"As revolutionaries, we don't have the right to say that we're tired of explaining. We must never stop explaining. We also know that when the people understand, they cannot but follow us. In any case, we, the people, have no enemies when it comes to peoples. Our only enemies are the imperialist regimes and organizations." Thomas Sankara, 1985
International Anti-Capitalist podcast run by an American, a Slav and an Arab.
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There is no left in the west, there are only centrists who drape themselves in the tapestry of social democratic reform who will always find themselves on the wrong side of history. They are no different from the conservatives they claim to despise.
"There is no such thing as 'liberal' bourgeois, they all use fascist methods to destroy the lives of workers" as a certain South African trade unionist once said. Viva ANC, viva EFF.
It's not wise to make sweeping generalizations. That tends to be the mindset of those who want to skip nuance as a shortcut to satisfying one's outrage. Western leftists aren't many, but we do exist. I wouldn't have passed the screening here if I wasn't. The vast, vast majority of people in the west have been captured by bourgeoisie propaganda since birth for several generations. It's virtually impossible to not be brainwashed, and it's even harder to break out of that programming once it has taken hold of your core beliefs before you develop them. That's the same reason religion still has such a powerful hold over billions after science has demonstrated repeatedly that it makes no logical sense to believe in an omnipotent, omniscient being.
It's very unlikely to throw a rock in the west and hit a leftist, but that doesn't justify the claim they don't exist.
True, it is a hasty generalisation, I nonetheless believe that what I say applies to the kinds of people who try to "both sides" incredibly obvious black-and-white issues such as apartheid, colonialism, and wars of imperial conquest. In my opinion, you can't claim to be left-wing if all you do is denounce progressive forces for actually fighting back. I mostly had the compatible left and Liberals in mind when I wrote this.
I find it incredibly rare for those who claim to be progressive, liberal, or soc-dem to be anything close to leftist, despite their insistence. They tend to lack class consciousness and still cling to the idea that the system can be reformed to fit their image of an ideal society. They also support a representative republic over an actual democracy, which is a major contributor to the current political climate in the US. In fact, I have recently come to favor the Athenian democratic system of lottery over election.
I'm aware. When I say "progressive forces" talking about groups or individuals who are playing a role in leftist aims even if those groups aren't explicitly communist. Iran for instance is by no means a socialist state, but it is nonetheless a progressive force in the sense of countering imperialist influence in the middle east. Same can also be said for any number of groups that aren't necessarily communist, such as unions and civic organisations, but may at times share common goals with the left.
I mean... Nelson Mandela was listed as a terrorist for quite some time