. The opinions of those gathering the data are already hostile to the system, yet the data absolutely points in favor of popular support. Further, the 11.3% for "very satisfied" doesn't translate to all satisfied, only those very satisfied. The PRC is a rapidly improving country.

                      China does have freedom of speech. They exert more control over what corporations and billionaires can say, but they are more or less similar in speech levels to other countries. Again, the reason China is labeled "authoritarian" by the Western Media is because their corporate owners cannot do as they please. They want to foster hostility towards China among the public by exclusively showing a one-sided point of view that aligns perfectly with the views of their owners.

                      In conclusion, my source says exactly what I said it does. It's reliable in that we can trust the positives admitted from someone overall hostile.

                      • China does have freedom of speech.

                        No they absolutely do not. Free speech isnt simply the claim that "we have free speech" but it is ensuring that the principles of free speech, especially the freedom to criticize, are available for all citizens.

                        I searched for actual Chinese law to cite for this part, let me know if i made any mistakes but this is what I found:

                        https://www.cecc.gov/international-agreements-and-domestic-legislation-affecting-freedom-of-expression#criminallaw

                        Article 4: Any printed materials or audio/visual materials with any of the following contents shall be prohibited from being brought into China:

                        1. Attacking any relevant regulations of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China; slandering any policies of the nation currently in effect; defaming any Party or national leaders; inciting the carrying out of subversion or destruction of the People's Republic of China or creating division among ethnic groups; or advocating "two Chinas" or "Taiwan independence."
                        1. Anything else that is harmful to the government, economy, culture, or morals of the People's Republic of China.

                        Any book that reflects upon work or life situation of a current or former member of the Party Politburo Standing Committee, the National Chairman, Vice Chairman, Premier of the State Council, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, or the Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference must be specifically reported and approved.

                        Article 3: Publishing businesses shall adhere to the path of serving the people and serving socialism, adhere to the guidance of Marxism, Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory, and promulgate and accumulate scientific technology and cultural knowledge that is advantageous to economic development and social progress

                        Article 5: All levels of the People's Government shall ensure that citizens are able to legally exercise their right to freedom of publication. When citizens exercise their right to freedom of publication they shall abide by the Constitution and laws, shall not oppose the basic principles confirmed in the Constitution, and shall not harm the interests of the country, the society or the collective or the legal freedoms and rights of other citizens.

                        Article 105(2): Use of rumor mongering or defamation or other means to incite subversion of the national regime or the overthrow of the socialist system shall be punished by a sentence of five years or less of imprisonment, criminal detention, supervision or deprivation of political rights

                        Satellite television channels shall strictly observe propaganda requirements, and firmly observe correct guidance of public opinion. With respect to reports on important events, breaking stories and other sensitive issues, they must obey the integrated dispositions of the local party committee Propaganda Departments, and strictly abide by Party discipline.

                        I don't want to be close minded to new info, but when you throw out "western media" the way you are it makes me feel like you're trying to gaslight me.

                        China is a state. No state power is a flawless perfect angel.

                        The West has a lot of flaws, but one idea it had that is a good one is the idea of limiting the power of the state, and having a strong bill of rights/Constitution which guarantees rights.

                        This doesn't prevent it from being authoritarian, we can point to clear violations of civil liberties like the students being kidnapped off the streets and disappeared to an El Salvadoran death camp.

                        If I was unable to recognize that as authoritarian I think you'd rightfully decide this conversation is a non starter and I'm just too far gone.

                        https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/01/asia/china-students-peking-university-intl

                        So am I propagandized to? Was this story (and many more like it I could find and bring up) completely made up?

                        Or can we both agree stuff like this isn't great and work towards a future where we prevent the abduction of students in both spheres of the world.

                        Again, the reason China is labeled "authoritarian" by the Western Media

                        Forget the Western Media. I am telling you they are authoritarian. I don't do business with them, I am instead using objective standards of what actions an individual should be able to freely choose without fear of reprisal from their government.

                        The average citizen is in danger of being arrested over posting speech to social media (yes the UK and Australia are authoritarian for doing the same thing, that's how objective standards should work).

                        They're in danger of being arrested for protesting their government, or for organizing their labor. The only correct channel of protest is going through the local government with the abysmally poor approval rate you cited.

                        In conclusion, my source says exactly what I said it does. It's reliable in that we can trust the positives admitted from someone overall hostile.

                        What? How does that make anything any more or less reliable?

                        You can't just cherry pick positives out of a negative bias and assume it cancels out.

                        A study done by someone not hostile would be more reliable. That's what I would have tried to link, but I guess the source you linked explains China's strict censorship makes it difficult to do an objective opinion poll.

                • Western supremacists tend to use "Authoritarian" only to demonize the countries that stood up and fought back against colonialism / imperialism.

                  And it usually is never directed against the actually non-democratic / oligarchical countries like the US, who've bombed and meddled with nearly every government on the planet.

                  You should question your preconceived notions about China, Vietnam, Cuba, and the USSR, because you likely grew up in a country that has spent the entire historical period of the cold war, trying to strangle those countries and many others out of existence.

                • “Authoritarianism” is when the imperial core’s freedom to exploit the periphery is thwarted.

          • TIL Wololoing

245 comments