How exactly you became a revolutionary leftist?

[Guardia Rossa]

One more of my census series.

Please detail it. I will attempt to remember my own history and post it tomorrow.

EDIT: I just realized I wrote leftist and I know leftist in english doesn't means the same as in portuguese, if someone confirms this I will ask a mod to change the name.

EDIT2: Remember, if you are a paranoid, don't need to post your story.

[motion denied]

I was possessed by the spirit of Communism on a cold April night.

[Rafiq]

The reasons why intellectuals become Communists are trivial ones - they are totally arbitrary, relegated to pure chance, etc. - if there is anything I have learned, it is that adopting Marxism is like a leap of faith. When one immerses themselves in this tradition, they cut their ties with all the previous, cumulative factors which led them to the leap.

Some of the biggest ones, personally: One's national background (i.e. "ethnicity"), or family ties.

Reasons that are really infinitely more authentic relate to great moments of social upheaval and critically reflecting upon them. And believe it or not, though their numbers might be a bit small, events like the Arab spring, or even occupy, have given the world more Communists than before.

Great socially, politically polarizing events force intellectuals to take a side. This is what has historically been the biggest reason why intellectuals became Communists.

[ShadowStar]

In school, I was greatly bullied by rich kids who suffered no consequences for bullying me. This led me to develop a hatred for the bourgeoisie and eventually a hatred for Capitalism. I became an Anarchist at first. However, I became disillusioned with Anarchism as I read more and more Anarchist theory and became a Marxist.

[Blake's Baby]

Mostly the miners' strike in the UK (1984-5), coupled with an awful lot of reading and discussion in the 30 years since.

[Zoop]

I stumbled upon a Chomsky video on YouTube about 5 years ago, and it went from there.

[Aslan]

Early in my life my views didn't matter. I visited my grandfather and he told me about the dictator Enver Hoxha and later Stalin Lenin etc. While visiting Albania I saw all the remains of his rule. bunkers, architecture, roads. I saw the position Albania was in then and I truly thought that Hoxha was a benevolent force for Albania. I eventually discovered the damage he caused for the Albanian Psyche and I rejected him for an alternative to Hoxhaism.

[RedKobra]

Difficult to say really. Grew up in a regular, working class, Labour voting family. I vote for the first time in 1997, with a lot of excitement, for Tony Blair and New Labour. The Conservatives had been in power all my life and I genuinely thought things would change dramatically. Then I got a job and realised that working long hours, for an asshole boss, for a pittance, sucked. I Got very disillusioned with Labour and started to wonder if there was anything else that offered an alternative to Capitalism. I got two books out of the library, one on Trotsky (who I knew nothing about) and Anarcho Syndicalism which I understood very little of. That kind of opened up my world, I knew then that there were more possibilities than just voting for Labour and then getting disappointed. From there it has just been a case of trying to work out which of all the alternatives is the best to bring about lasting and meaningful change. I still haven't worked it out.

[RedKobra]

Early in my life my views didn't matter. I visited my grandfather and he told me about the dictator Enver Hoxha and later Stalin Lenin etc. While visiting Albania I saw all the remains of his rule. bunkers, architecture, roads. I saw the position Albania was in then and I truly thought that Hoxha was a benevolent force for Albania. I eventually discovered the damage he caused for the Albanian Psyche and I rejected him for an alternative to Hoxhaism.

Don't let Ismail hear you say that.

[Aslan]

Don't let Ismail hear you say that.

I'm actually quite acquainted to Ismail, he's a good guy.

[Guardia Rossa]

Bump

IDK, I think it is worth trying to understand the ways people come to the revleft, so I can understand the types of people that would be easier to attract to the revleft.

[Ro Laren]

My bootstraps broke, I floundered after college and ended up in a factory after two miserable years of shame and unemployment. In the meantime I read the Shock Doctrine, which got me disillusioned with liberalism and I went from there.

[Counterculturalist]

IDK, I think it is worth trying to understand the ways people come to the revleft, so I can understand the types of people that would be easier to attract to the revleft.

Here's a thread with other revleft users' stories, including mine, which I'll reproduce below: http://www.revleft.com/vb/showthread.php?t=191310


I was predisposed from childhood to swing leftward: My parents were hippies. I was a voracious reader, devouring anything and everything I could get my hands on; early favourites included Dickens, Steinbeck, Twain and other (arguably) leftist authors. I listened to '60s music as a child and punk rock as a teenager. I was interested in older culture, and some of my favourite films included those of Chaplin and the Marx Brothers, films that presented a left-leaning message. I loved MAD magazine, which, while satirizing everything, generally skewed left.

When I was in third grade, I asked my dad what communism was. He told me about Marx and gave me a (very simplified) summary of Marxist thought. I never forgot that conversation, or similar ones about the history of civil rights, women's liberation, and religious intolerance.

In eighth grade, I looked up "anarchy" in the dictionary after hearing the Sex Pistols for the first time. I thought, "that's just silly, no one really thinks that, do they?" Then I found I couldn't get the idea out of my head.

I've been vacillating between Marxism and anarchism ever since, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

And yes, looking back on that post from about a year ago, some of the reasons were quite trivial (like at first it was literally "if it's good enough for Lennon and Chaplin, it's good enough for me" - but what do you expect from an eight-year-old?) but there it is anyway.

I'm surprised that in that response I failed to mention that my years working in a factory hardened and rendered permanent my anti-work, anti-boss, pro-working class and pro-feminist views, making it impossible for me to see the world any other way than through left-wing eyes.

[human strike]

"We are ordinary people - that is to say, revolutionaries." - EZLN

[Comrade #138672]

The economic crisis and the austerity measures forced me to get more acquainted with politics. One thing led to another.

I still have a lot of maturing to do, though.

[Rudolf]

Being on the dole and subject to the welfare to work industry sealed it for me.

[human strike]

My first moment of political consciousness was in 1997 with the end of Tory rule. I can still remember my mother's relief and tears of joy ("things can only get better" lol). She swore she would emigrate if it ever happened again. She didn't, but the statement and sentiment behind it had a lasting effect on me. It was studying history when I was in my teens that lead me more directly to where I am today though.

[The Intransigent Faction]

I got into arguments with fascists. They called me a communist.
I was inspired to do some research, and realized they were at least right about that!

[Mr. Piccolo]

I watched factories close down in my region of the United States and saw plenty of good people thrown out of work and made miserable for no sin other than the fact that they were paid too much and it was cheaper to move production to countries with low wages, no protections for workers, and no environmental regulations.

I used to be a conservative and believed that the market allocated rewards justly but then I saw so many hard-working, decent people suffer for no reason other than the operation of this ghastly system. I then realized that capitalism did not produce just results and that it kept people in a kind of bondage through the wage system. I no longer see capitalism as a system that promotes freedom. Maybe there is freedom for some, but not for most.

[Vee]

A combination of my own curiosity and discussions with people i know. my boyfriend and a handful of my friends are socialists. discussing and debating it with them sparked my own curiosity which led to me reading about socialism for myself. i was a liberal before i became a socialist. i always felt like capitalism was a cruel system but i believed that capitalism was the natural order of things and that attempts to change it will fail.

[Brandon's Impotent Rage]

I've told this story before...

Originally, I declared myself a communist in High School because I wanted to be edgy. I can't deny it, I was a dumb kid. In reality, I was just a liberal who wanted too look cool.

After High School, I went to school and got a job. By that point I had gone over to the AnCap/Libertarian camp due to my general disgust at some of the self-righteous and life-stylist bullshit that had started to come out of the Anti-War camp during the Bush years. I still hated Bush and the war, but those fucking hippies drove me crazy.

Then, I lost my job. At that point, mostly by chance, I went back into my closet and got out my old Marxist literature I had pretended to read in my teens. This time, I actually read it seriously. What I discovered was that I had the answers with me all along. I just never took it seriously until I could finally associate it with my own personal experience.

After that, thanks to the internet and being able to communicate with other Marxists, my convictions and my militancy have only strengthened.

[Comrade Jacob]

Stalin came to me in a dream; he said "Jacob! I love you and I want you" And he touched my upper-lip and out sprouted a thick handlebar moustache.
"Come with me comrade" he said whispering in my ear "and I will show you the wonders of socialism". Amazed by the beauty of my facial-hair I accepted and nodded with glee. He smiled and took me by the hand, we flew through the clouds, high up over Moscow, the cold wild made me shiver but Daddy Stalin hugged me with his warm embrace and in that moment I knew: Communism will win!

[motion denied]

Stalin came to me in a dream; he said "Jacob! I love you and I want you" And he touched my upper-lip and out sprouted a thick handlebar moustache.
"Come with me comrade" he said whispering in my ear "and I will show you the wonders of socialism". Amazed by the beauty of my facial-hair I accepted and nodded with glee. He smiled and took me by the hand, we flew through the clouds, high up over Moscow, the cold wild made me shiver but Daddy Stalin hugged me with his warm embrace and in that moment I knew: Communism will win!


this brought tears to my eyes

[Thirsty Crow]

Long story short.

All of the prerequisites - parents and the emphasis of social justice and justice of any kind, reciprocity and so on - meets years of confused intellectual searching meets

And this is where it's at

Occupation of the universities; the experience of collective struggle. Still it's a sort of a fairy land I like to go to in my thoughts, but seriously now, I can say honestly I wouldn't be the person I am today were it not for '09.

The weekend before I jokingly said "oh hell yeah I'll stay at home and enjoy myself". Didn't stay at home, not at all; though I did enjoy myself like never before that's for sure. But seriously again, the stream of events and how do they suck a person in is unbelievable. When I'm looking back, all of that seems like a long lost somewhat happy life.

To clarify, the biggest shock were the unions. The backstabbing rats and vermin, not only to us but also to those workers they claim they represented. So I guess unlike many people, I've come from a staunchly anti-union stance at the very beginning.

[Guardia Rossa]

I have just realized I didn't post my story. Long story.

16 I just "switched on" to life. Became interested in politics, science, reality, school, etc... and immediately turned to social-democracy or social-liberalism, and to the "Labour" Party. However, I was curious about what exactly was social-democracy so I went on and got a book in the public library. Half of it was "Communism is evil! Fuck Communism! Evil evil evil! Lenin was a mass murderer! We are the true children of Marx! Fuck Lenin! Killed 1000 Zillion! Lenin wrote a stupid book saying stupid shit! Fuck the fucking fuck outta their fucking fucks!" and blablabla.

Thing is, I'm curious, I went on to read "Left-wing Communism: an Infantile disorder" and though "HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, Social-democrats were lying, this man is awesome and his words are truthful!". So, from confused social-democrat I became confused leninist. However, I still though that there was something fundamentally wrong with the USSR, so I read about other ideologies and (Ironically or not) became a Titoist (Because Like A Liberal™ I though that centralizing the means of production in the State was bad and that giving it directly to the people was way better just because)

Afterwards some Stalinist friends convinced me that Titoism was just How to restore capitalism in a few easy steps (Click here) and they convinced me to go full stalinist for a few months, but I rejected it and then in my confusion went to "Orthodox Leninist" and "Neo-Leninist" (This actually exists, as a weird sectarian blog. Google it) finally to "Pan-Marxist" and then I joined Revleft and the "Non-Dogmatic Marxist" group.

I bough some books and started to look for Marxist stuff, eventually bumping into Zizek. I agreed with most of what he gave as theory but nothing with what he gave as solution and practical ideas, while I ignored most of the philosophical blablabla (He helped me get interested in philosophy though, thx Zizk). Soon after, I started reading you guy's posts and I immediately liked Rafiq, 870 and Luís Henrique's posts (Although me liking Zizek made me pick Rafiq's "side" in the flamewars), while I got interested in ckaihatsu's fancy images.

Now I'm more confuse then ever but at least I can learn from you guys (That is, until I say some [Redacted] shit and get banned. Then I'll have to rely on the sectarian microforums where the banned people go to.)

[Aslan]

When I was a wee lad I really didn't like America (I still do, but I have other reasons). I was a poor immigrant boy who originally came to America for education (I hope I can do it with a few scholarships and savings thanks to my parents college pool). I left to Albania with the idea that it with a blank slate. There I met my grandfather, he was a colonel in the army and told me about the old days of Enver Hoxha. I learned the history of Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, Tito, and Mao. I loved it, I thought that they truly brought prosperaty and peace to the world. (My grandfather studied in the Soviet Union and speaks better Russian than even some Russians). As I grew older I began to push those aside and I became a Liberal Atheist for most of my later years. After that, I got an interest in leftism and looked into the history of Communism. I rejected all my Tankie beliefs and became a liberal, watching TYT, TheAmazingAthiest, etc. One day though... I found a video called Spartacus over the Rhine about Rosa Luxemburg. After that I read the Communist Manifesto and listened to video series about Marx. It changed my way of thinking about things and I felt empowered. However,after I learned about the Spanish revolution and anarchism. I felt that Marx couldn't talk about the risk of usurping a revolution. I joined Revleft after looking at things about my question. I flirted with Syndicalism for a while in the beginning. And here I am, a commie stuck somewhere between Luxemburg and left communism. I'll probably just change myself to non-doctrinare communist eventually.

Someday I want to meet my grandfather again and tell him about all I have learned.

[Ceallach_the_Witch]

i was a left-wing social democrat for most of my life, my parents families, especially my mum's were large, traditionally working class families involved in labour party activism and in trade unions. I certainly grew up with the idea that wealth should be redistributed and that society fundamentally should be organised to meet everyone's needs. I pretty much carried on this way through school and into university , although I became totally disillusioned with the political process pretty early like i imagine most people of my generation in the UK were. I wasn't exposed to any ideas further left until my second year at university - communism in the mainstream UK education system was pretty much portrayed as a cut-and-dried 20th century history phenomenon. In my second year we had a really good lecturer for a module about historiography, and obviously it's impossible to talk about the study of history meaningfully without mentioning Marx. We'd been heavily encouraged to read around, and I found marxists.org and a few discussions online. Contrary to what I'd been told, the basics of communist and anarchist thought made a remarkable amount of sense to me. I've been reading (or trying to, I have brain problems that make reading a lot hard these days) around ever since trying to work out a concrete and coherent idea of where I stand politically, although I think due to an inherent hatred of authority and being told what to do in my personality I've always been inclined towards libertarianism, politically speaking.

I think a lot of my investment in revolutionary ideas stems from being a very square peg in a very round hole. As far as what is needed to reproduce capitalism on an individual level I am not only inadequate but totally defective. I'm an ill, mixed-up person who reacts poorly to being put under pressure etcetera.