I just got done listening to ep 6 “wtf is a socialism?” 1/3 of the way through ep 7 “Ls of former socialism”
Some things I’ve learned so far:
Democratic Socialism is like only doing a cancer treatment halfway - the cancer will always come back because capitalists will always find ways to roll back the progress made for the workers/people. That’s because it’s the way capitalism is built (squeezing the most money out of all resources, workers included) and the concessions they give are just to stem the progression towards revolution.
If anyone questions the violence of a revolution, remind them that there is inherent systemic violence in a capitalist state. Ex: homeless population, the way poc and poor people are treated, and police aggression at protests, just to name a few.
Questions:
Socialism is Communism, just an earlier stage?
Other thoughts:
I was humbled hearing Hakim’s childhood knowing my country did that to him.
I liked at the end of ep 6 where they talk about how you don’t have to be a martyr, just contribute to communist causes in whatever way you can. Maybe because I’m just really delving into this, but sometimes I’m like “I don’t think I can start a revolution, but it feels like I have to.” Maybe that’s normal idk
Hell yeah ask all your questions and share your thoughts.
They'll also jail and kill your leadership the first chance they get.
Socialism is what socialists do/plan to so with their power: depose and suppress the bourgeoisie, reorganize production around human need, and begin the process of eliminating class distinctions. Exactly what that looks like is a matter of debate, but I tend to be fairly forgiving so long as they're really attempting to develop on that path.
Communism can refer to multiple ideas and people conflate them, making folks confused.
There's communism as in the theoretical eventuality of a classless, stateless society realized through socialist struggle. Marx talked about it a lot.
There's also communism as in a state run by communists who did a successful revolution. "Under communism in the Soviet Union..." etc etc. This is a capitalist epithet for socialist countries run by commies (being generous with what counts as socialism).
Glad you're finding the content engaging!