An international (English speaking) socialist Lemmy community free of "ML" (read: Dengist) influence. This is a place for undogmatic shitposting and memes from a progressive, anti-capitalist and truly anti-imperialist perspective, regardless of specific ideology.
Serious posts, news, discussion and agitprop/stuff that's better fit for a poster than a meme go in c/Socialism.
If you are new to socialism, you can ask questions and find resources over on c/Socialism101.
Please don't forget to help keep this community clean by reporting rule violations, updooting good contributions and downdooting those of low quality!
0. Only post socialist memes
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. Please post agitprop here)
0.5 [Provisional Rule] Try to use alt text or image descriptions to allow for greater accessibility
(Please take a look at our wiki page for the guidelines on how to actually write alternative text!)
We encourage alternative text (from now referred to as "alt text") to be added to all posts/comments containing media, such as images, animated GIFs, videos, audio files, and custom emojis.
EDIT: For files you share in the comments, a simple summary should be enough if they’re too complex.
We are committed to social equity and to reducing barriers of entry, including (digital) communication and culture. It takes each of us only a few moments to make a whole world of content (more) accessible to a bunch of folks.
When alt text is absent, a reminder will be issued. If you don't add the missing alt text within 48 hours, the post will be removed. No hard feelings.
0.5.1 Style tip about abbreviations and short forms
When writing stuff like "lol" and "iirc", it's a good idea to try and replace those with their all caps counterpart
Why? Because otherwise (AFAIK), screen readers will try to read them out as actually words instead of spelling them
1. Socialist Unity in the form of mutual respect and good faith interactions is enforced here
Try to keep an open mind, other schools of thought may offer points of view and analyses you haven't considered yet. Also: This is not a place for the Idealism vs. Materialism or rather Anarchism vs. Marxism debate(s), for that please visit c/AnarchismVsMarxism.
2. Anti-Imperialism means recognizing capitalist states like Russia and China as such
That means condemning (their) imperialism, even if it is of the "anti-USA" flavor.
3. No liberalism, (right-wing) revisionism or reactionaries.
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" (read: Dengists) (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).
4. No Bigotry.
The only dangerous minority is the rich.
5. Don't demonize previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.
We must constructively learn from their mistakes, while acknowledging their achievements and recognizing when they have strayed away from socialist principles.
6. Don't irrationally idolize/glorify previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.
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.
People holding too much power seem to inevitably decide they need and deserve even more power. Bri'uhn wasn't the first that enslaved and genocided whole populations, nor the only during that time: Spain was arguably more violent and France was another power and riches hungry evil.
You want to bind my wrists with the shackles of universal healthcare you monster!
‘Member when people tried building there own communes outside the US and the CIA intervened.
Pepridge Farm remembers
The Invisible Doctrine does a good job of explaining how capitalism happened and where we are today. Fairly depressing but informative.
Gonna throw in "Debt: First 5000 Years" by Graeber if anyone wants even more historical perspective on how it came to be.
hey thanks for the suggestion. I also suggest the amazing book Kicking Away The Ladder by Ha Joon Chang.
Wait, were do the the Romans and the Mongols stay in this picture? Were they capitalists as well?
No one ever even implied that they were.
The obvious answer to your question is "not in frame".
Hello, my name is Marc Parella and I am laughably ignorant of the entirety of human history since roughly 1880.
People, people, please. You'll be enslaved no matter what economic system you're under.
What an utterly shitty take.
Nothing stopping you. Well, except for the federal government and its military.
Stop trying to enslave me in a world where my neighbor gets to eat! I wanna live in a world where none of us get to eat, and we work all day to maintain our poverty!
There is, in fact, a lot stopping people from forming communes all over the place
But try!!!, dont use the difficulty as an excuse
Namely, capitalism.
...and if you do, hoooooo boy. I hope you like a coup, because you are going to get a coup.... or sanctions... or a blockade... or all three.
And don't get too big or the FBI or ATF is on their way
That's just a shitty thing to say. As if the CIA doesn't do this work, local business owners and sheriffs won't form a militia, or any of dozens of other federal agencies don't put in the work murdering people for trying to share.
Worker unions bad, police unions enforcing corporate-aligned government rules good.
Give it a try and tell me how it goes. "If you think you're free, try going into a deli and urinating on the cheese"
Shoot James Brady in the back?
"Nothing" is definitely an interesting way to pronounce "many things"
"Nothing stopping you" except the government. "Which government?" Most of them.
Remember, the capitalists caused famine all over the place too!
Okay but they weren't communist about it, so it doesnt count. Stop whining Ireland.
uproar from India, Bangladesh, The Congo, Kenya, and about 100 other countries
Yes but they're not white so we don't have to pretend to feel guilty about the atrocities.
To them communism is what capitalism is to us
This assigns too much legitimacy to the position. The working class are not capitalists because we have no capital with which to commit legal theft through property law or pay thugs to enforce those laws with violence.
The working class under capitalism are beholden to systems they often do not understand, cannot exercise agency within, and are actively stymied from prospering under.
Capitalism dehumanizes even those who support it. Those who support it are conditioned to reflexively demonize alternative systems. To rise above this culturally ingrained propaganda and advocate for alternatives requires seeing capitalism for what it is.
Alternative systems are to them what the bogeyman is to children.
Nothing is stopping you from forming communes all over the place
The USSR, Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam famously forming unopposed. Capitalists and feudalists famously did not try to invade them and overturn their elections.
"Nothing is stopping you" - actually not true, you need government permission and they will just say no.