The New Sinophobia and the Japanese American Incarceration
Bernie is basically a modern day version of Bernstein. Though a century apart, both peddle reformism as a political pacifier, diverting energy from the radical systemic change required to dismantle capitalism. Their approaches, while superficially progressive, function as ideological traps, diverting energy from serious movements necessary to upend capitalism.
Bernstein was a leading figure in Germany's SPD, and he famously rejected Marxist revolutionary praxis in favor of evolutionary socialism. He argued capitalism could be gradually reformed into socialism through parliamentary means, dismissing the inevitability of class conflict. He neutralized the SPD's revolutionary potential, channeling working-class demands into compromises like wage increases or limited welfare programs that left capitalist hierarchies intact. As Rosa Luxemburg warned in Reform or Revolution, Bernstein's strategy reduced socialism to a “mild appendage” of liberalism, sapping the working class of its transformative agency.
Likewise, the political project that Bernie pursued mirrors Bernstein's trajectory. While Sanders critiques inequality and corporate power, his platform centers on social democratic reforms, such as Medicare for All, tuition-free college, a $15 minimum wage, that treat symptoms instead of root causes. By framing electoral victory as the primary objective, Sanders diverted a what could have been a millions strong grassroots movement into the Democratic Party, an institution structurally committed to maintaining capitalism. His campaigns absorbed activist energy into phone banking and voter outreach, rather than building durable, extra-parliamentary power such as workplace organizations, tenant unions, and so on.
When Sanders conceded to Hillary Clinton and later Joe Biden, his base dissolved into disillusionment or shifted focus to lesser-evilism. Without autonomous structures to sustain pressure, the movement's momentum evaporated similarly to how the SPD was integrated into Weimar Germany's capitalist state. However, even if his agenda were enacted, it would exist within a neoliberal framework. Much like FDR's New Deal coexisted with Jim Crow, imperial plunder, and union busting. Reforms within the system are always contingent on their utility to capital, and their purpose is demobilize the workers.
A meaningful challenge to capitalism requires a long-term strategy that combines direct action, mass education, and dual power structures. Imagine if Sanders had urged supporters to unionize workplaces, organize rent strikes, and create community mutual aid networks alongside electoral engagement. Movements like MAS in Bolivia, show how grassroots power can pressure institutions while cultivating revolutionary consciousness. Instead, his campaign became a referendum on his candidacy, leaving his followers adrift after his defeat.
Bernstein and Sanders, despite their intentions, exemplify the dead end of reformism. Their projects mistake tactical concessions for strategic victory, ignoring capitalism's relentless drive to commodify and co-opt. In the end, the reformist approach ends up midwifing full blown fascism. By channeling energy into parliamentary politics, the SPD deprioritized mass mobilization. Unions and workers were encouraged to seek concessions rather than challenge capitalist power structures. This eroded class consciousness and left the working class unprepared to confront the nazi threat.
When the nazis gained momentum, the SPD clung to legalistic strategies, refusing to support strikes or armed resistance against Hitler. Their faith in bourgeois democracy blinded them to the existential threat of fascism, which exploited economic despair and nationalist resentment. In the end, SPD famously allied with the nazis against the communists.
The "progressive" wing of the Democratic Party is following in the footsteps of the SPD's reformist trajectory. While advocating for policies like Medicare for All or climate action, it operates within capitalist constraints, undermining radical change and inadvertently fueling right-wing extremism. The Democrats absorb grassroots energy into electoral campaigns while their reliance on corporate donors ensures watered-down policies that fuel disillusionment.
The SPD's reformism actively enabled fascism by disorganizing the working class and legitimizing capitalist violence. Similarly, the Democratic Party’s commitment to pragmatic incrementalism sustains a system that breeds reactionary backlash. Trump is a direct product of these policies. We’re just watching history on repeat here.
The equivalent of the Sino-Soviet split occurring in the western capitalist world with the US breaking ranks with their vassals.
This thread is a perfect example of why Marxist keep trying to get people to read a book for once in their lives. All these things people are "discovering" right now about the nature of capitalism have been well understood for like a whole century now.
Rescue operation launched after collision between US-flagged oil tanker, Stena Immaculate, and a Portuguese-flagged container ship, Solong, in the North Sea
Chris Hedges speaks bluntly and unapologetically about Christian nationalism holding nothing back
World's first 'body in a box' biological computer uses human brain cells with silicon-based computing
Oh here https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMBLcstJu/
Ice arrests Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia protests, lawyer says
Yeah, pi3 isn't quite there yet to drive a laptop. I expect RISCV to mature rapidly as well. There's going to be a ton of money poured into it, and it's always easier to do things the second time around. Apple has done a lot of the hard work designing the architecture o M series chips, and I imagine a lot of it will inspire RISCV designs now. This project in particular seems pretty promising as it specifically aims to deliver high performance designs https://github.com/OpenXiangShan/XiangShan
Fallout-themed Doom mod Vault 666 has multiple endings, an OP Dogmeat companion, and a Ron Perlman-impersonating narrator so good, I was worried it was AI-generated at first
Amazing to watch libs slowly discover why there need to be limits on democracy. Maybe one day they'll even understand why socialist states have a single socialist party in charge.
Last two decades of software innovation
NATO is not a offensive org, it has continuously invaded countries throughout its deplorable existence. The fact that anybody could claim it's defensive is beyond hilarious.
As far I'm aware, Anarcho-syndicalists don't really provide a solution for changing the system as a whole. Meanwhile, Lenin focused specifically on achieving a socialist revolution. Lenin primarily dealt with the task of organizing and education the masses to create a revolutionary force that would be able to seize power from the capitalists. The two most prominent works I'd recommend starting with would be What Is To be Done? and The State and Revolution.
That's not what MLs actually believe, we have the concept of critical support. It's the act of backing a cause, group, or individual while maintaining a clear-eyed critique of their flaws, contradictions, or harmful actions. It’s not unconditional endorsement but a pragmatic stance that balances solidarity with accountability.
Honestly, I find there's a lot of overlap between Marxism and Anarcho-syndicalism, and I think this is essentially the correct way for the workforce to be organized.
wonder if they use riscv chips
Yeah that was supposed to be the big prize, and then they could plunder Russia and surround China from the west. Didn't really work out though, and now all the western fash are seething.
What this has to with Russia defeating all of NATO, I have no idea.
The EU is firmly on the side of the jihadists in case anyone is wondering.
Syria's new "authorities" face explosive situation after bloody clashes in Alawite stronghold
State of emergency declared as brush fires shut down roads in Long Island, New York
What's it like living in the alternate universe you hail from?
Ukraine is destined to become a cautionary tale of Western promises. When nations ally themselves with the West, they are inevitably abandoned, handed a bill for broken vows, and left to pick up the pieces of their ruin. The primrose path leads straight to the gallows. The west has utterly discredited itself on the global scale.
a good write up on the subject https://redsails.org/china-has-billionaires/