GenZedong

yea

Notes:

1.Yes, there are some libby liberal books there. I started collecting as a very...patriotic social democrat, so that's why I have a couple copies of the constitution and Theodore Roosevelt's autobiography and such (I still do like Common Sense though)

2.Blank spines are (from left to right), the communist manifesto, dialectical and historical materialism [by J.V Stalin], Gaddafi's Green book, an inquiry into the origin of the wealth of nations [Adam smith], The Dao De Jing [Lao Tzu, not blank but the light might make it hard to read]

3.Havent read all of these. Capital is...its capital. The Sun Yat-Sen and Mao focussed books (not including quotations) are recent purchases. I'm current reading through China's Economic Dialectic and America Against America, and a lot of the fiction is unread since I have to be in a specifc mood and that mood doesn't appear often

4.My favorite is still probably Quotations from Mao Zedong. It was my first theory book and really set me on the straight and narrow and helped me really understand what I needed to do (I mean, maybe I have a pantheon of books but that doesn't mean I book worship. /joke)

5.I don't only read. I wish I could, but I do have to do stuff outside of my room

By u/China_Appreciator on r/trueanon

Think about it. In the Islam, Mohammad (PBUH) didn't invent an entirely new theology, he merely filled in the gaps of what was already spoken before to become the final messenger of God. Likewise, Deng didn't create that much theory compared to his predecessors, but he is nevertheless the last great theoretician. I read on the Governance of China, Xi isn't really creating new theories, he's just guiding China towards the completion of the primary stage of socialism as Deng envisioned. Socialism with Chinese Characteristics is the last major development of Marxist thought.

Karl Marx is like Moses in that he creates this radically new way of understanding the world that all these other guys would later draw from. Marx and Moses are also both Jewish.

(Note - I'd rather replace Moses with Abraham)

Mao Zedong is like Jesus Christ in that they are both venerated by billions of people and draw from the previous guy. Jesus is like "It's cool that Jews have this super awesome God, but wouldn't it be cooler if he could be EVERYONE's God?" and Mao is like "These are cool theories, but wouldn't it be cooler if we actually APPLIED these theories?" Their publications are both some of the most printed books of all time. Their teachings fill their followers with great joy and a hope for a better future. Disrespecting Jesus and Mao deeply offends many people and is considered sacrilegious in a sense.

Where does Deng come in? Well in the Islamic tradition, Jesus isn't the son of God, but is still the messiah and the savior of humanity. Likewise, Deng maintains that Mao saved China, but he wasn't perfect and he made mistakes. He adopts Marxism and Mao Zedong thought to the material conditions of China and introduces market reforms to develop the productive forces with the long term goal of transitioning towards a classless, stateless society. The idea of allowing capitalism as a mode of production to happen on a large scale but to subordinate it to the party is a new theoretical development, thus making him the last prophet of Marxism. If we were to apply the Mao-Deng relationship to Jesus and Mohammad (PBUH), we can better understand Islam as Christianity with Bedouin characteristics.

Here's another similarity: both did not want to be worshiped. Mohammad made it explicitly clear that worshiping or praying to him is a grave sin, there is only one God, he is merely the messenger. Deng understood the utility of the reverence for Chairman Mao as inspired fidelity to the party among the masses, but he also understood that this reverence lead to problems as seen in the cultural revolution and didn't want to create a "cult of personality" for himself. He rarely appeared in public compared to Mao and explicitly stated he didn't want his face posted up everywhere. Isn't that interesting when you consider that it's forbidden in Islam to depict Mohammad (PBUH)?

We can also understand the schism in the Western left between Socialism with Chinese Characteristic upholders like myself, PLAkilledmyGrandma and DearOccupant (my favorite posters in this sub) and "Maoists" that say Deng was illegitimate. In this analogy the Maoists are like Christians who reject the messages of Mohammad (PBUH) and declare him a false prophet. They say the Maoist (Christian) way was correct and that the later contributions by Deng/Mohammad are a false deviation of what is the "true" theory/theology.

What about Deng's successors? Well those are the caliphates. Jiang Zemin was the first caliphate, Hu Jintao/Wen Jiabo were the second and third, and Xi Jinping is the fourth (Ali). If you read their theoretical publications it's not really anything new, it's basically just their standard operating procedure about how they plan to implement socialism with Chinese Characteristics during their respective times of administration that corresponded to China's stage in development. And the caliphates Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman, and Ali created much of the legal foundations for Shariah during their reign, but ultimately Shariah is just Islam as codified into law. It's not a fundamentally new thing. Mohammad laid out the blueprint they're just implementing it.

Welcome again to everybody. Make yourself at home. In the time-honoured tradition of our group, here is the weekly discussion thread.

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Yesterday's rally against the Trump administration in Washington, D.C., a vast and confused hodgepodge of liberal groups, snuck in one notable "progressive" demand: that Trump take his hands off NATO.

Since its founding, NATO has served as a belligerent enforcer of Western hegemony, one which fuels militarization, enforces neocolonial domination, and provokes global conflicts—from Yugoslavia to Ukraine—while serving arms dealers and empire.

Its post-Cold War expansion encircled Russia, violating past promises, and its illegal wars under "humanitarian" pretenses have devastated nations like Libya and Afghanistan.

Even if he wanted to, the figurehead Donald Trump would never be allowed to put his hands on NATO.

I also have to wonder, because this otherwise seems like a pretty ok protest, who snuck in the "NATO" part here, since in some other posters for this event it was actually not included:

Also somehow a biographer has better historical analysis of the transition from Chiang to Mao to Deng than many other supposedly "learned" peoples.

(I know her comment about stalin will probably sour the video somewhat, but I do think its still very good)

Newly Proposed Syrian Constitutional System of Government

Proposed by Syrian Caretaker Government on March 13th for 'transitional period'

Found this image and quotes on r/syriancivilwar.

All Syrian power centralized on Julani (Al Qaefa rebranded as HTS), they refused any type of federative system that would grant more autonomy for regions, and now they are also massacring Alawites the coast, plus, the "temporary" accumulation of power that, according to Julani, will be only for ~5 years until the new "democratic" constitution takes place, I have no faith that he will hand over power in the future. Just a terrible situation Syria is in now.

Westerners and people heavily influenced by western culture tend to get really lost in "Idea" arguments. They worry about things like what are someones motivations, or what very specific "freedoms" does a certain AES state have. I think this is a remnant of anti-materialist, and self-defeatist thinking created by liberalism and injected into society as a whole.

Let us first define dialectical materialism. To look it up you’ll get,

“The Marxian interpretation of reality that views matter as the sole subject of change and all change as the product of a constant conflict between opposites arising from the internal contradictions inherent in all events, ideas, and movements.”

This isn’t wrong, but I’d like to expand on it. To be a materialist you must also be pragmatic. You must observe the way things physically are, and not concern yourself with idealist concerns, but rather tangible things. This arises specifically when considering how to achieve the goals of the socialist movement.

To achieve a goal, to be victorious in the revolution, is our focus as socialists. Rather it should be. Instead I see many, especially people like myself raised in the west, concerned with idealistic thinking. They will wonder how can we achieve our goals THE RIGHT WAY. As opposed to THE WRONG WAY. What is right, or wrong varies person to person. This conflict persists though.

As socialists, revolutionaries, we desire the destruction of the current status quo. If this goal is to be achieved we must take a pragmatic approach to it. We must be heartless in the face of our enemies. We must be conniving, and we must only consider the material effect of our actions in pragmatic terms. If you were attacked by an assailant and defending yourself would you consider how best to win the fight while harming the person the least amount? No. Not unless you wanted to be killed. As revolutionaries we are in a similar position.

There are only 3 types of people we must consider. Every person on earth falls into these 3 categories. Comrade, Enemy, or Irrelevant. Comrades are those who aid the cause of socialism, and anti-imperialism. They are not necessarily themselves socialists. Think Iran. They may not be socialist but at this time they fight against imperialism, and the global capitalist order. This makes them comrades. For now. Enemies. They are the opposite of comrades. Those who take material action to further the goals of capitalism, and imperialism. In the class war, like any war, there is only 1 way to deal with an enemy.

Then there are Irrelevant people. Those who do not take material action either way. They are the civilians who just go about their daily life. They may espouse views in support of either side, but take no action to back those views up. They are to be largely ignored usually. You can try to agitate, and awaken some to become comrades though that is another conversation.

When analyzing an event, or an action in the context of revolutionary materialism it must be simplified. Does the event/action further the goals of socialism? If yes it is to be supported, if no it is to be resisted.

Look at how China operates internationally. They don't purity test nations who they may ally. China will work with anyone if doing so strengthens the Chinese revolutions position. By doing so they strengthen the position of Socialism globally. Even if at times they work with nations that are in no way socialist. Yet inside their own borders they are much more ideologically strict. Because in this case it is necessary to protect the revolution from internal divisions.

Let’s apply this to some real world situations. Gaza. Hamas is fighting against a colonial, capitalist, ethnostate. In doing so they may have killed civilians, taken hostages, etc. Their actions though further the cause of anti-imperialism, and do direct harm to an enemy of the socialist movement. This means they are comrades.

The killing of the Russian royal family by the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks did this to ensure the destruction of the monarchy, and weaken counter-revolutions that may arise in the future. They were socialists themselves. So they were comrades, and their actions were correct.

Now someone who is still in the trap of anti-materialist thinking may say, “Well what if they took them prisoner, and tried to rehabilitate them.” Something like this. It’s an irrelevant conversation that wastes time, and weakens the revolution.

We must not concern ourselves with anything except furthering the goal of revolution. Revolution is a destructive and violent thing. This may make people uncomfortable, but it is something they must come to terms with. We are fast approaching a time where in the US and Europe the conditions may become viable for comrades to directly undermine the current systems. To counter the rise of overt fascism people need to be in the proper mindset. I worry that many are still trapped in liberalized ways of viewing things, and this will hamper any efforts they take significantly.

I urge all who subscribe to the idea that socialism is the way forward for humanity to make efforts to be especially pragmatic, and materialist in all their analysis. I know many in this specific site already are, but elsewhere it’s much less common.

I want to thank you for taking the time to read through this. It’s something I have noticed a lot recently, and I needed to get my thoughts out in an organized format.

Gratifying, indeed.

No, Hamas didn’t end the ceasefire negotiations.

Israel is justifying its bombardment of Gaza by saying Hamas refused to return Israeli captives.

BT’s Kei Pritsker explains how Israel is totally distorting the narrative of the ceasefire agreement in order to continue ethnically cleansing Gaza.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/7268399

I try not to delve into "conspiracism" (I know, I know, bourgeois do conspiratorial action, but I'm referring to the general overall attitude toward ruling-class actions or conspiracies; I believe that most conspiracies are out in the open and I'm not obsessed with "secret" actions or "deep state" doings). But I am interested in the current development of diseases and I try to get flu shots every now and then, despite my family looking askance at that. I'm trying to nip whatever I can in the bud before it affects my physical health over the life-span.

Do you think this channel is legit and who would you recommend in terms of keeping up with science-y news or stuff pertaining to disease, physical health, medical science, etc.?

Any YouTube channels are welcome!

We're starting off with a very short one for the first week. This text was published in 1915, two years before the October revolution, and is sadly still highly relevant in the imperial core.

This reading group is meant to educate, and people from any instances federated with Lemmygrad are welcome. Any comments not engaging in good faith will be removed (don't respond to hostile comments, just report them).

You can post questions or share your thoughts at any time. We'll be moving on to a new text next week, but this thread won't be locked.

You can read the text here.

Hello and welcome to the Weekly discussion thread this St. Patrick's Day. We would like to encurrage you to wear green, and grab a starry plough flag. And enjoy this our weekly discussion thread

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  ◦ Theory discussion group now on Lemmygrad
• Find theory on ProleWiki, marxists.org, Anna's Archive, libgen

BERLIN—The headstones of Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht, Ernst Thälmann, and other revolutionary martyrs have been vandalized in a shocking desecration at the Friedrichsfelde Cemetery in Berlin.

The metal plaques carrying the names and dates of birth and death of the leading Communists buried around the Memorial to the Socialists have been taken in an attack reported to German police on Monday.

The tombs surround a giant gravestone bearing the inscription “The Dead Remind Us,” and form part of an enclosed park within the cemetery whose walls bear the names of hundreds of other revolutionaries killed in the struggle, from those slain fighting fascism in the Spanish Civil War to victims of Nazi terror in Germany itself.

Each year, on the second Sunday in January, crowds march to the monument to lay red carnations on the tombs.

Police say they have no clues as to the perpetrators but recognize a political motive is “clearly identifiable.”

Check out the rest of the article inside.

Many people seem to keep making the mistake of taking Trump's words at face value. This is partly the fault of the media, which hangs onto everything he says because he is their golden goose. Furthermore, there is the desire to keep finding some kind of logic in Trump's actions.

The problem is, we keep projecting our own logic onto the Trump admin. We think, "what would we do if we were American imperialists?" Which leads us, and many analysts (like yanis) to think about the Trump admin as if they were cavalry reinforcements arriving unexpectedly in the darkest hour of western imperialism to save it.

In reality, the Trump admin simply wants to impose unequal trade treaties on his allies and get them to spend more on weapons. His fearmongering and negging is his style of salesmanship.

The fact that the Trump admin keeps flip flopping on tariffs, resumed military aid to Ukraine, tried to pull that stunt with the "30 day ceasefire" (in ukraine) and the ceasefire in Palestine has broken down all show that the Trump administration has as much of a master plan as a shitty SV startup trying to attract VC funding.

What worries me is that the Europeans are falling for this con a second time! Trump literally did the same shit in his first term and got the euros to up their NATO spending! The fact that the Europeans can't even act in self interest or see through the tactics of a used car salesman is horrifying to see in first person. These people have nukes.

The United States is the biggest arms dealer on Earth, responsible for 43% of the world’s weapons exports from 2020 to 2024. The US transferred seven times more than China, and five times more than Russia. Ben Norton explains how the military-industrial complex profits from war.

After several months of hiatus, the theory discussion group will be moving from Matrix to Lemmygrad, and now you (yes, you!) can suggest texts (yes, texts!) for us to read

Requirements:

• Must be Marxist theory
• Must be reasonably short (a somewhat larger text can be divided across several weeks)
• Must not include any derogatory statements directed at rodents native to South America

Comments that suggest texts that fit these criteria will be selected based on upvotes. You can participate from any instance that's federated with Lemmygrad.