What is my political position?

[Colonello Buendia]

Right, I agree with a lot of Ideas the POUM supported in the Spanish Civil War. I also believe in exporting the revolution once my country becomes socialists, Of The three who made the revolution, Trotsky seems to be the only decent one (to me) I believe in free press, free speech, freedom of belief so people of all Religions would be accepted, I'm tolerant of everyone except for fascists really, I also believe that armed revolution should only be advocated in certain circumstances and that we should revolution should be achieved peacefully unless things are too serious, if the time was right and the Government was oppresive I wouldn't hesitate to fight, I think Stalinism, Juche Communism etc are almost worse than fascism, because they discredit the left as a whole, somebody plese help me out!

[Winter]

First of all, have you read the Communist Manifesto and agree with it?

[Colonello Buendia]

yes I have and I agree with it, though I don't fully understand that council of women thing

[Winter]

Good. I knew I was a socialist, but when it came to specifics I had to do some exploring. First, I determined that I was a Marxist, then I explored those who came after Marx, such as Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Mao, ect. It's almost like a path, but of course you can stop at Marxist, or Anarchist, or whatever. It took me years but I finally have a firm hold on my stances. Take your time.

[bezdomni]

yes I have and I agree with it, though I don't fully understand that council of women thing

What specifically are you referring to?

Anyway, you should be more concerned with developing your politics than you should be with arbitrarily labelling them. Revleft gives a disproportionate amount of influence to random leftist sects who have little to no presence in real life.

When you become over-concerned with ideological labels, you become a dogmatist and not a revolutionary.

[Colonello Buendia]

Thanks for the advice, I'm definitely at the very least Marxist but I'm gonna need to do some reading before I can be 100% sure

[Winter]

What specifically are you referring to?

Anyway, you should be more concerned with developing your politics than you should be with arbitrarily labelling them. Revleft gives a disproportionate amount of influence to random leftist sects who have little to no presence in real life.

When you become over-concerned with ideological labels, you become a dogmatist and not a revolutionary.

Agreed. Don't turn your political ideology into a religion. Always be open to new ideas, but not guillable.

[non-vio-resist]

i'm glad to hear others offering such positive responses to the lad. i would simply answer that you've defined your "political position." you don't have to label yourself a "marxist," "anarchist," "leninist," etc. the above-posters are absolutely right that it is analogous to organized religion when you start worshiping these people like gods. that being said, we all label ourselves "leftists" which in-itself is a convenient catch-all term for people as radically different as cornel west to michael parenti. there is enough common ground and differnence in world-view to differentiate on a left-right paradigm, though. of course, it is an arbitrary social construct, but what isn't in our society? the left tends to branch off and form narrowly focused groups amongst each other. this is probably one of the main reasons we cannot seem to mobilize. while i, myself, tend to lean towards "anarco-syndicalism," i also try to avoid labeling myself.

[Colonello Buendia]

well thanks all of you for the advice, I've never liked the sectarianism on this site much, I generally lean towards a slightly Trotskyist view, but I think as long as I've made my views clear I'll not label myself

[gilhyle]

All very fine and true. However, on this board we have 'Group' forums. To post in those you have to join and then get yourself labelled. The one that interests me is the Trostkyist one, which discusses issues I find interesting, but I dont like the idea of having 'Trotskyist' put on my name.

[Holden Caulfield]

The one that interests me is the Trostkyist one, which discusses issues I find interesting, but I dont like the idea of having 'Trotskyist' put on my name.

im am not 100% Trotskyist, and neither is anybody else on it in my opinion, as said before you cannot be too dogmatic and you shouldn't get to tired up in name-isms because we are actually able to form our own individual thoughts, but for me the Trotskyist group was most appealing as they shared my views and I think they will also have your views (POUM were trotskyist in all but official affiliation)

marxist, mildly centralist, democratic, with anarchistic leanings, it is too hard to give your views set names followed by 'isms',

Trotskyism has its faults (such as splits, and our way of not picking tyrants as our heros just coz they 'got the job done') but too many people, (Stalinists or what ever name they are hiding behind, i.e. Hoxhaists) use trotskyist as an slander, but they are ignorant authorotarians,

[Cmde. Slavyanski]

I believe in free press, free speech, freedom of belief so people of all Religions would be accepted,

Freedom of the press is freedom for those who own a press, basic Leninist concept there.



I think Stalinism, Juche Communism etc are almost worse than fascism, because they discredit the left as a whole, somebody plese help me out!

So intentionally killing 12 million people on their ethnic/religious identity alone, with plans to intentionally wipe out another 80 million people for the same reason, is actually better than "Stalinism"? Hmmm....

[spartan]

Freedom of the press is freedom for those who own a press, basic Leninist concept there.

In a Socialist society there will be no ownership, and thus no ownership of a press, so true freedom of speech will be one step closer to being a reality.

Also this Leninist concept of "Freedom of the press is the freedom of those who own the press", can actually be linked with the state owned and run press in the Marxist-Leninist states (Which also had a censorship Bureau to censor any non-state approved publications that went against the "party line").

[Cmde. Slavyanski]

In a Socialist society there will be no ownership, and thus no ownership of a press, so true freedom of speech will be one step closer to being a reality.


In a socialist society the press is owned collectively. Freedom of speech is also a misnomer. It is treated as incredibly sacred, yet so long as you don't live in a country where a joke or ill word gets you beheaded(as in Nazi Germany), it is really useless, especially if you live in a state that is demonstrably on the side of the masses.

[Intelligitimate]

Right, I agree with a lot of Ideas the POUM supported in the Spanish Civil War. I also believe in exporting the revolution once my country becomes socialists, Of The three who made the revolution, Trotsky seems to be the only decent one (to me) I believe in free press, free speech, freedom of belief so people of all Religions would be accepted, I'm tolerant of everyone except for fascists really, I also believe that armed revolution should only be advocated in certain circumstances and that we should revolution should be achieved peacefully unless things are too serious, if the time was right and the Government was oppresive I wouldn't hesitate to fight, I think Stalinism, Juche Communism etc are almost worse than fascism, because they discredit the left as a whole, somebody plese help me out!

Your appropriate label would be anti-communist. This will probably turn into outright conservatism once your grow up.

[Holden Caulfield]

long as you don't live in a country where a joke or ill word gets you beheaded.

says the Stalinists,

[SamiBTX]

I'm agree with you Dr. Klick. Stalin & Mao have always seriously turned me off.
I always thought the world political affiliation was a circle, as you go further & further to the extreme left or right you eventually meet in the middle & become exactly alike.

[Cmde. Slavyanski]

says the Stalinists,

Care to cite a case?

[Forward Union]

Your appropriate label would be anti-communist.

Now I remember why we keep you around. :D

[gilhyle]

I'm agree with you Dr. Klick. Stalin & Mao have always seriously turned me off.
I always thought the world political affiliation was a circle, as you go further & further to the extreme left or right you eventually meet in the middle & become exactly alike.

Surely its not 'the middle' you meet at.....isnt it out on the edge, beyond the familar, where politics bends and logic runs backwards....... not so sure there is such a place.

[Colonello Buendia]

Freedom of the press is freedom for those who own a press, basic Leninist concept there.



So intentionally killing 12 million people on their ethnic/religious identity alone, with plans to intentionally wipe out another 80 million people for the same reason, is actually better than "Stalinism"? Hmmm....

no I mean the fact that these authoritarian dictatorial murderers are called communists, at least the fascists stood true to their political position, Stalin MAo etc his under a veneer of red and thus gave us all a bad name, they weren't as bad if you look at the deaths and such but what they did to the left is really unforgivable

[Colonello Buendia]

Your appropriate label would be anti-communist. This will probably turn into outright conservatism once your grow up.
sorry, but how exactly is harbouring a loathing of those men who have widely discredited the movement and given ammo to the bourgeois to use against us anti-communist? seriously, Stalin was much more anti communist, the men who acted under Soviet orders in the Spanish Civil War broke up communes and provided no support to comrades who fought under a different name, if you want an anti-communist then all you need do is look at Stalin mate. Mao, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Il, Stalin these men have all done terrible things in the name of communism, and if you look at the economic policies of china.. they're actually pretty similar to right wing economics, not free-market but state capitalist. so yeah I'm sooo like Mcarthy's lapdog. :mad: