Does one have to be an iconoclast or revolutionary these days to be validly left? I consider myself to be left of center, and very much in favor of progressive policies.
However I find myself being disagreed with quite often, mostly for not advocating or cheering violence, "by any means possible" change, or revolutionary tactics. It would seem that I'm not viewed as authentically holding my view unless I advocate extreme, violent, or radical action to accomplish it.
Those seem like two different things to me.
Edit: TO COMMUNISTS,ANARCHISTS, OR ANYONE ELSE CALLING FOR THE OVERTHROW OF SOCIETY
TO COMMUNISTS, ANARCHISTS, OR ANYONE ELSE CALLING FOR THE OVERTHROW OF SOCIETY
THIS OBVIOUSLY ISN'T MEANT FOR YOU.
It takes either a complete lack of self-awareness or a simply incredible amount of gall to ask a yes-no question and then tell all the people most likely to answer one way to zip it. You might as well have just written "la-la-la-la I can't heaaaar yoooou"
You misunderstand me. It's simply that it's a GIVEN that those people would advocate violence. There isn't any need for them to respond. Their position is known.
It's like as if I asked if it's okay to charge over 20% interest on a loan. And all the credit card executives and buy here pay here owners and loan sharks started saying YEAH OF COURSE IT IS!
I kind of already knew where they stood. It's the same with you.
There isn't any need for them to respond. Their position is known.
This entire thread is evidence to the fact that you do not have a clue what communists actually think, and yet you still have the arrogance to simply ignore everyone trying to talk to you. Just incredible lol.
Yep, I have no interest at all in living under a communist dictatorship. If see you've seen another kind of communism, please let me know what it is. I'd love to be informed about it.
Maybe a lot more violence needs to take place before it works right.
You could try reading literally anything people have sent you (I personally recommended three different books earlier) or you could keep up with your ahistorical vibes based analysis. Up to you champ, just know that you look goofy as shit to everyone who has actually put in the effort to educate themselves.
Yep, I have no interest at all in living under a communist dictatorship. If see you've seen another kind of communism, please let me know what it is. I'd love to be informed about it.
PRC, Cuba, USSR, Vietnam, etc. are good examples of societies that were organized along Communist lines, and came with drastic reductions in Poverty and drastic increases in life expectancy and freedom as opposed to previous conditions.
Maybe a lot more violence needs to take place before it works right.
The fact that you think communists advocate for violence for its own sake (because you think we're all bloodthirsty or something), tells us you have no idea what communists views are.
This is an opportunity for you to learn from others, not close your ears because you've been inundated with a lifetime of anti-communist propaganda.
You're asking leftists, the vast majority of which are Revolutionary. Only listening to a minority of Leftists for their opinion and ignoring the majority only gives you an incomplete and biased view.
Well believe it or not, communists and anarchists are a fairly small minority of the group that would be "the left" if you call the other guys "the right."
I expect it's more than two people I could hear from...🙄
Anyway this post sort of answered the question. The violent talk is coming from socialists, communists, and anarchists here on Lemmy, which have a very unified voice and shout down opposition.
Although I'm sure if they had anything they had to actually run (like a country) they'd be an absolute horror show of fighting, arguing, and bloodbathing each other until they got to the point where the strongest survived and could impose their vision of utopia on the masses.
Although I'm sure if they had anything they had to actually run (like a country) they'd be an absolute horror show of fighting, arguing, and bloodbathing each other until they got to the point where the strongest survived and could impose their vision of utopia on the masses.
Meanwhile in the west AOC and Bernie groveled at the feet of the democratic party by endorsing Biden's genocidal regime and all they got in return was Biden announcing a plan to cap rent increases at 5%, which can only go through if they win the next election... against a fascist candidate who is far ahead of Biden in almost every swing state.
What? What other groups make up the left then? Do they wield political power? Have they ever gotten to wield political power? Because the only left that has ever gotten to wield political power and use it to liberate the working people from capitalist oppression are the ones who were willing to pick up a gun and fight.
Do you think the Left/Right divide is determined by the absolute median position, or is it determined by actual views, ie a general support for Socialism vs a general support for Capitalism?
Although I'm sure if they had anything they had to actually run (like a country) they'd be an absolute horror show of fighting, arguing, and bloodbathing each other until they got to the point where the strongest survived and could impose their vision of utopia on the masses.
Historically false for pretty much every AES country.
We're not advocating violence. Your premise is wrong.
But we know our adversaries commonly use violence, so we're aware it exists, and we know we have to prepare for it.
Are colonialist governments not violent? How do you remove from office a government that commits violence against their people, en masse, to destroy their land with mining operations?
Concrete example: how would the Congolese vote the French out, when anyone organising peacefully against the French is assassinated?
The point is not violence. But it would be naive to ignore the violence of our adversaries.