antiutopian

8 ms·

1.
by antiutopian 3y ago
Once you start following/helping/participating in the labor movement it becomes clear that virtually every company will go to great lengths to stop a union from being formed and winning a contract, they will even break the law. Th
2.
by antiutopian 3y ago
San Francisco's problems are rooted in extreme inequality. There is no tough on crime policy that can improve the lives of the majority in this context.
3.
by antiutopian 4y ago
I think it's helpful to understand capitalism as a historical process in the real world, and not as a pure idea which society fails to live up to. The state had an important role in the development of capitalism everywhere, it still pl
4.
by antiutopian 5y ago
In general, employers do not want to offer higher wages because they predict it will be very difficult to lower them later down the line. They feel if they can weather the current storm, things can get back to "normal" as far as w
5.
by antiutopian 5y ago
So if your explanation is right, then we should also expect to see only a tiny effect in the practical use of math, reading, writing, etc. between people who went to school and people who didn't. Because only 2 cared enough to pay atte
6.
by antiutopian 6y ago
Who are you and why are you doing this?
7.
by antiutopian 6y ago
So you agree, socialism would be good - it's just not possible because of the predictable ruthlessness of the capitalists.
8.
by antiutopian 6y ago
It's disappointing when I talk about planning the economy, and many technologists who are otherwise quite excited about difficult engineering problems dismiss it as entirely impossible because of something they read once from the 1920s
9.
by antiutopian 6y ago
I agree, I just think you said it wrong in your original post!
10.
by antiutopian 6y ago
Did you mean "unlike under Lenin"?
11.
by antiutopian 6y ago
There is not going to be a Capitalism 2.0. Capitalism was progressive for a time, but it has gradually created the conditions for its replacement by democratic socialism. Those conditions are highly socialized production processes (not indi
12.
by antiutopian 6y ago
It's their class interest, which drives them to view the world in a certain way. So as others are saying, it's ideological. But that ideology isn't a coincidence, it comes from justifying the sort of "work" that the
13.
by antiutopian 6y ago
Agreed. It must be a strange time to be alive for people who are not Marxists! Today's political polarization in the US is rooted in the 08 financial crisis, followed by a weak recovery, combined with skyrocketing inequality, and now a
14.
by antiutopian 7y ago
Exactly right. The working class has power because we are the ones who make society run. In the case of teachers, a strike creates a complete crisis in the city. For private sector workers, they can completely halt profit-making by their em
15.
by antiutopian 7y ago
Red State Revolt (referenced in parent) has material in it showing how in practice class battles have the potential to cut across other social questions like party loyalty for example. There was a new-found unity in the teachers strikes. E
16.
by antiutopian 7y ago
Interesting article. I don't agree with a lot of it, one point I think is straightforward to respond to as a Marxist: "Marxist interpretation of the 20th century is much more convincing in both its explanation of World War I (impe
17.
by antiutopian 7y ago
"But the NYT chose a neo-Marxist rather than liberal path to make a very specific claim: that slavery is not one of many things that describe America’s founding and culture, it is the definitive one." Well, the author does know wh
18.
by antiutopian 7y ago
There are measures we can take against climate change, they just go against the structural needs of the capitalist system. If governments continue to put the continuation of the system above the needs of the environment, then of course we w
19.
by antiutopian 7y ago
Some form of socialist planned economy will be necessary, you're right that world capitalism can't do it.
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by antiutopian 8y ago
And what power does a local representative have over Jeff Bezos? He is willing to threaten to leave whole cities over small tax increases on his company. Capital represents a lot more power than local government!