Cowbee [he/him, they/them] @ Cowbee @hexbear.net

Actually, this town has more than enough room for the two of us

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Both workouts this week have been great for me, but I'm so sore... correcting form did wonders but now I'm an animated corpse

Bingo! Anti-AES Trots frequently oppose the quantitative, hoping for a qualitative victory coming out of nowhere.

Great point on Trots, it's an example of how misusing theory to justify opposition to AES is a pervasive issue. Even if communism must be global, national revolutions are not only immediately beneficial for those living there, but help other nations have their own revolutions and help pave the way for eventual communism. You can't have a global revolution without national revolutions.

As for the question of the state, you're actually spot-on. The state (in the Marxist conception) can only wither globally. Without that, property globally cannot be sublimated. You can't achieve communism in one country, but you can certainly move the process forwards without needing everyone else to do the same. That's why AES states aren't withering, they can't, nor are they trying to. To begin with, withering isn't a choice, it's an economic compulsion. Once all capitalist states have fallen and global socialism exists, gradually all of the socialist states will shed their national differences, borders will lose significance, into one, unified, collectivized system. At least, that's the Marxist conception.

As for what the USSR actually looked like in practice, comrade @Edie@hexbear.net hosts some excellent books on Comrade's Library. I also like ProleWiki. You can go to this page on socialist states and look at summarizations of different aspects of the economy and political structures, though you won't get depth that way, just a better understanding.

Funny that you mention a re-edit of What is to be Done? would be wanted. The Red Sails crew hosts What is to be Done? (Abridged), which modernizes the lingo and trims it a bit. Might be a good alternative for you! It's based on Lenin Rediscovered, I believe.

Left-Wing Communism is a great text. Imperialism makes most sense if you already have a good conception of Marxist economics, but ultimately it stands on its own. Good luck!

Yumm

Yep, S&R is a fantastic read for how succinct it is. One thing I see people sometimes neglecting is the concept of a "stateless" society in the Marxist conception having "foremen and accountants," but recognizing that once all property has been sublimated, there is no class distinction, and the oppressive aspects of societal formations lack that backing.

What is to be Done? is definitely a product of its time with how it names certain groups and issues, but the core is relevant to this day. Just keep that in mind! Also, if you haven't read Imperialism, it's easily my favorite work of Lenin's.

Love frijoles de la olla, one of the culinary world's best simple dishes that never gets old. Vegan, cheap, nutritious, delicious, they always have your back! Just made a batch of pintos from beans I soaked last night and oh, what a treat.

Mega mega mega THREAD

No worries! Seems others actually are reading it, haha. Not just me speaking into the void. And yea, it:s pretty dense, but the first 3 chapters are the hardest. After that, it's pretty smooth sailing! Just for when you feel up for it.

S&R is one of my favs, for sure! We all have different paces and responsibilities, definitely understand!

Great! I genuinely thought I was the only one still reading, haha. And I agree, I started taking notes for Volume 2 and I am now behind about a week, on chapter 4 and trying to read a chapter a day to catch up. It's like Chapter 1-3 of Volume 1, but for seemingly every chapter, haha.

Great job, comrade! Really shows the value in what reading threads can bring.

If only the Capital reading threads weren't basically me talking about my own reading of Capital by myself, haha... seems everyone else dropped it

Great timing, considering Sylvia's portrait in this weeks Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink and Blue reading thread!

Super cool!

Yep, I've seen people increasingly falling for loaded articles against the PRC. It's easier to see through when it isn't related to anything immediately moral, ie "China is going to collapse!" narratives that China Watchers push, but when it's tied to potential failings of the PRC with regard to genuine struggles, like Palestinian Liberation, people tend to read the media less critically.

I can't say I blame people for wishing China did more, after all, many of us live in countries actively contributing to the genocide, so we often push our agency onto AES countries. This is, of course, wrong, we need to push to what we can actually do to stop the genocide ourselves, but from an emotional perspective I can see why doomerism can manifest into anti-AES stances, which needs to be thoroughly understood so that it doesn't take root. Imperialists weilding the left against the left is an old weapon in the armory, we need to be vigilant.

An injury to one is an injury to all! When we allow ourselves to be split along lines of oppression, we always lose. But when we put forward a collective list of demands together, and fight to defend each other from attacks, we frequently win.

I think this quote best summarizes this chapter, and again, reinforces that pattern of attacking the common enemy of oppression along alliances and coalitions. Organization truly is the way to move onward, an organized, unified body can crush oppression. Great chapter, as always!

I also loved the portraits for this chapter. Sylvia's chapter was harsh, but unshakably brave. The appearancy of Huey P. Newton, recognizing queer folk as a revolutionary people, is a universal truth that Les is also making through the core of hir work, allying all of the forces that can be. Plus, Craig's portrait also left us with an amazing quote on what gender even is:

When you get right down to it, gender is performance, darling.

Honestly cute tho, lol.

Understood