this post was submitted on 20 May 2025
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We all know we're searching for ways to prove we want to improve people's conditions, but western parties can't find a way to do that without wrecking the liberal order that countries benefitting form imperialism see as the basis of their standard of living, even if those conditions only came about through concessions due to the fear of revolution.
That historical revolutionary fervor that caused the concessions isn't present because the concessions aren't gone yet. If time wasn't so much of the essence, the strategy would be to wait until the concessions are all taken back (owning housing as an option for working people, 40hr work wee, etc) in the name of profit while teaching people about that inevitable outcome. But climate change and nuclear war are game-changers which mean that we have to find a strategy to really improve lives now (relative to the liberal order) or to convince people based on future outcomes instead of immediate outcomes.
Problem with that is that wealth (and life quality) in western nations is subsidized by exploitation of the global south. Huge parts of the western working class benefit from the exploitation of the global working class. Western capital managed to align their workers' (short and medium term) interests against the interests of the rest by granting these concessions.
That's not a problem with my claim, that's exactly my claim. So, our strategy comes to 3 options: let the global south do the revolution to the west, find a way to improve lives without imperialism and prove our position, or wait until the Imperial benefits dry up (revolutionary potential will be easier to foster) and risk the climate or nuclear war in the meantime.
The first option proves very simply the easiest for western people but is useless as a strategy.
The second is very difficult, but it's about the only way to take action now.
The last is not reasonable considering the scale of damage done every day we fail.
Realistically there is even an overlap between the first and third, because the Imperial benefits depend heavily on the global south not being revolutionary, so there's room to shift strategies depending on the global situation.