this post was submitted on 26 May 2026
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Nobody is arguing that Russia would not engage in imperialism if given the opportunity. The point being driven home is that they do not have that opportunity, and as such are targeted by imperialists. This puts them on opposing sides. Again, it's purely self-interest, not ideology.
As for Trump, this is just BlueAnon conspiracy theory. Trump is self-interested. If Trump was a Russian ally, Trump would have erased sanctions and forced an end to the Russo-Ukrainian war, would have dissolved NATO already, and more.
As for capitalists not having a "belief" in nationalism, that's not at all what I mean. The national bourgeoisie are those that are largely constrained within the domestic markets, not international financiers. Think the people that own factories, vs. the ones owning Blackrock. The national bourgeoisie of countries under threat of imperialism have aligned interests with the proletariat and peasantry in opposing imperialism. They are still obstacles to socialism, but are progressive against imperialism.
Nationalism in the imperial core protects imperialism, but national liberation in the global south opposes imperialism. Palestinian nationalism is progressive, as is the nationalism of Burkina Faso, as was Vietnamese and Cuban nationalism. The National liberation movement is a progressive one against imperialism and therefore assists the transition to socialism.
But he has tried his hardest to do all of tgose things. The only reason he hasn't succeeded (yet) is because he isn't a dictator and so doesn't have absolute power (again, yet).
The petty bourgeoisie are themselves part of the working class, much as they may deny it.
I don't agree with this at all, 'nationalist solidarity' is a trap designed to pervert true class solidarity. The revolution is either international or it is doomed to fail.
I think we basically have to agree to disagree, though I do commend you for taking the time to have an actual discussion, rather than just accusing me of being a liberal and resorting to cheap insults :)
Trump has not tried his hardest to erase sanctions, end the war in Ukraine, etc. If he wanted, he could do so right now. Trump has no reason to be a Russian ally.
As for the petite bourgeoisie, they aren't necessarily working class, though they do labor. The national bourgeoisie aren't the same as the petite bourgeoisie.
As for nationalism in the global south, this is also internationalist. I recommend looking into Marxist analysis of the nation and nationalism, again, Cuban, Palestinian, Vietnamese, Chinese, etc. nationalism is all progressive against imperialism in their wars for liberation. Once liberated, then the process of building socialism can genuinely begin.
Trump definitely has worked towards removing sanctions from Russia, and has several times promoted Russian 'peace deals' which would gift them chunks of Ukraine (an imperialist aim of Russia's). He can't do literally anything he wants, which is why this hasn't happened. His reasons for being a Russian ally go back decades to his longstanding business interests, which have been entwined with Russia for decades.
Also, my experience of nationalism in the global south suggests otherwise. Take Latin America, for example: nationalist movements may have been instrumental in developing support for independence from Spain, but actual independence from Spain was won by transnational movements not limited to any one state or ethnic identify. Moreover, the modern day nationalists in each state are basically racist movements which do nothing but undermine working class solidarity (Chilean nationalists, for example, are known to carry out acts of violence against anyone whose skin is dark enough that they might conceivably be Peruvian or Bolivian, despite the fact that this includes many Chileans with indigenous ancestry).
Trump is not a Russian ally, he is interested in harvesting Ukraine for minerals. The Russo-Ukrainain war is not one of imperialism on Russia's part, annexation is not imperialism. This is just BlueAnon, sorry to say, it's blaming the Russians on Statesian failures.
As for nationalism in the global south, it is not opposed to internationalism. It is nationalism in the global north that is opposed to internationalism. I highly recommend reading Fanon, who wrote extensively on the psychological aspects of colonialism and the class outlook of national liberation.
Trump has been an explicit supporter of Russian business interests for a lot longer than he has been involved in politics: this is not a conspiracy theory, it is a statement of fact.
Be wary of making such generalisations about nationalism, even in the global south. Like I said, I have personal experience of Latin American nationalists partaking in racially motivated violence against indigenous people, and so therefore very much opposed to internationalism.
Trump being a Russian ally is a conspiracy theory, and is used to justify pushing problems from the US onto Russia. Trump's problems and interests are of American origin.
As for Nationalism in the global south, it's necessarily an oversimplification. Trade unions can also be violently racist, it's wrong but not indicative of trade unions being wrong. And for indigenous peoples, they are the ones whose nationalism would be progressive, not the nationalism of those not indigenous.
See, this is the point where you start to deny manifest reality and/or move the goalposts to deny examplles which contradict your claims. Trump first started agitating to end NATO about thirty years ago, immediately after his first business trip to Russia.
Also, these Chilean nationalists that I'm talking about are very much working class people, you can't suddenly decide that they don't come from the global south just because that doesn't fit your narrative - they sure as fuck don't come from the global north.
Edit to add: as for your statement that 'Trump's problems and interests are of American origin': this habit of viewing the elites through the lense of their national origin is fatally flawed, as the elites themselves do not see the world through this lense. The reason the billionaires are winning the class war is because they are the only ones that are actually fighting it from a class perspective. As I have tried to get across, nationalism only exists to divide and conquer the working classes.
Again, you're confusing Trump's position as a nationalist with being pro-Russian. Trump is not a Russian ally, he already would have pulled out of Ukraine and NATO, and would not be attacking Iran, Cuba, and Venezuela.
As for the Chilean nationalists, I never said they weren't working class. I am specifically saying that individual groups can be bad, but if they are fighting against indigenous peoples then this is definitely reactionary. This is why I recommended reading Fanon, I of course oversimplified the situation, and gave the trade union example to illustrate that exceptions exist.
Trump isn't a nationalist though. He is deliberately gutting the United States. The lense of 'nation vs nation' is constantly promoted to us through capitalist mass media because seeing the world in this way prevents us from effectively fighting for our own interests. Divide and conquer, it is one of the oldest tricks on the book.
Trump is absolutely relying on nationalism, white supremacy, and more, and is using it to support imperialism. I think your understanding of what constitutes nationalism is different from mine, and again, I recommend Fanon.
Yes, he uses nationalism to manipulate the masses, but that doesn't mean he himself believes (and the fact that you bundle white supremacy with nationalism only supports my point that nationalism is a xenophobic ideology).
Is there a particular work of Fanon's that you would recommend?
You're mixing belief with Trump's actual positions, which are nationalist in character. Whether or not Trump believes white supremacism is correct is irrelevant to the fact that his positions are those of a white supremacist. Nationalism is often opposed to the outer, for example Algerians slaughtered any Europeans they saw on sight during the Algerian revolution. It is nevertheless true that this violent national liberation was a progressive movement against colonialism, and was created by colonialism.
As for Fanon, his masterwork (and the one most relevant to our discussion) is The Wretched of the Earth.