ComradeYakov
25th March 2014, 23:36
I've been reading the discussions on this site for some time now and I decided it was time to start participating.
I live in a small town in Canada which is widely regarded as a "retirement community" so it suffices to say there isn't much of a leftist presence here beyond the New Democratic Party and Green Party, which seem to be social democratic at best.
There is also a Young Communist League, a youth division of the Canadian Communist Party. They mostly seem to operate in the larger cities.
I was raised in a conservative Ukrainian household where I was regularly told of the "horrors" of communism. It was presented in such a way that suggested communist theory advocated slavery and state-ownership of everything that exists! This was difficult to grasp, so I began hunting for information about the Soviet Union. To this day I remember the shock I experienced at age 12 when I learned that the USSR's motto was "Workers of the world, unite!"
At the time I thought that was some sort of deceptive ploy, but I soon realized that the actual "ideals" of socialism regarded peace, equality and freedom. This helped make the concept more acceptable to me. I then joined the scores of people who recognize the validity of socialism's ideals, but believe that they are contrary to "human nature."
But I didn't want to leave it there. I didn't like all of these ideologies that offered no hope for the future of mankind. Thus, at the age of 13, I began to believe the idea that human nature could be changed by weird technocratic means to allow for socialism. This began my adventure into the confused world of Utopian Socialism.
It was not until I was 14 that my father bought me The Communist Manifesto for Christmas. I'm not sure why he had at the time, considering his conservative beliefs. But he believed it was necessary for me to explore all the world's major viewpoints however, and I thank him greatly for that.
I began reading the Manifesto in my english class. It was at first very difficult for me to fully comprehend. But it introduced me to scientific socialism, as opposed to the nonsense utopianism I had held onto before.
Soon I set out to learn the basics of Marxist theory. I began this journey through the Trotskyist lense, very critical of the USSR. Books, websites and this forum especially aided this endeavor. It quickly became clear that there are many leftist currents, and one isn't necessarily wholly superior or inferior to the others. I was just glad to see a bunch of people who knew that the system doesn't work to humanity's benefit, and wanted to do something about it.
Today I regard myself as a Marxist. I enjoy the full spectrum of the anti-capitalist left, however. It seems everybody from the Anarchist to the Marxist-Leninist has interesting and insightful views on the world today.
I am still learning, but I am more than looking forward to engaging this community.
Thanks for reading!
I live in a small town in Canada which is widely regarded as a "retirement community" so it suffices to say there isn't much of a leftist presence here beyond the New Democratic Party and Green Party, which seem to be social democratic at best.
There is also a Young Communist League, a youth division of the Canadian Communist Party. They mostly seem to operate in the larger cities.
I was raised in a conservative Ukrainian household where I was regularly told of the "horrors" of communism. It was presented in such a way that suggested communist theory advocated slavery and state-ownership of everything that exists! This was difficult to grasp, so I began hunting for information about the Soviet Union. To this day I remember the shock I experienced at age 12 when I learned that the USSR's motto was "Workers of the world, unite!"
At the time I thought that was some sort of deceptive ploy, but I soon realized that the actual "ideals" of socialism regarded peace, equality and freedom. This helped make the concept more acceptable to me. I then joined the scores of people who recognize the validity of socialism's ideals, but believe that they are contrary to "human nature."
But I didn't want to leave it there. I didn't like all of these ideologies that offered no hope for the future of mankind. Thus, at the age of 13, I began to believe the idea that human nature could be changed by weird technocratic means to allow for socialism. This began my adventure into the confused world of Utopian Socialism.
It was not until I was 14 that my father bought me The Communist Manifesto for Christmas. I'm not sure why he had at the time, considering his conservative beliefs. But he believed it was necessary for me to explore all the world's major viewpoints however, and I thank him greatly for that.
I began reading the Manifesto in my english class. It was at first very difficult for me to fully comprehend. But it introduced me to scientific socialism, as opposed to the nonsense utopianism I had held onto before.
Soon I set out to learn the basics of Marxist theory. I began this journey through the Trotskyist lense, very critical of the USSR. Books, websites and this forum especially aided this endeavor. It quickly became clear that there are many leftist currents, and one isn't necessarily wholly superior or inferior to the others. I was just glad to see a bunch of people who knew that the system doesn't work to humanity's benefit, and wanted to do something about it.
Today I regard myself as a Marxist. I enjoy the full spectrum of the anti-capitalist left, however. It seems everybody from the Anarchist to the Marxist-Leninist has interesting and insightful views on the world today.
I am still learning, but I am more than looking forward to engaging this community.
Thanks for reading!