Communism isn't a lifestyle.
Results 1 to 20 of 82
The iPhone 4S
Okay, comrades, this is probably the strangest thread i've posted up til now,
But i have a question.
So next year, i'm going to be studying, and my parents have offered to buy me the new iphone provided i pay a part of the bills.
Now, i got into a discussion with a friend of mine who defends some aspects of capitalism (not mutually exlusive).
His argument was "if it wasn't for capitalism and for a constant struggle to produce the best and newest, Iphones and all the tech gizmos would not be around."
So, my question is:
Can a Marxist/Communist/Anarchist own an Iphone without being completely hypocritical?
I know this sounds like a really trivial question, but please try and see it from a theoretical POV.
Cheers (and please, no "bourgeois" hate, im sure there are more people with this dilemma out there.)
"Men choose as their prophets those who tell them that their hopes are true." -Lord Dunsany
"As a Marxist, as a Communist and as a free human being, I oppose any Czar, Dear Leader, Premier, Emperor, Kaiser, Dictator, etc, etc. So I tell you; to hell with your Stalins, Hitlers, Maos, and Francos. I oppose any tyrant not because he kills a million people, but because he is a tyrant. I say no to tyranny and oppression, and anyone who disagrees does not belong here." - Iron Felix
Communism isn't a lifestyle.
∞, Bardo, bricolage, ColonelCossack, Comrade Gwydion, ComradeOmar, fatpanda, Franz Fanonipants, Jose Gracchus, KurtFF8, L.A.P., Lanky Wanker, Le Rouge, Leonid Brozhnev, Libertador, Magón, Misanthrope, NewLeft, Nox, Patagonia, PC LOAD LETTER, Pirate Utopian, Q, Tablo, The Dark Side of the Moon, The Idler, thefinalmarch, tir1944, Welshy, wunderbar, ZeroNowhere
Of course you can. That's a BS argument.Okay, comrades, this is probably the strangest thread i've posted up til now,
But i have a question.
So next year, i'm going to be studying, and my parents have offered to buy me the new iphone provided i pay a part of the bills.
Now, i got into a discussion with a friend of mine who defends some aspects of capitalism (not mutually exlusive
His argument was "if it wasn't for capitalism and for a constant struggle to produce the best and newest, Iphones and all the tech gizmos would not be around."
So, my question is:
Can a Marxist/Communist/Anarchist own an Iphone without being completely hypocritical?
I know this sounds like a really trivial question, but please try and see it from a theoretical POV.
Cheers (and please, no "bourgeois" hate, im sure there are more people with this dilemma out there.)
IPhone is terrible though... Get Android.
I bring with myself the idea of Communism, so that you may survive when law is lawless.
"Both nationalism and patriotism are the equivalent of an animal exclaiming how much it loves it's cage." - Octavian
Formerly FightTogether.
I'm saving up for a Macbook Pro myself. Maybe adding an iPad and an iMac to it later on.
Fuck Apple haters. Welcome to the capitalist consumer society where everything you buy is a part of the system.
I think, thus I disagree. | Chairperson of a Socialist Party branchMarxist Internet Archive | Communistisch Platform
Working class independence - Internationalism - Democracy
Educate - Agitate - Organise
I have a DIY phone which I made from bamboo and a coconut.
But seriously:
Funny thread, I was thinking the same thing with my clothes buying. Where do I buy ethically produced clothing, dammit? All sweat-shop made controlled by fat, rich capitalists!
"If ever a pen was a weapon, it was the pen which wrote Lenin's 1917 texts."
How did you get off the island Professor?!
Buying an iPhone doesn't have anything to do with communism.So it's OK for Communists to have iPhones.
On the other hand,iPhone is for D-bags and hipsters and the like so you should buy something else.
Fuck Apple.
No such thing,from what i know at least.
Considering i'm neither a douche or a hipster, your argument is invalid
I'm not regretting getting the phone. I enjoy apple products and the way they work. If you want it go for it, especially since you're getting it at a discounted price!
Wait a month and buy the galaxy nexus
[FONT="Courier New"] “We stand for organized terror - this should be frankly admitted. Terror is an absolute necessity during times of revolution. Our aim is to fight against the enemies of the Revolution and of the new order of life. ”
― Felix Dzerzhinsky [/FONT]
لا شيء يمكن وقف محاكم التفتيش للثورة
While I agree with the people saying communism isn't a lifestyle, I think you should still spend you hard earned money on a phone that isn't nearly as overpriced, and one that isn't running behind it's competition each and every time, only to come with a newer version that is finally up to date with the rest a little later.
I was thinking of this but they've loaded it with so many extra features the fucking battery drain will be ridiculous imo. I wanted nfc and the new 1.2ghz processor though
What's wrong with a good old ordinary cell-phone?
nothing really, except that my current prepaid is raping me, and basically because the contract is so high i might just as well get a bit more for my buck.
anyhow, thanks comrades!
"Men choose as their prophets those who tell them that their hopes are true." -Lord Dunsany
"As a Marxist, as a Communist and as a free human being, I oppose any Czar, Dear Leader, Premier, Emperor, Kaiser, Dictator, etc, etc. So I tell you; to hell with your Stalins, Hitlers, Maos, and Francos. I oppose any tyrant not because he kills a million people, but because he is a tyrant. I say no to tyranny and oppression, and anyone who disagrees does not belong here." - Iron Felix
Fuck pre-paid phones,get "free" ones and "fill them up" when necessary.
You're describing prepaid.
I think, thus I disagree. | Chairperson of a Socialist Party branchMarxist Internet Archive | Communistisch Platform
Working class independence - Internationalism - Democracy
Educate - Agitate - Organise
I own a Macbook Pro.
Come at me, bro!
"We are free, truly free, when we don't need to rent our arms to anybody in order to be able to lift a piece of bread to our mouths."
- Ricardo Flores Magón
"I am resolved to struggle against everything and everybody."
- Emiliano Zapata
I don't know. It's tricky. Using the products of capitalist production is not wrong per se as a communist when those products are a matter of "muddling through" life. However, the fact that you asked the question is significant. It means you don't automatically see the "need" for the iphone and recognize that apple is a company with a laundry list of injustices against the international proletariat. So, the answer must be, what is the minimum requirement and how do I minimize my negative impact by supporting the sysytem as a whole and the guilty company (apple or whatever) in particular? Whether we want to recognize it or not, the iphone is a perfect example of the fetichization we have with gadgets and quite frankly, superfluous shit. Get the iphone if you want, it won't postpone anything, but it will add a notch of culpability in your corner. Its a game of inches and the capitalists are winning when we let them.
So, in order to "win", we have to exclude ourselves from society? After all, when you participating in it, you inevitably will participate in the capitalist operation.
I don't think such individualist hermit (hobo?) alternatives are a real answer to the capitalist system.
I think, thus I disagree. | Chairperson of a Socialist Party branchMarxist Internet Archive | Communistisch Platform
Working class independence - Internationalism - Democracy
Educate - Agitate - Organise
Apple sucks balls.
Overpriced crap. Yeah it looks pretty, but that's as far as it gets with apple products.
I bring with myself the idea of Communism, so that you may survive when law is lawless.
"Both nationalism and patriotism are the equivalent of an animal exclaiming how much it loves it's cage." - Octavian
Formerly FightTogether.
