As the new year approaches, now's as good a time as any to reflect on what's important and how we get there. Maybe 2024 is the year you realize you're a soci...
Out of all the socialists and anarchists I know (in real life), I don’t know a single one that is like this. Some of my close friends are communists, and they are members of organizations that have more similar views to theirs. As an Anarchist, I’ve got different beliefs, especially in certain topics, but similar or identical ideas in other places. In the physical world, we usually brush those differences aside and work together in solidarity, and I’m welcome in all the protests I’ve been in. Even non socialists have been welcome in many protests organized by socialist orgs, such as those for solidarity with Palestine, or other anti-zionist protests, union solidarity, and anti-police protests.
Sure, some groups will be hostile and shitty, but that’s the case for all political views, it isn’t exclusive to socialists. I’ve been called all kinds of names by liberal democrats for not falling in line with them on multiple occasions. Politics online is often one of the most toxic cesspools, full of rabid people of all views. I wouldn’t judge a diverse group as a whole for the toxicity of a few.
Yes, small c communists, anarchists, and actual libertarians are all pretty reasonable and accepting. The only real complaint I could level against any of them is that many are so ideologically, dogmatic and inflexible. They cannot form coalitions to achieve anything. But they’re consistent about it at least. Because it is baked in to many of the ideologies. It’s still frustrating when they choose virtue signaling over accomplishments. Not that I mind the candidates many of them virtue signal to. My only gripe with many of them is that they stand no actual chance of getting in. And by wasting time virtue signaling we usually end up getting the worst of all possible choices. Get this is the left we’re talking about. And by it’s very nature. This sort of situation unfortunately isn’t going to change. I’m reasonably okay with that as long as we don’t go the big c Communist route at least.
The inability to work things out and form coalitions is something thats pretty annoying. If you ever talk with anarchists and MLs, you will hear a lot of similar ideas, especially regarding what to do in the meantime, but they will still find things to bicker about in any electoral orgs. I get the desire for idealogical purity, and I see it in myself a lot. The dreams of an anarchist are beautiful, but if you are unwilling to deviate even the smallest amount from the direct path you see that leads there, you’ll fail to see the other slightly longer, twisty paths that lead to the end goal. Having a pure ideology is admirable if the idea is good, but it is useless if you can never realize it because you are too inflexible.
Personally, I’ve kinda given up on electoral orgs, so I’ll do my best to do direct action that genuinely helps people in the meantime. One man cannot start and sustain a revolution in the neoliberal hell hole I live in. I plan on moving soon, and when I finally do, I’ll join up with the local direct action orgs such as Food Not Bombs, and other more regional orgs, such as a few that focus on providing heat to the unhoused.
Out of all the socialists and anarchists I know (in real life), I don’t know a single one that is like this. Some of my close friends are communists, and they are members of organizations that have more similar views to theirs. As an Anarchist, I’ve got different beliefs, especially in certain topics, but similar or identical ideas in other places. In the physical world, we usually brush those differences aside and work together in solidarity, and I’m welcome in all the protests I’ve been in. Even non socialists have been welcome in many protests organized by socialist orgs, such as those for solidarity with Palestine, or other anti-zionist protests, union solidarity, and anti-police protests.
Sure, some groups will be hostile and shitty, but that’s the case for all political views, it isn’t exclusive to socialists. I’ve been called all kinds of names by liberal democrats for not falling in line with them on multiple occasions. Politics online is often one of the most toxic cesspools, full of rabid people of all views. I wouldn’t judge a diverse group as a whole for the toxicity of a few.
Yes, small c communists, anarchists, and actual libertarians are all pretty reasonable and accepting. The only real complaint I could level against any of them is that many are so ideologically, dogmatic and inflexible. They cannot form coalitions to achieve anything. But they’re consistent about it at least. Because it is baked in to many of the ideologies. It’s still frustrating when they choose virtue signaling over accomplishments. Not that I mind the candidates many of them virtue signal to. My only gripe with many of them is that they stand no actual chance of getting in. And by wasting time virtue signaling we usually end up getting the worst of all possible choices. Get this is the left we’re talking about. And by it’s very nature. This sort of situation unfortunately isn’t going to change. I’m reasonably okay with that as long as we don’t go the big c Communist route at least.
The inability to work things out and form coalitions is something thats pretty annoying. If you ever talk with anarchists and MLs, you will hear a lot of similar ideas, especially regarding what to do in the meantime, but they will still find things to bicker about in any electoral orgs. I get the desire for idealogical purity, and I see it in myself a lot. The dreams of an anarchist are beautiful, but if you are unwilling to deviate even the smallest amount from the direct path you see that leads there, you’ll fail to see the other slightly longer, twisty paths that lead to the end goal. Having a pure ideology is admirable if the idea is good, but it is useless if you can never realize it because you are too inflexible.
Personally, I’ve kinda given up on electoral orgs, so I’ll do my best to do direct action that genuinely helps people in the meantime. One man cannot start and sustain a revolution in the neoliberal hell hole I live in. I plan on moving soon, and when I finally do, I’ll join up with the local direct action orgs such as Food Not Bombs, and other more regional orgs, such as a few that focus on providing heat to the unhoused.