hagensfohawk [none/use name]

radical grassroots membership

They know Navalny is fash, right? Or is this Nazbols?

Well obviously giving everyone a history lesson doesn’t in and of itself build class consciousness. But running away from your own history while celebrating social democracy (which is crumbling elsewhere by the way) doesn’t do it either.

I guess if your only goal is to win office, then sure, saying Maduro is an authoritarian won’t hurt. But if you goal is to build class consciousness and move towards socialism, then it definitely hurts.

Telling your buddies that Cuba is great helps. So does a prominent politician saying the same thing. Running away from the history of socialist projects doesn’t help because:

1. Enemies won’t believe you anyway. People will think you’re basically Castro even if you drape yourself in the NHS.
2. It alienates socialist international allies.
3. There’s no clear point at which you can flip the switch and say “actually we meant Cuba this whole time. We were just lying.” This alienates the base that you’ve been building.
4. It serves as an antagonist to the formation of class consciousness.

Me: If this electoral strategy is going to have any value, it’s going to require challenging the American perception of socialist states.

Libs: No! Americans have to have direct material improvement first. Then they’ll be more open-minded about socialist states. So let socdems say they want to be like the UK or Norway.

Me: So are people in the UK or Norway particularly open-minded about socialist states?

Libs: 🤨

The state is the political birthplace of Nixon and Reagan. It only goes dem because a GOP governor basically tried to create Jim Crow for immigrants 30 years ago.

Urban areas dominated by real estate and tech. Rural areas dominated by the largest ag interests in the world.

The idea of California as this progressive place is a mirage.