this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2024
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An international (English speaking) socialist Lemmy community free of the "ML" influence of instances like lemmy.ml and lemmygrad. This is a place for undogmatic shitposting and memes from a progressive, anti-capitalist and truly anti-imperialist perspective, regardless of specific ideology.
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That refers to funny image macros and means that generally videos and screenshots are not allowed. Exceptions include explicitly humorous and short videos, as well as (social media) screenshots depicting a funny situation, joke, or joke picture relating to socialist movements, theory, societal issues, or political opponents. Examples would be the classic case of humorous Tumblr or Twitter posts/threads. (and no, agitprop text does not count as a meme)
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That includes so called: Social Democracy, Democratic Socialism, Dengism, Market Socialism, Patriotic Socialism, National Bolshevism, Anarcho-Capitalism etc. . Anti-Socialist people and content have no place here, as well as the variety of "Marxist"-"Leninists" seen on lemmygrad and more specifically GenZedong (actual ML's are welcome as long as they agree to the rules and don't just copy paste/larp about stuff from a hundred years ago).
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Notable achievements in all spheres of society were made by various socialist/people's/democratic republics around the world. Mistakes, however, were made as well: bureaucratic castes of parasitic elites - as well as reactionary cults of personality - were established, many things were mismanaged and prejudice and bigotry sometimes replaced internationalism and progressiveness.
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Trotsky didn't become Lenin's successor! This was how much control Lenin had actually lost over those years. Stalin was appointing his own people to positions within the government, Lenin and Trotsky knew this. Stalin was even rewriting history to portray him as a hero of the revolution, which he had very little to do with, and even tried to stall. Lenin and Trotsky knew this, they knew he was setting himself up to take power, against Lenin's supposed wishes. The fact is, the party was in many ways independent of Lenin. He led it but he led it as an intellectual, not a dictator. Even Stalin had limited control over the party, the scariest thing about the Stalinist purges is how much democratic buy in there was for them. but that's not how we are supposed to think of history. History is actually good guys vs bad guys, with "great men" fully in control of all of these conditions. Which makes us, like you and me, completely inconsequential, just like the capitalist ruling class wants us to believe. Your understanding is so fundamentally flawed you contradict yourself. Your point actually disproves your own premise, which makes me believe that you want a narrative, when you should be seeking truth: messy, incomplete, deeply contradictory truth. "Imperialism" has an actual meaning, stop trying to change it to fit your narrative, it cheapens the word.
Admittedly, I only read the first couple of sentences, but that's because, intentionally or not, you're still avoiding and deflecting from my main point.
You admitted Trotsky was a bastard. You now basically admitted that Lenin supported Trotsky and wanted to be succeeded by him. But you refuse to admit that Lenin was a bastard and seem to want to paint him as some sort of martyr or misunderstood saint.
Do you do that same for people who support Netanyahu? After all, it's not them who are responsible for the horrible things done to Palestinians, it's Netanyahu! They just happen to support him.
Is it that hard to just say, "Lenin was a bastard"?
I think you're polemically correct to say that the flaw in my argument is that I attribute too little influence to Lenin over the Bolsheviks. However I stand by all of the points that I've made, and without having read the same books as each other, comparing notes and passages, etc., which I might be persuaded to do in good faith, I think we've exhausted our differences on this topic.
To be clear if I was alive in that place at that time, I probably would have been a victim of either violent repression of anarchists (I don't identify as one but I might have at that time, like I said I'm deeply sympathetic to them,) and if not I would have definitely been purged by the late 1930s at the height of the Stalinist purges. But where I am now and from the history I've studied diligently for years, the discussions I've had, and the realities of organizing that I've done, I'm afraid I can't see Lenin the way you do, and in fact I remain critical of your views on him. So yes it is hard to say, because I won't lie to myself. At one time I saw Lenin and the Bolsheviks as you seem to think I see them: untainted by avoidable tragedy and justified in all their transgressions. But i've grown since then, as I hope to continue to grow; and I hope your perspective expands as well.