this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2026
28 points (100.0% liked)

marxism

3991 readers
63 users here now

For the study of Marxism, and all the tendencies that fall beneath it.

Read Lenin.

Resources below are from r/communism101. Post suggestions for better resources and we'll update them.

Study Guides

Explanations

Libraries

Bookstores

Book PDFs

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 

cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/58586

Reviewing the fallout over Gabriel Rockhill's critiques of Western Marxism, Donald Parkinson argues the controversy is ultimately a battle over what kind of intellectual culture the left needs.


From Cosmonaut - From the fields to the stars! via This RSS Feed.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] TreadOnMe@hexbear.net 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This is not how problem solving works, in any field, at any time.

Understanding of socialist theory and history is essential to affective socialist movement. In order to plan ahead and be affective, you must have a coherent and cohesive record of what was tried, and the thought processes around those methods.

If you look at it from this absurdly high level, then yeah, it's gonna look impossible. And maybe it is impossible. However, you have no way of knowing that.

And you have theories, such as "I can reasonably expect the U.S. to balkanize into a bunch of separate fascist entities." but I don't know where you are getting these ideas from. I can hypothesize that it is mix of ad hoc historical knowledge combined with popular fictional culture war media, but getting people to even commit to basic social engagements is a chore, the idea that people will have the wherewithal and energy to physically balkanize is genuinely absurd and hilarious to me.

More likely is the continuation of the legal balkanization that we are already experiencing, which makes sense when view through Lenin's Theory of Imperialism as much more that simply a system of colonial expansion, but as a system of laws that govern one area significantly different than another area within a single national entity. The creation of 'frontiers' for capital.

[–] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

such as "I can reasonably expect the U.S. to balkanize into a bunch of separate fascist entities." but I don't know where you are getting these ideas from.

sigh, no, I said "the best i should reasonably expect"

the idea that people will have the wherewithal and energy to physically balkanize is genuinely absurd and hilarious to me.

More likely is the continuation of the legal balkanization

my incorrect and obviously never gonna happen "physical" balkanization

your materialistic and currently in progress "legal" balkanization

nevermind I only said "balkanization"

[–] TreadOnMe@hexbear.net 2 points 1 day ago

The question over this 'legal balkanization' process lies more in exactly how far is it going to go, and is it going to be applied only geographically.

And yes, the distinctions do matter, as a state undergoing legal balkanization is not necessarily at civil war, whereas a physical balkanization requires a civil war.