Cowbee comments on Democrats now have a majority in Congress, but we can’t forget that they’ve held it before, and our lives only got harder. All they want from us is a vote, then silence until the next election.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 day ago* (6 children)

It's still a party dominated by capitalists in a state that can never be reformed into socialism, ever. This is the basic problem, even if the Democrats were hardcore Marxists they still couldn't implement socialism even if they wanted to. That requires completely replacing the state, which is beyond the ability of those that take office, and requires armed struggle to take the commanding heights of the economy outside the scope of the state.

I'm very optimistic for the future, I just know that the Democrats are not on my side.

permalink

fedilink

source

parent

hideshow 6 child comments

[+] Godric@lemmy.world -9 points 1 day ago* (5 children)

I personally root for anyone who measurably improves the lives of hundreds of millions of people, and/or the least evil/most good option.

I think electing progressives will have a more measurable positive impact on the lives of hundreds of millions of real people, compared to imagination. Some pie today is better than pie in the sky, way up high!

permalink

fedilink

source

parent

hideshow 5 child comments

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

This is why I asked you if you think capitalism necessarily makes conditions worse over time, or if that trend can be reversed. In my view, capitalism, even managed by progressives, will continue to result in wealth concentration and increased disparity. Even if progressive social programs are passed, such as an expansion to medicare, capital will continue to concentrate in fewer and fewer hands, and the crisis of profitability will continue to loom for the next inevitable bust. Every bust concentrates capital even more, and casts even more workers into generational poverty.

This is why I cannot see progressives as improving things. They slow the descent at most, they do not reverse the trend, and therefore we must commit to the revolutionary path. Also, if improving the lives of hundreds of millions is something you support, then I'd figure you would be the CPC's strongest warrior. They eliminated absolute poverty for 800 million people.

permalink

fedilink

source

parent

hideshow 4 child comments

[+] Godric@lemmy.world -6 points 1 day ago (4 children)

[removed by mod]

permalink

fedilink

source

parent

hideshow 4 child comments

[–] EmmiLime@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 day ago

You are a child. Knee-jerk reaction to everything that that doesn't align to your views, no introspection and absolutely no sign of object permanence.

And if you deadass think mass-murdering repressive dictatorship is the solution, oh bud, you are too far gone XD

Thinking China is like this while completely rooting for the genocide-enabling Democrats lol okay you little baby.

permalink

fedilink

source

parent

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

You did not answer my question. Let me ask in the form of metaphor, that might help. Do you believe capitalism is a sinking ship, where progressives can only patch holes to slow it sinking, or do you believe capitalism is a ship that is off-course, and that progressives can steer it towards the right direction? Which is it? I believe the former, but it's unclear if you believe the latter.

As for China, it's a democratic country run by popular councils that ladder upwards. For how this works in detail, as well as an overview of how socialist democracy has evolved over time and the reasons why, I recommend Socialism in Power: On the History and Theory of Socialist Governance by professor Roland Boer. Who is it that China is mass-murdering, by the way?

I'm genuinely trying to come to an understanding with your thought process. I don't think we will agree, but I think we can find common ground.

permalink

fedilink

source

parent

hideshow 2 child comments

[+] Godric@lemmy.world -5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

[removed by mod]

permalink

fedilink

source

parent

hideshow 2 child comments

[–] EmmiLime@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 day ago

Off course, and China absolutely is not a “democratic country”. Would you also cite a Russia Today article as evidence Russia is a democracy?

You're literally not even engaging with what Cowbee is saying and all you do instead is have a racist knee-jerk reaction at the thought of China. Typical shitlib who refuses to read.

Read a book for fuck's sake. Read a book that isn't Harry Potter or 1984 lol

permalink

fedilink

source

parent

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago

Alright, thanks for answering the first bit! I'll address it first, as it's foundational to the split in out analysis. I'll list a few things I believe to be true, and you can explain which you disagree with and why. I'm not forcing you or cornering you into this, you don't have to participate if you don't want to, but this will get to the meat of your disagreement with Marxists, and our disagreement with you.

Markets historically have a tendency towards monopoly and centralization.
Bigger firms not only have the advantage of having more resources, but production eventually requires larger scales as the economy itself grows, ie to bust a monopoly, rather than nationalizing it, is to set productive capacity backwards.
Monopoly, under capitalism, turns to enshittification, so to speak.

These are 3 basic beliefs I have, and they all combine into the belief that capitalism cannot last forever, and therefore markets outlast their progressive nature in stitching together production as they scale. This means planned economy is more efficient at this point. If you disagree with any of these, I'd love to hear how and why. Genuinely.

As for China and being a democracy, why do you say that it isn't? Where did your understanding of China's democratic institutions and government structures come from? Roland Boer may be a professor living in China, but his work is academic and trusted even by westerners trying to understand China. I didn't just link a document saying "we're democratic!" I linked a textbook that describes in-detail how and why China's institutions function the way they do. You can make up for yourself if you believe these institutions are sufficiently democratic, but they factually do work the way described in the textbook.