Like a pendulum

[Noah]

Hey guys,

My politics has been swinging from side to side like a pendulum over the last year.

Not from extreme right - to extreme left but to extremely left to more centre-ish.

I don't think I'm going through a 'rebel' phase I think I've been through that phase and come out of it now and now i'm looking for what I really want to achieve.

I'm reading alot more now, on anything I can get my hands on to become more intelligent.

I'm reading detailed stuff on the Russian Revolution at the moment, I don't want to get into too much theory yet as I need to study.

Sometimes I think about material gain ie. I do want to change the world but I want to live comfortably etc...But as I read more this stuff is becoming less and less important to me..or perhaps I'm going through another phase?

My phases of 'greed' are really short and actually make me feel like crap.

I'm just wondering whether you guys were like a pendulum which eventually stopped onto a certain political viewpoint or have you guys also been on the 'extreme' left from day one. Also, how long did it take you to solidify this stance?

I'm only young - 16 now and my 'rebel' phase was 14. Many of my friends have lost interest now, ages ago. But I'm still trying to find where I belong within the left and still really what to do and where to begin.

[apathy maybe]

Become an anarchist. Seriously.


Even if you don't know how to get there, even if you don't know if it would work, even if you aren't politically active at all.

The idea of anarchism is fundamentally one that says that people can get along. Even if they can't, ideally they should. I'm a bit of an idealist, I want to get as close to anarchism as I can. I'm also a bit of a realist, it might not be possible.

But that doesn't stop me from wanting it.

Personally, I've moved left, and left, and left. I grew up in a household where the Greens were the main party that was voted for, when I was about 16 I thought more about socialism, then I learnt about this place (was the Che Lives Forums then). I moved a bit around communism and anarchism and whatever, not really knowing what I was talking about. Now I'm an anarchist. And I'm sure that I will stay one for the rest of my days alive (when I'm dead, I'll become a Stalinist :ph34r: ).

I look around, and I see so much shit happening. I see abuses of power, I see damage to the environment, I see exploitation, I see ignorance and stupidity.
And I see one major cause, social hierarchy that manifests it self in the state (and capitalism). I want it all to stop.


Even if you think that anarchism isn't possible, or that this way or that way is the only way to get there, whatever you do, keep in mind the end result.

[Die Neue Zeit]

^^^ What a way to "market" your anarchist cause to a yearning teenager, eh? ;)

My only advice (I'll only give more if you become inclined towards my style of thinking): avoid the sectarianism that plagues much of the modern-day revolutionary left.

[Rawthentic]

Theres one thing comrade, that will aid you.

Study. study, and study. And relate that to your surroundings and your life. Read Marx, Lenin, Debs, anarchist literature, everything so that you can find your ground.

Peace

[TheGreenWeeWee]

At 16 I was more worried about education (I kid you not) so that I could be better employed. That and pussy. Never once thought about politics.

[Ander]

Something like this is happening to me currently. As my senior year is ending and university is nearing, I'm really freaking out about money. I won't be living with my parents anymore and relying on them for my basic needs, I'll be independent and alone.

I'm worrying about my future and if I'll be able to survive as well as have money to live comfortably and be able to do what I want to do (travel, mostly).

I know I can never embrace capitalism (if you're ever in your life truly into socialism, how can you ever go back?) but sometimes I feel like giving up any kind of struggle. Sometimes I feel like communism is an ideal that will never be implemented...maybe our time is over?

Fuck, I dunno...

[Rawthentic]

Its not over, communism is a material necessity if we want a world where we can have a secure future for ourselves and our children, not to mention to save the world from nuclear catastrophe.

Like I said, look at your class interests, and I'm assuming you are proletarian because you are a communist, and study Marx and revolution.

[Spirit of Spartacus]

Sometimes I think about material gain ie. I do want to change the world but I want to live comfortably etc...

That's just natural. All humans think about material gain. All of them want to live comfortably.

A Marxist is a scientist, not a monk. Remember that! So there's nothing wrong with eating good food, drinking good wine or sleeping in a comfortable and warm bed.


But as I read more this stuff is becoming less and less important to me..or perhaps I'm going through another phase?

My phases of 'greed' are really short and actually make me feel like crap.

Comrade, if your desire for a comfortable life is "greed", then most humans I know, including Marxists, are "greedy".



I'm just wondering whether you guys were like a pendulum which eventually stopped onto a certain political viewpoint or have you guys also been on the 'extreme' left from day one. Also, how long did it take you to solidify this stance?

I'm only young - 16 now and my 'rebel' phase was 14. Many of my friends have lost interest now, ages ago. But I'm still trying to find where I belong within the left and still really what to do and where to begin.

Look, just fuck all that.

Think of it this way. At 16, you should be doing the following:

> work hard at school

> study Marx, Engels, Bakunin, Lenin, Mao, Immanuel Wallerstein, Samir Amin, Eqbal Ahmad, etc.

> have fun when its time for fun, make friends, stay healthy and fit ( :P )

> think about college


And remember, to be a Marxist, you must become a SCIENTIST. Try to inculcate objectivity in yourself. Try to study materialism, empiricism, political economy and everything else that you can get your hands on.

And have fun too. And live comfortably if you can afford it.

That has nothing to do with your political stance.


Just keep in mind:

There is a difference between COMFORT and EXTRAVAGANCE.

Look for comfort, avoid extravagance.

There is a difference between HAVING FUN and BEING DECADENT.

Have fun, don't be decadent.

[TheGreenWeeWee]

Jello wrote: Something like this is happening to me currently. As my senior year is ending and university is nearing, I'm really freaking out about money. I won't be living with my parents anymore and relying on them for my basic needs, I'll be independent and alone.

I'm worrying about my future and if I'll be able to survive as well as have money to live comfortably and be able to do what I want to do (travel, mostly).

I know I can never embrace capitalism (if you're ever in your life truly into socialism, how can you ever go back?) but sometimes I feel like giving up any kind of struggle. Sometimes I feel like communism is an ideal that will never be implemented...maybe our time is over?

Fuck, I dunno...

Jello, it is perfectly normal to feel the way you do, Things will turn out okay. It bothered me when I went out on my own. Me and the wife been together for a long time now and the nest is empty. Nobody knows what the future holds. It's okay to take a break, relax and find out what those next steps are.

[StartToday]

This is an excellent thread. I feel a lot like you do, Noah. I haven't been on these forums in the last couple months because I just reached a point where I was sick of thinking of conspiracy and capitalism all day. It's really exhausting when you can't even watch a shampoo commercial without thinking about genocide. Anyways, I feel bad about living comfortably and buying stuff, too; like I'm being greedy. I guess I'll take Spirit of Spartacus' advice and just concentrate on learning, and enjoying my life as much as I can. After all, I will be dead one day.

Look for comfort, avoid extravagance... I like the sound of that. Perhaps that'll be my new motto.

[Guest1]

Vascillation comes from isolation.

Find an active organization and take an active role. You'll make mistakes along the way, but those mistakes will teach you what you need to learn about the world, and will burn the extraneous and flabby ideas right out of you. It's those unformulated, ungrounded, incomplete ideas that make you unstable.

That's what I needed, I've made some pretty big mistakes since taking an active role, but mistakes on the field are how you learn. Mistakes online never really teach you anything, it's a circle jerk of so-called leftists who have never tested their ideas.