New member seeks help

[mick.jones29]

Greetings comrades. I am new to this forum, also i'm not really used to forums full stop so forgive my long winded style. Since as early as i can remember i've had a afinity with the left. More recently i've read and studed the ideas of anarcho-communism. I find much of interest but wish to develop my thoughts , and learn further. I have so many questions i dont really know where to start. But what i do want is to find a community where i can express my views and gain feedback from the like minded. I also wish to offer my views and interest to any posts here. I really wish to engage in serious discussions as i see so much interest, hope and prospects for the future of marxism as it develops into the 21st century.
Let me start by polling views on a question/statement.

When considering the nature citizens of a society, are they good/evil, greedy or altruistic. Given we see the altruism in the human spirit, how do we account for those expressing greed. As Marx's states i believe a revolution and the dictatorship of the prolateriat a huge positive step, but also how to we tame the ruling classes to buy into our system. Coercian is not a long term solution. We need to provide a solution for all.
Mick.

[Broletariat]

Welcome aboard comrade. First off it looks like your username could easily be tied to your name and age which is probably not for the best considering the world we live in. You might want to get that changed in the name change forum. Unless you're just giving people a dodge or something.

More to the point.

I don't consider the "nature" of citizens to be anything but malleable and almost completely dependent upon material circumstances.

As for your concerns of coercion as a long term thing. It won't be. It will be necessary in order to establish Communism and abolish classes, but once classes are abolished then coercion would disappear almost by definition. The ruling classes do not need to buy into our system, we don't need to persuade them. We need to persuade the working class, THEY hold the true revolutionary potential in society. Once the working class has been persuaded, classes will begin to be demolished.

[mikelepore]

I think the balance between greed and altruism is significant mainly when the social system trains individuals to go off an do whatever they have an impulse to do -- if you choose to be greedy, then go ahead, and society will go out of its way to provide you with opportunities to be greedy. That's capitalism. But that's the wrong way to operate a human society. What we need to do is build the cooperation and harmony into the structure of system. The shape of the system will determine how we behave within in.

Here's an example. In a capitalist society, workers cooperature within any one company, but complete across different companies. You ever notice that? Sony workers cooperate with Sony workers, and Panasonic workers cooperate with Panasonic workers, but Sony workers and Panasonic workers compete against each other. How can that observation be explained? That's happening is that cooperation at one level is bult into the capitalist system, and competition at another level is built into the capitalist system. That informs us about the answer to the problem -- we need to adopt a new administrative system in which cooperation and harmony will be parts of the structure. We're not fixing the people; we're fixing the set of procedures that people use.

* * *

You may want to rethink that part about "tame the ruling classes to buy into our system." It's not the main idea to persuade masters to stop believing in the practice of ruling over slaves. The plan of the revolution is to _notify_ the masters that their control over slaves is no longer going to be legally recognized as valid. We don't ask them - we tell them.

But that means different things to different left factions. What it means to me, that is, my own favorite socialist program, is that the workers should create the committees and councils will one day become the new industrial management, and then use the political process to declare that the workers' association is being switched online as the new management. Other people here recommend different strategies, but that's the one that I recommend.

[4 Leaf Clover]

Greetings comrades. I am new to this forum, also i'm not really used to forums full stop so forgive my long winded style. Since as early as i can remember i've had a afinity with the left. More recently i've read and studed the ideas of anarcho-communism. I find much of interest but wish to develop my thoughts , and learn further. I have so many questions i dont really know where to start. But what i do want is to find a community where i can express my views and gain feedback from the like minded. I also wish to offer my views and interest to any posts here. I really wish to engage in serious discussions as i see so much interest, hope and prospects for the future of marxism as it develops into the 21st century.
Let me start by polling views on a question/statement.

When considering the nature citizens of a society, are they good/evil, greedy or altruistic. Given we see the altruism in the human spirit, how do we account for those expressing greed. As Marx's states i believe a revolution and the dictatorship of the prolateriat a huge positive step, but also how to we tame the ruling classes to buy into our system. Coercian is not a long term solution. We need to provide a solution for all.
Mick.

Well , that's where anarcho-communism and materialism cross their swords.

there is no change in the socio-economical principles over night. Esspecially not huge ones such as private property abolition is. We do not want to change human nature such as some say. Thats not our task. We want to change the way the matter is divided within our society , the way economy works , so people could change according to this. We are not Idealists or Meta-physicians. We understand that man lives to create him self a living and be able to develop , and develop other people.

We are not Christians. We don't believe people are supposed to change , or repent or something like that. We don't believe we are condemned to something. Therefore greed is not something that is a cause , but a result.

As Communists we all want to abolish private property. But i personaly reject anarchism , as a form of idealism. I won't go further then this cause i don't want to bomb you and influence you according to my views. You should work out the theory and openly say if you don't accept something , it doesn't sound right to you , if something sounds non-realistic or similar. That are some problems i had during my readings

[mick.jones29]

i really appreciate your responses, and its good to feel welcome on this forum.

I've got lots more to say, and sometimes i find it hard to articulate it properly so please bear with me.

Mick.