Results 61 to 77 of 77
Bakunin wrote some good shit. I think he was a pretty good writer, actually...I still find some of his writings to be interesting, even though I stopped identifying w/ anarchism
"Win, lose or draw...long as you squabble and you get down, that's gangsta."
Marx is great and all, but he wasn't a prophet. He'd be the least person to claim he was. Use a bit of sense, is all, and don't expect a guy who died in 1880 to answer all your questions.
To user name, do you think any Marxist wants a party dictatorship? Even the evil Leninists want soviets and democratic centralism.
Segui il tuo corso e lascia dir le genti.
Socialism resides entirely in the revolutionary negation of the capitalist ENTERPRISE, not in granting the enterprise to the factory workers.
- Bordiga
Corrected.
Oh, and broody, im pretty sure that's how cults of the individual start
Segui il tuo corso e lascia dir le genti.
Socialism resides entirely in the revolutionary negation of the capitalist ENTERPRISE, not in granting the enterprise to the factory workers.
- Bordiga
Cults are when you believe something with no proof but denying Marx and engels substantial proof and evidence to support their claims would be intellectually dishonest. They were social scientists, more than hacks like Mike mcnair or 90% of other leftist "theorists." Who altogether have contributed in reality nil to lasting theory as compared with the likes of Marx engels, gramsci, Lenin, trotsky, Luxembourg, malcolm x and many other people whose reputations are unstained by opportunism. People will be inspired by what they represent, which is insulting to call hero worship.
For student organizing in california, join this group!
http://www.revleft.com/vb/group.php?groupid=1036
http://socialistorganizer.org/
"[I]t’s hard to keep potent historical truths bottled up forever. New data repositories are uncovered. New, less ideological, generations of historians grow up. In the late 1980s and before, Ann Druyan and I would routinely smuggle copies of Trotsky’s History of the Russian Revolution into the USSR—so our colleagues could know a little about their own political beginnings.”
--Carl Sagan
That's true - there's a difference between agreeing with Marx after considering and evaluating something he said, and merely agreeing with something "because Marx said so".
Whether Marx was right or not, it's probably safe to say he was genuinely interested in society and investigating solutions for society's ills. This is not true of modern political hacks - depending on whose playroll they're on, their primary concern is probably getting that by-line, showing off their book sales at dinner parties, and dreaming of a comfortable retirement (not that there's anything wrong with a comfortable retirement).
See also: http://reddit.com/r/socialism http://www.reddit.com/r/anarchistnews http://reddit.com/r/anarchism
The only slaves who are happy, are the crazy ones.
(Malcolm X? Seriously?)
Yeah malcolm x wasn't ever an opportunist, and his work was instrumental for the black power movement as a whole.(Malcolm X? Seriously?
For student organizing in california, join this group!
http://www.revleft.com/vb/group.php?groupid=1036
http://socialistorganizer.org/
"[I]t’s hard to keep potent historical truths bottled up forever. New data repositories are uncovered. New, less ideological, generations of historians grow up. In the late 1980s and before, Ann Druyan and I would routinely smuggle copies of Trotsky’s History of the Russian Revolution into the USSR—so our colleagues could know a little about their own political beginnings.”
--Carl Sagan
I like how he ended up in a list featuring both Trotsky and Luxemburg.(Malcolm X? Seriously?
He wasn't much of a theorist, is what I'm getting at.
That's not necessarily true I think, who was talking about and organizing for black power before him and his mileau? He gave speeches and inspired people in ways that nobody here is capable of which i think qualifies him as a theorist.
For student organizing in california, join this group!
http://www.revleft.com/vb/group.php?groupid=1036
http://socialistorganizer.org/
"[I]t’s hard to keep potent historical truths bottled up forever. New data repositories are uncovered. New, less ideological, generations of historians grow up. In the late 1980s and before, Ann Druyan and I would routinely smuggle copies of Trotsky’s History of the Russian Revolution into the USSR—so our colleagues could know a little about their own political beginnings.”
--Carl Sagan
This part of Bakunin's "God and the State" always made me smile.
Originally Posted by Bakunin
"I'm a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will." - Antonio Gramsci
"If he did advocate revolutionary change, such advocacy could not, of course, receive constitutional protection, since it would be by definition anti-constitutional."
- J.A. MacGuigan in Roach v. Canada, 1994
It doesn't, though. That's not what "theory" is.
A rather general observation
The main problem of a unified left movement is that there is none. This board serves as a terrific example - communists, socialists, anarchists, you name it engage in senseless hostilities over the faintest theoretical distinctions, while the right continues to move on. We have to find a common denominator, and it doesn't have to be the lowest, just one that is suitable to pursue our aims successfully. We have a common goal, and as long as we are not willing to focus on that one goal, which is getting rid of class based oppression, we might just as well stop right here, and go get a job at McDonald's. I'm not saying there shouldn't be discussions about the hows and whys, but not that many, not that lenghty and not hostile. Our friends are the working people, therefore our home is the streets and factories. Those who we claim to fight act in privacy, because they are afraid the people might find out what they are up to, but we already know! They are afraid of us rising.
So what the fuck are we waiting for?
Slaves went along with it, women went along with it, oppressed people often go along with it. Until they—I mean, to learn that you are being oppressed, and you donʼt have to be, is hard.— Noam Chomsky
I would consider Henry David Thoreau to be a theorist - and Martin Luther King Jr to be someone who puts theory into practice - ie. an "engineer".
Do theorists or engineers deserve more respect? Well, you actually have to have both to actually affect the world - sometimes it's the same person, and sometimes it's not.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X was actually one of my favorite books in high school - it's interesting how the closing chapters discussing the wider world and the universalization of his views contrasted with how popular media tends to portray him.
Interesting stuff from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/au...malcolm_x.html that I didn't discover until long after...
I believe in a religion that believes in freedom. Any time I have to accept a religion that won't let me fight a battle for my people, I say to hell with that religion.
I am for violence if non-violence means we continue postponing a solution to the American black man's problem just to avoid violence.
You show me a capitalist, and I'll show you a bloodsucker.
Power never takes a back step only in the face of more power.
Nonviolence is fine as long as it works.
From http://thinkexist.com/quotes/malcolm_x/
The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.
We declare our right on this earth to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day, which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary.
Sitting at the table doesn't make you a diner, unless you eat some of what's on that plate. Being here in America doesn't make you an American. Being born here in America doesn't make you an American.
Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change.
It is impossible for capitalism to survive, primarily because the system of capitalism needs some blood to suck. Capitalism used to be like an eagle, but now it's more like a vulture. It used to be strong enough to go and suck anybody's blood whether they were strong or not. But now it has become more cowardly, like the vulture, and it can only suck the blood of the helpless. As the nations of the world free themselves, capitalism has less victims, less to suck, and it becomes weaker and weaker. It's only a matter of time in my opinion before it will collapse completely.
I believe in the brotherhood of all men, but I don't believe in wasting brotherhood on anyone who doesn't want to practice it with me. Brotherhood is a two-way street.
If violence is wrong in America, violence is wrong abroad. If it is wrong to be violent defending black women and black children and black babies and black men, then it is wrong for America to draft us, and make us violent abroad in defense of her. And if it is right for America to draft us, and teach us how to be violent in defense of her, then it is right for you and me to do whatever is necessary to defend our own people right here in this country.
The only way we'll get freedom for ourselves is to identify ourselves with every oppressed people in the world. We are blood brothers to the people of Brazil, Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba.
See also: http://reddit.com/r/socialism http://www.reddit.com/r/anarchistnews http://reddit.com/r/anarchism
The only slaves who are happy, are the crazy ones.
For "common goals" to structure practical activity, they have to be practical goals, something we can work towards in the here-and-now. "Socialism", in the very general, abstract sense we share here, is not a practical goal. You may as well wonder why communists and liberals can't work together despite a shared desire for "freedom".
