Which tendency do I lean toward?

[RedAntifa]

I'm not particularly sure if this is the correct place to post this, or if there is already a thread elsewhere which deals with the specific question, but here goes...

I believe that everyone should have equal rights and opportunities, and that every job in society is equal as each other (the old janitor vs doctor argument). The Government should take an active role in peoples' lives, and if they require it, provide financial assistance if they are ill or unable to work for whatever reason. International relations should be at the forefront of any foreign policy, and immigration should be welcomed on the basis that immigrants contribute to society as a whole and find a job. I also believe that capitalism isn't working, and needs to be abolished. It has had an adverse effect on socety as a whole and if we are to move forward then a change has to be made soon. I also believe that fascism is coming through in society again, and that it needs to be stopped before widespread violence occurs and those vulnerable in society are targeted to follow it.

Apologies if my post doesn't make sense at any point, I am genuinely interested to know which tendency I lean toward. If anyone has any question which may help in determining my tendency then don't hesitate to ask. :)

[Stranger Than Paradise]

I'm not particularly sure if this is the correct place to post this, or if there is already a thread elsewhere which deals with the specific question, but here goes...

I believe that everyone should have equal rights and opportunities, and that every job in society is equal as each other (the old janitor vs doctor argument). The Government should take an active role in peoples' lives, and if they require it, provide financial assistance if they are ill or unable to work for whatever reason. International relations should be at the forefront of any foreign policy, and immigration should be welcomed on the basis that immigrants contribute to society as a whole and find a job. I also believe that capitalism isn't working, and needs to be abolished. It has had an adverse effect on socety as a whole and if we are to move forward then a change has to be made soon. I also believe that fascism is coming through in society again, and that it needs to be stopped before widespread violence occurs and those vulnerable in society are targeted to follow it.

Apologies if my post doesn't make sense at any point, I am genuinely interested to know which tendency I lean toward. If anyone has any question which may help in determining my tendency then don't hesitate to ask. :)

It's hard to say. You started off and I was going to say you sound like you hold ideas similar to what social democracy is about, then you go on to say capitalism should be abolished. I think you should just read different things, see what you agree with. I can't really help you with that except with Anarchist texts, Rudolf Rocker's Anarcho Syndicalism: Theory and Practice is good. If you're interested in learning about Marx I would point you towards Nothing Human is Alien, an amazing poster.

[Gorilla]

Apologies if my post doesn't make sense at any point, I am genuinely interested to know which tendency I lean toward. If anyone has any question which may help in determining my tendency then don't hesitate to ask. :)

No shame in just being a Marxist tout court.

[DDR]

I have no idea, but my recomendation is that you read more and find it yourself. Since you find that goverment should take an imporant role, I guess you are more oriented toward Marxism. Read the Communist Maifesto, and maybe Lenin's State and Revolution.

Anyhow, if you want to hang with the coolest guys/girls in revleft you should get into the anarcho-trot conspiracy or Caesarian thirdworldism :laugh:

[Anarchrusty]

RedAntifa, this is a question I am struggling with myself. For me, the fight against racism and equality between people reagrdless of their sex, race, religion, sexual preference, class, appearance is the strongest motivator. And anarchism for now seems like a pretty good ideal to me, allthough I sometimes wonder if it is possible to achieve this in our lives.

I will be completely frank with you, my allegiance to the left was initially emotional. However, talking to others I realised I was lacking in the theoretical department and planned on reading up on it. I have some form of an attention deficit disorder probably, and I am therefor unable to read extensive books.
The internet is for me a great way of learning, as most subjects are presented in easily digestible bits such as Wiki.
Problem is, I have no knowledge whatsoever about economics for example, so a lot of links there make no sense to me.

I hope to find out here exactly where I am politically by interacting and partaking debates.

[cb9's_unity]

You are a socialist, and for now that's all you need to be. Don't pigeonhole yourself into any particular tendency, because then you run the risk of closing yourself off to other socialist views.

Read Marx and Engels, read various anarchist writers, read Lenin, Luxemburg, and whoever else seems interesting to you. Also continue to read the mainstream news, the more you learn about socialism the more you realize how bullshit the bourgeois media can be.

[RedAntifa]

Like I mentioned in my post in the Introduction forum I'm fairly new to politics as a whole and I guess the main thing for me right now is to read books by the likes of Marx, Lenin, Engels, Luxemburg, etc. I'm pretty interested into looking Anarchism, from my limited knowledge it appears to be a fascinating ideology. Right now I'm half way through The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara... If I could sum up what I've read so far in one word, it would have to be amazing. Reading his book makes me wonder what the world would have been like if he hadn't died in Bolivia (I also bought his memoirs of the revolution in Cuba, and his diaries in Bolivia).

Thanks for the help and advice, it is appreciated. :)

[cb9's_unity]

Personally I'm not an anarchist, but if I had to recommend one to read it would be Emma Goldman. I enjoyed this http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/goldman/aando/anarchism.html by her, it should be helpful for someone just getting into socialism and anarchism.

However I also have to stress the importance of reading Marx. For me what Marx thinks is important and insightful, but his true significance is in how he thinks. His methods for explaining social forces have been the single most important tools for me as a socialist.

[psgchisolm]

non-doctrinaire? :cool:

[Dumb]

non-doctrinaire? :cool:

Forget about that...pan-leftism is where it's at!

*End ironic tone*

[snerfuplz]

Forget about that...pan-leftism is where it's at!

*End ironic tone*

I support pan-leftism (including Social Democrats) in the United States. It is the only way to get a Leftist party in the United States minus a revolution of course.

[Die Rote Fahne]

Wikipedia: leninism
Maoism
Trotskyism
Council communism
Orthodox marxism
Luxemburgism
Left communism
Anarcho communism
Libertarian socialism
Social anarchy

That's a good way to grasp some of the basics. From there you can read articles by popular proponents of each at marxists.org

There's no way to say what your tendency is from your post other than the anti-capitalist left.