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What questions do you have? Ask away. You should get some answers.

I guess my first question would be what is your opinion on Marxism-Leninism?

Not a fan, honestly.

I disagree with the need for a violent overthrow.

I disagree with the idea that the workers won't be able to form their own leadership. The concept of a professional revolutionary class, the vanguard, is just a different brand of elitism. The workers aren't smart or clever enough to figure out how to gain political power on their own, so we'll charge them money and do it on their behalf.

And then seize control of the government to usher in a single party rule. On behalf of the workers.

But they really don't.

Also, I'm not a fan of single party rule.

I think consensus works when everyone operates in good faith. We don't have to agree on everything, just most things. And the things we can't agree on we can negotiate a compromise.

That's not exactly how Marxism-Leninism works. The violent overthrow part is correct but saying that the party won't be democratically run isn't. Take Cuba's elections for example.

Yeah, so violent overthrow is a hard pass.

One party rule is also a hard pass.

And for the election, as I understand it and I can be wrong, there aren't really democratic elections. There's 1 candidate for each position. That candidate is not selected by the people via a process. That candidate is hand picked by the party.

You can't vote against that single candidate. So... there's nothing the voters can do. That candidate has effectively been placed in that position of power.

And how is that party held accountable to the people they claim to represent? I don't know.

All political power comes from the consent of the governed. And in the Cuban system, I don't see how that government is held accountable to the people. I don't see how that consent is gained.

I see an authoritarian system that maintains a stranglehold on power. And that's a hard pass too.

In my personal opinion, a violent overthrow is the least the bourgeoisie deserves. Capitalism cannot exist without the state being used as a tool for violence and the military as a tool for imperialism, since people need to be kept from collectivizing property somehow and capitalism is based on never-ending growth. One of the more extreme examples of this is how Philadelphia literally bombed MOVE protestors, or the police raiding of the Black Panthers.

Also I haven’t seen anything talking about there being only one candidate in socialist elections, but I’d be willing to take a look at any proof you can provide.

Hi, I’ll literally talk to anyone who will talk to me, I like spirited banter and meme battles of any kind so I appreciate all comments, even the not so nice ones.👹 Also don’t get offended by stuff people say online, it’s a waste of energy. This is a form of entertainment after all. 😎

As far as Marxist-Lenin goes I feel like it’s not really a thing. It does piss off conservative hypocrites though so I think that’s cool. What are the values that Marxist Leninism offers that led you to label yourself like that?

Hello. Marxism-Leninism, at its very core, is the belief that the people should control the means of production instead of having it held privately. Since capitalism tends towards monopolies/oligopolies as we have so elegantly seen play out, in my opinion, it’s only rational that the means of production should be controlled democratically instead of being held by one person or a few people to exploit for profit.

I think a healthy democracy is the best form of government. Capitalism and socialism are both present in a healthy democracy. There should be limits to both facets. In a fair state with justice billionaires couldn’t exist while people are starving in the streets of the same city. Money is important, but it shouldn’t be everything. It shouldn’t be legal to lie if you are a politician or a news organization. It shouldn’t be legal to rip anyone off or make them sick. It shouldn’t be legal to poison the environment. Other than that, I think people should be able to do say and think whatever they want as long as they aren’t hurting anyone. That being said we are not a healthy democracy, unfortunately politicians figure out ways to get us to vote against our own interests. we have a long way to go and we might not make it. It’s not about perfection, it’s about the pursuit of it.

What you’re advocating for is social democracy. It seems like a nice compromise between capitalism and socialism, and it’s definitely better than laissez-faire capitalism, it’s problematic for two reasons.

1. It exploits the imperial periphery: The only reason social democracies like the UK, France, and The Netherlands can have such welfare programs is because they used to be large empires that exploited the natural resources of its colonies. Even countries that weren’t huge empires and are successful social democracies, say the Nordic countries for example, they still exploit the imperial periphery through unequal exchange. If you’re wondering what a social democracy would look like if it didn’t have all those benefits, well, just look at Venezuela.

2. Private property rights are still respected: This may not seem like a problem at first, but I think we can agree that the more poor, desperate, and exploitable the people are, the more money capitalists make. And in a social democracy, if it reaches a certain threshold where the people are less exploitable and therefore less money is made, capitalists can just stop putting the private property that have the means to produce into use, say by abandoning a privately-owned factory. And the government can’t do anything about it since private property rights are still respected. This isn’t theoretical either, that’s literally what happened with François Mitterrand.

I am a believer in the Ten Commandments and the constitution. When it comes to all of the subtle nuances I tend to lose focus. You have some interesting points.

That’s ok, we’ve all experienced tunnel vision before. Hell, I remember when I used to get mad at any nuances that didn’t fit my ideological stance.

However, I suggest you look into Marxism-Leninism since, in my opinion, it’s the best ideology for the overall betterment of society. If you need help with anything, people at subreddit r/TheDeprogram will be more than happy to help.

History has proven that Marxism-Leninism is a failure over and over again. After Communism collapsed in USSR and Eastern Europe I would have thought it was done. China abandoned central planning because it simply doesn't work. How can anyone make an argument for Marxism in the face of overwhelming evidence?

Marxism-Leninism collapsed in the USSR cause of Gorbachev, not because of its own ideology. It didn’t make the lives of people there better either, as 40% of people there lived in abject poverty since its collapse, the vast majority of which has yet to recover. Be honest with me, would you live anywhere in modern-day capitalist Eastern Europe if given the option? I didn’t think so.

China didn’t abandon central planning either. Sure, there are some capitalist aspects to it now, but its market is still largely dominated by state-owned companies.

If countries that have (supposedly) failed at Marxism-Leninism are an argument against it, then why isn’t Burundi one? Why not Somalia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Afghanistan, Niger, Syria and a dozen other countries that went to hell under capitalism? Hell, even supposedly “successful” countries like the U.S., Canada, and Australia have high rates of homelessness and face a lot of other issues.

Don’t count democracy out just yet! This is the USA and we are full of surprises.

You’re right! I’m sure people in Iraq were very surprised at the bombs hurled at them by the U.S. during the War on Terrorism so that oil moguls could see a line go up. Or the countless other instances of U.S. intervention/meddling that resulted in making the world worse. Or the people in the U.S. that got evicted during a literal pandemic. I’m also sure the people at the UN were very surprised that the U.S. was unscrupulous enough to vote against food being a human right. Oh but don’t worry! This is all according to the plan of the all-knowing invisible hand of the free market!

In all seriousness, saying that rightfully shaming the U.S. is “counting out democracy” implies that socialism isn’t democratic. One economic system has the people able to democratically control their workplaces and the means of production, the other results in all that being controlled by a few hundred people at most and the only political parties that can realistically have any chance at running for office are those that serve corporate interests.

I never said it was perfect. I remember when the bombs started dropping in Iraq and I thought it was the apocalypse. I remember thinking it couldn’t get any worse than George W Bush. Boy did we have a long way to slide. Hopefully we will get the reigns on her soon. Either that or we will simp ourselves out. We will have to wait and see. At this point though it doesn’t really make sense to hate on the US because all of the freedom and demon the world depends on the stability of America. Remember we are still a relatively new concept and we have come a long way since the founding.

And by the way, this may be a hard concept to grasp and I don’t know how legit it is beneath the surface but those wars are because of republicans and not America.

I have no doubt that you’re not a bad person just because you’re American, I’d just be a racist piece of shit then, but all I’m saying is that America is a bad country.

The baseless platitudes I’m talking about is just saying “the world depends on America!” or “America means freedom!” without basing it off of any facts. And proceeding to resort to ad hominem whenever someone tries to challenge that perspective.

I’m sorry that you can’t accept any nuance or opinions that counter your idea of American exceptionalism and that this discussion had to devolve into some sort of Skywalker vs Vader battle, but I’m not going to participate in an argument that’s going to make both parties feel bad either way.

You say I can’t except opinions that counter my idea of American Exceptionalism. You need to go back and read the parts where I agree with some of what you say about the mistakes we’ve made and the conflicts we’ve had, or the part where I admit we aren’t perfect, you are the one unwilling to accept any other opinions. All you have done here is try to trash America, but you haven’t offered up any examples of what good your country has done. Marxist-Leninism is dead and to try to act like it’s the answer over democracy is childish and you are a hypocrite for hurling insults at me.

Oh cool, now baseless platitudes are being introduced.

Firstly, the claim that the world supposedly depends on the U.S. is wildly exaggerated, considering the amount of countries dropping the USD. You know what does rely on the U.S. for support? Dictatorships. Over 70% of dictatorships around the world relies on the U.S. for military support. And honestly, I think that’s what you’re referencing to.

And secondly, the wars are neither because of America or because “other party bad”. It’s just that the capitalist system is inherently corrupt! I honestly don’t know where you got the idea that it’s only the republicans doing this, literally every president after WWII are war criminals (including dems).

Truman (Democrat): Illegally bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki before introducing the horribly corrupt Truman Doctrine.
Eisenhower (Republican): Caused the Lebanese Civil War and illegally overthrew democratically elected governments of both Iran and Guatemala.
Kennedy (Democrat): (Failed) invasion of Cuba, terror campaigns against it (Operation Northwoods), civilian massacres (Operation Mongoose), and bombed Vietnam.
Johnson (Democrat): Invaded Vietnam and the Dominican Republic.
Nixon (Republican): Invaded Cambodia.
Ford (Republican): Backed the invasion of East Timor.
Carter (Democrat): Continued to aid East Timor occupation.
Reagan (Republican): Implemented the Reagan Doctrine in Central America.
Bush the older (Republican): Invaded Panama, Iraq, and backed the illegal dissolution and crashing of the economy of the USSR.
Clinton (Democrat): Illegally bombed Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Sudan. Also imposed sanctions on Iraq.
Bush the younger (Republican): Illegally invaded Iraq and caused all the horrors that came along with said War on Terror.
Obama (Democrat): Bombed Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Pakistan, Somalia, and overthrew the Libyan government.
Trump (Republican): Massacred civilians in Syria and incited both domestic terrorism in Charlottesville and the raiding of the capitol.

I’m American. I’m against most of the things on your list. I make memes about it. I pray, I pick up my dogs shit, I help my neighbors whenever I can, I donate to charity when I can. I vote for what makes sense to me. Maybe someday we will get it right. I’m sorry you view my position as baseless Platitudes. What is it that you do to that makes your neighborhood and country a better place to live?