Living in a Capitalist world.

[Husky42]

Recently I painted my car up to reflect my views, kinda like the one Ive done for a game that I posted in the other forum

Essentially on the vehicle I have a few quotes Democracy is indispensable to socialism is just one that is on my rear window, ive also put this website and che-lives.com With a few phrases such as Fuck Fascism and Stop Racism - My car has been spit on Ive had people flip me off cuss at me and I had one guy try to run me off the road, but I refuse to remove it because along with the bad, I have people who smile who wave and people who have written the website addresses down and people who have given me thumbs up - Is this form of expression wrong? Or is it ok for me to get the word out wihout one on one contact?

Living in a Capitalist world is confusing to me, I do not know what I am suppsoed to do or take part in. I love coffee, but i refuse to go near big corporations and instead I support small local independent coffee shops. I have boycotted walmart and other major national chains but I still need to wear clothing so today I went to ross which is discount clothing and bought some new levi's and a few burton shirts. I love to snowboard and all that good stuff. - With my belief system I am told I shoudl not enduldge in the pleasures available to me. What form of life should I live under socialist belief? I am severly confused in this regard I know what I believe and to an extent practice what I preach however living in a world where corporate domination is shoved down my throat daily what is one to do? Any input is apprecaited.

[Bannockburn]

I'm really surprised nobody has responded to your concerns. To begin with, good idea with your car. Keep it up.

Since we live in a capitalist word, or at least our society currently is capitalist, it is impossible to escape capital. Capital is everywhere. Its in our society, our culture, our homes, our products. Everything. So to escape it, is really self-defeating.



I love coffee, but i refuse to go near big corporations and instead I support small local independent coffee shops.

This is what I do as well. Not only with coffee, but with clothes, books, etc. If I'm going to buy coffee, then I generally ask questions beforehand. Generally its, “where do you get your coffee beans”? If they don't know, or refuse to answer, then its dirty. Clothing. I never go to corporations. All my clothing is second hand. Generally those second hand stores are institutions that will then use the money for a decent cause, say for example the salvation army.

Second of all, what is better is that it doesn't need to be replaced, the clothing I mean. Lets look at capital for a minute by Marx. You have a commodity which is a use-value, and you exchange it for money. Well to make this happen again, you need to replace the commodity. Hence, reproduction. So, what do we got here?

Granted I go to a discount store, and I buy Levi jeans for a few dollars less. Well the thing is, it needs to be replaced, and reproduced. That means that some women or child in Vietnam will have to make another pair of pants to reproduce and replace the pair of jeans I bought. So if you go discount, nothing really happens. However, second hand clothing generally breaks that cycle. Granted, its a commodity that needs to be replaced, but the replacement is on donation which has already been bought. Granted the individual who donated the pair of pants may buy a new pair, and they are reproducing the pair of jeans. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean I am.


With my belief system I am told I shoudl not enduldge in the pleasures available to me.

Well that is the thing, you can't escape it. I say live in moderation and be aware of the situation and circumstances. Like to snowboard? Get a used one, instead of a new one. Use your buddies, or if he gets a new one, take his old one. I tend to take it as moderation and the lesser of two evils. What is worse, going wal-mart, gap, or old navy? Or going second hand, or even discount? Well its not the former. Just because your a socialist doesn't mean you have to live in poverty or something. A lot of these people on this forum completely lack all kinds of practical implications. Revolution will happen tomorrow, blah blah blah. You bought food so you can eat! – your a bourgeoisie. Garbage pipe dreams like that. Most of them have failed to see Marx correctly and know the capitalism is exploitative to the bourgeoisie as well. You own a car? Okay, what is worse, a SUV, or a economic car? Well its not the former.

In all honestly here, even though we are sympathetic here, or are socialist, we are all an elite group. We all have computers, we're educated, we have the internet. Like I said, they lack any kind of prospective, or practical implications to their methods. Rome wasn't built in a day, and revolution won't destroy it in a day either. Its like, okay, well I'm going to get a new pair or shoes, but now I see a homeless guy – well your shoes can wait. They probably aren't that bad anyway. Give your money to the homeless guy. Stuff like that mate. Meanwhile, try to influence and get people to understand. When I'm at a store, or something and a friend of mine is going to buy gap or something, I make a

Scene. I give this stats and information while I'm in the store, I relate it to him, the other customers and the workers. You gotta pick your battle's carefully. When you see an opportunity to have money speak for you, and tell people what you think, then go for it. You see the owner of a store, you wave money in their face and tell him what you think. Small little steps. People get the message too. They just haven't made the transition to become active.

When you're in line, buying some food, and the cashier is going slow, and somebody starts to *****, this is when you speak up. You say in a respectful, friendly (like I'm your buddy, listen to me tone) how the cashier is just trying to make a living because she/he has too, and they much rather do something else, but they can't because they have to sell themselves to live. The cashier knows what you are talking about, and perhaps they will be like, “yeah” and start reading, and getting involved.

You gotta work these people like you do with kids. You bait them, get them interested, bait them some more, further the interest, bait. If you cram shit down people's throat, they will only resist, or spit it back up. Spoon feed them, don't give them a 50 coarse mean all at one.

[Wanted Man]

Amusingly, someone on Soviet-Empire said something very simple, but very accurate a while ago:


Items cannot be bourgeois!

That is all, thank you for listening.

[Husky42]

I had my window broken last night. I had it fixed today and put the same slogans I had back onto the window. I'm not sure how many times the window will be broken but I will continue to put the website addresses and other information up. I will not stop.

Question: Beer, I like beer.. I went to the bar last night with a few freinds and this is where my car window was busted. Anyways, I ended up getting into a discussion that revolved around war and society's position on current situations. I found this to be a good in to the benefits of socialism and a restructing of the current system to eliminate capitalism. Well after being called a pink-commie and other things I'm not sure how I shoudl approach people - Its almost scary how mad that they get when they find out I share a non standard view and consider myself one of socialist belief, I mention socialism the idiots bring up communism. I tell them there are differences and they tell me I'm stupid and need to read a book although its obvious these individuals have no college education behind them where-as I do. What am I doing wrong? Or am I doing anything wrong I managed to get some people to write this website down and peaked the interest but others literally wanted to hit me.

[anomaly]

People are going to want to hit you if you disagree with them. Period. Although, I am curious as to whether you are talking to rich men or poor. It seems to me that most poor men either don't want to discuss such things or are attracted to ideas of socialism and communism.

Also, be sure to tell these people that the Soviet Union and the like were not communist.

[Husky42]

Originally posted by [email protected] 15 2005, 12:05 AM

Also, be sure to tell these people that the Soviet Union and the like were not communist.
Definately something I try to make a point but many tell me that I'm stupid and should read a book because the old Soviet Union was communist, to this I have only simple replies and example of how they were not communist but in America most are to iggnorant to believe what I have to say.

I had a discussion about Lenin with my g/f last night and now I'm not even sure if I should continue to be her. She is from Krasnayarsk (central siberia)

She dislikes lenin, she feels that lenin came in and even though he helped turn russia around and brought it out of financial struggle with the Red army. She thinks that the whites and the old policy were never given a chance to prove that it could work, she had never stated that she hated lenin just that she thought maybe it would have been better if he did not start his revolution.

To this I am appalled, I firmly believe in lenin's revolution it was when stalin came and ruined things where it all went to shit.

She feels there was no good russian leader until gorbachev and I'm not sure on how I feel about this statement either, she grew up under soviet rule so in some ways I think she fears real communism even though I had gotten her to admit true communism has never been achieved.

[RedSabine]

I hate to say it, but a capitalist society has been the only way that has best disributed wealth (If still fairly uneven) I think that a socialist society can only work in small numbers.