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imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism
Imperialism has changed quite a bit from Lenin, such as the current development of one large empire and several vassal states under it benefitting from imperialism. Lenin’s work is actually best translated as “current highest,” not “highest.” Economists like Cheng Enfu have developed theories of Neoimperialism, and Nkrumah with Neocolonialism.
I second this. I enjoyed reading Lenin’s Imperialism very much, but it also felt very dated (as it should, it’s well over 100 years old now). I can’t help but think that if Lenin were alive today, he’d agree. That doesn’t mean it’s not an incredibly important work that we can’t draw from today, but we should also understand how the world has changed since.
I haven’t read John Smith’s Imperialism in the 21st Century yet, but I’ve heard it’s a very good update.
Yep, Marxist-Leninists have been advancing our theory beyond Lenin. What Lenin laid out is still foundational for analyzing the imperialism of today, but we are no longer in the age of competing empires, but a dying mega-empire and the rise of the global south.
I dont currently see how the book can seem dated. I laughed when I read it a week ago how shockingly current it is. Like the fact that international banking is basically the mafia. The imf is like the number one evidence for it.
It’s not that it’s dated into being no longer accurate, it’s that conditions have changed since it was current. Marx didn’t live to see the same heights of imperialism Lenin saw. Lenin did not live to see the consolidation of all competing imperialist powers into one hegemon and several vassals. Lenin is critical and relevant to this day, but we also need to look at how imperialism has advanced.
Agreed. I might have misunderstood. I think black shirts and reds as well as washington bullets are pretty spot on in that regard.
While I understand that it’s statistically likely, I can’t believe some people are actually named “John Smith” lol.
Imagine all the doubting stares when you introduce yourself as John Smith (in Poland it would be Jan Kowalski which is funnily enough both literal and contextual meaning) but you’re really John Smith.
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Future “don’t make me tap the sign” material
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Curse this ai slop. The fake crayon thing is really bugging me, like. Crack open a box and put a few hours in if you mean it, super accessible style
There’s absolutely no reason why this short, simplistic agitprop needs to be made in artisinal fashion from a Marxist perspective. Labor hours saved is valuable, and nobody is enjoying this agitprop from the perspective of artistic analysis. AI cannot replace art, but the insistence that every graphic regardless of use-case be made in artisinal fashion is reactionary.
From a human perspective it’s icky and you come across like 1950s propaganda to make commies look bad. When people express themselves they… you know what, I’m just gonna leave it at “ai sucks”. Simulated human output, our entire selves slurped up and analyzed to be extruded by a corporation, if your self-defined “marxist perspective” has an excuse for that it can eat my ass
Your only complaints are:
- “It’s icky”
- “ai sucks”
- The image itself is generated, rather than artisinally created
The first 2 are non-points to begin with, and the latter is an incomplete point. Again, there is absolutely no reason why this image needs to be artisinally created. Had OP used wordart and grabbed a stock image online for the background, it would have had the same amount of human input but no AI, yet you wouldn’t be calling it into question.
Nobody present is trying to tell you that AI can replace artists making art. You’re making the same mistakes the Luddites did in blaming machinery for the ills of capitalism, rather than capitalism itself. The same argument was had when digital art became mainstream over hand-drawn art, and when cameras came into being. Neither digital art nor cameras have replaced traditional art, nor can they, but that doesn’t mean digital art and cameras don’t have legitimate use cases.
AI has limitations that AI fanatics lie about. AI also has use-cases that people try their hardest to deny. Marxism helps us understand that AI can never replace traditonal art, but can absolutely be used for things like agitprop or stock images.
Requiring that communists spend hours on artisinally producing what is ultimately a disposable image meant to agitate and spark conversation just for you to acknowledge the message is wrong. From a human perspective, requiring this artisinal agitprop in order to acknowledge the point being drivin is deeply anti-human and instead individualist.
Your only point is:
- If it supports my ideology it’s inherently good
No.
My point is that technology that eliminates labor is useful, and correctly analyzing where it’s useful and where it isn’t is important. It is better to save time where we can, such is the purpose of technology that amplifies what labor creates.
Any leftist of any sort should be dedicated to improving technology and production so that we can fulfill the needs of as many people as possible with as little labor necessary. AI can’t replace art, but it can certainly help in cases like this, small disposable agitprop memes for sparking discussion (like we are having now).
This is why it’s important to have a dialectical materialist outlook and not an idealist one. Metaphysics isn’t helpful.
The impactful thing here is your output, not that of the slop machine, and I don’t think it’s having the influence you’d hope for mr. downvote
What is the actual difference in output in the use-case here? What changes about the message if this meme was artisinally created, especially if you couldn’t tell? This is why it’s important to discard idealism and to embrace materialism, idealism adds confusing baggage that clouds our judgement.
Further, it is working. Every other top-level comment is a discussion of the content of the post, not the fact that it was generated.
“Make it inefficiently, enemy.” nice try
Thank you for mentioning this, I thought I was the only one.
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I mean, liberalism’s support of private property and market economics are definitional.
Creating division between people who want to make things better and people who want to maintain the current absolutely dogshit status quo is actually a good thing
We love gross generalizations. Most people I meet just don’t really think about it in those terms. I’d say it’s probably more accurate to describe liberal voters as not being anti-capitalist
Now a liberal politician? Yeah 100% pro capitalism
Lowkey yikes. I don’t want to associate myself with either graphic
Neither capitalist nor anti capitalist, but some secret third thing
(the secret third thing being fascism)
So, capitalism too
Fascism is probably heading more towards neo-Feudalism than sticking with traditional capitalism
No, no fascist country, even the longest standing ones like Franco’s Spain went back to feudalism, they remained firmly in capitalism.
Why not?
Because the Soviets were assholes. I didn’t realize that would be controversial. I wish folks wouldn’t restrict the concept of anti-capitalism to the ussr. Raised fist? Red and black?
You’re on a site where the majority of users are Marxists right now, we’re pretty big fans of the soviet union. It wasn’t some utopia, but it was incredibly progressive for its time. Life expectancy doubled, literacy rates tripled, healthcare and education were free and high quality, housing was free or low cost, wages increased and working hours lowered, and society was democratized. Anti-capitalism isn’t restricted to Marxism-Leninism nor to the USSR specifically, but over here we uphold actually existing socialism.
Consider giving Blackshirts and Reds and This Soviet World a read, or check out the intro ML reading list I made.
Civil and Fair, so thanks. I’ll also pay more attention to the instance in the future if only to not be so baffled. Even if folks consider the Soviets progressive for the time, my 2 cents is that tying modern anticapitalism to the realities of USSR, especially Stalinism, does a disservice to progressive movements and even Marxism. But as you say, it’s a minority opinion, so I’ll accept my downvotes. Thanks again
Marxism-Leninism has been used by billions of people around the world for the purpose of liberating the working classes. I think you should do more research before saying such things.
What assholes, liberating millions of feudal peasants and modernizing an entire country and eliminating hunger and poverty and spreading literacy and giving women rights and revolutionizing agriculture and medicine and defeating the nazis and inventing space travel and supporting liberation movements around the world. What absolute pricks.
Edit: just saw you lower down being relatively chill
I was going to send a DM to cowbee, but it may be worth knowng for others. I’m a bit older and may be a “normie” leftist with moderate anti-cap views and have unexamined prejudices about the USSR. I liked what I read from Lenin/Marx (one work each, i know!) but don’t like the reality of what I know of Stalin so don’t want that association. After reading some more, I’ll reexamine the USSR prejudices. So thanks to cowbee and folks who didn’t assume malice
Great on you for owning up! If you want to learn more about Stalin specifically, Domenico Losurdo’s Stalin: The History and Critique of a Black Legend is one of the best contextualizations of Stalin to date. Losurdo doesn’t make him out to be a saint nor an exceptional Hitler-like demon, but instead correctly places him in his historical context using western sources. Though, of course, it’s a disservice to the millions of soviets to reduce the achievements of the soviet union purely to Stalin.
I’m impressed by your openness and I hope you have a good day
