Bearded Beardist
9th March 2015, 23:02
After lurking around these forum for a few years I have decided that it is about time that I actually start to participate in discussion and try to develop my understanding of leftism by engaging with other leftists.
I have always held at least left-of-centre beliefs since I can remember but as I grew older I slowly realised that liberal/social-democratic politics were inadquate when it came to dealing with the economic, social and environmental problems caused by capitalism.
I rememeber when I was very young my dad (who does a have some leftist beliefs economically speaking, although he can be quite conservative on some social issues) explained to me in his words what communism is. He basically said that it involved the nationalisation of all industry, utilities etc. Unfortunately he said this did not work because this is what happened in the USSR and it collapsed. He may have also mentioned some things about secret police and so on but I can't quite remember.
It wasn't until I was a teenager when I came across what the actual definition of socialism/communism is thanks to good ol' wikipedia! I.e. the social ownership of the means of production. This was a revolutionary moment for me because it seemed like it was just a natural extension of democracy to the economy and we all know how we in the West like to champion democracy. The more I thought about it the absurd it seemed under capitalism that we should have no say in how our production is run, that we should basically become temporary slaves for the majority of our waking ours and become ultimately disposable cogs in the machinery of capitalism.
I still had some reservations and I guess predjudices towards socialism ("why should a doctor get paid the same as a bin man!?", "What about people who will do no work!?"), but throught further research, and also discovering this site, I have managed to clear my mind of most of the capitalist propaganda and straw man arguments used against socialism. This forum (especially the learning section) along with various other websites and a few essays and books have been instrumental in allowing me to properly formulate my world view and I am very thankful for that.
In terms of a specific tendency I don't really have one. I definitely agree with Marx's critique of capitalism from what I have understood of it, but I also admire a lot of anarchists principles and actions. The anarchists in the Spanish Civil War are a great inspiration for me. Maybe I will find a tendecy or organisation who fully shares my view but I don't see the point in burdening myself with a label at this stage. I can definitely say that I am a leftist/anti-capitalist though! :grin:
I am eager to continue learning and also to interact with people who share my beliefs (it can get pretty lonely out here when you are one of the very few anti-capitalists you know!) and, who knows, maybe make some friends along the way!
Feel free to ask me any questions about my politics, views or even just general questions about myself and I'll try to answer them (provided they aren't too personal!). :)
I have always held at least left-of-centre beliefs since I can remember but as I grew older I slowly realised that liberal/social-democratic politics were inadquate when it came to dealing with the economic, social and environmental problems caused by capitalism.
I rememeber when I was very young my dad (who does a have some leftist beliefs economically speaking, although he can be quite conservative on some social issues) explained to me in his words what communism is. He basically said that it involved the nationalisation of all industry, utilities etc. Unfortunately he said this did not work because this is what happened in the USSR and it collapsed. He may have also mentioned some things about secret police and so on but I can't quite remember.
It wasn't until I was a teenager when I came across what the actual definition of socialism/communism is thanks to good ol' wikipedia! I.e. the social ownership of the means of production. This was a revolutionary moment for me because it seemed like it was just a natural extension of democracy to the economy and we all know how we in the West like to champion democracy. The more I thought about it the absurd it seemed under capitalism that we should have no say in how our production is run, that we should basically become temporary slaves for the majority of our waking ours and become ultimately disposable cogs in the machinery of capitalism.
I still had some reservations and I guess predjudices towards socialism ("why should a doctor get paid the same as a bin man!?", "What about people who will do no work!?"), but throught further research, and also discovering this site, I have managed to clear my mind of most of the capitalist propaganda and straw man arguments used against socialism. This forum (especially the learning section) along with various other websites and a few essays and books have been instrumental in allowing me to properly formulate my world view and I am very thankful for that.
In terms of a specific tendency I don't really have one. I definitely agree with Marx's critique of capitalism from what I have understood of it, but I also admire a lot of anarchists principles and actions. The anarchists in the Spanish Civil War are a great inspiration for me. Maybe I will find a tendecy or organisation who fully shares my view but I don't see the point in burdening myself with a label at this stage. I can definitely say that I am a leftist/anti-capitalist though! :grin:
I am eager to continue learning and also to interact with people who share my beliefs (it can get pretty lonely out here when you are one of the very few anti-capitalists you know!) and, who knows, maybe make some friends along the way!
Feel free to ask me any questions about my politics, views or even just general questions about myself and I'll try to answer them (provided they aren't too personal!). :)