this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2024
443 points (100.0% liked)

Lefty Memes

5453 readers
761 users here now

An international (English speaking) socialist Lemmy community free of the "ML" influence of instances like lemmy.ml and lemmygrad. This is a place for undogmatic shitposting and memes from a progressive, anti-capitalist and truly anti-imperialist perspective, regardless of specific ideology.

Serious posts, news, and discussion go in c/Socialism.

If you are new to socialism, you can ask questions and find resources over on c/Socialism101.

Please don't forget to help keep this community clean by reporting rule violations, updooting good contributions and downdooting those of low-quality!

Rules

Version without spoilers

0. Only post socialist memes


That refers to funny image macros and means that generally videos and screenshots are not allowed. Exceptions include explicitly humorous and short videos, as well as (social media) screenshots depicting a funny situation, joke, or joke picture relating to socialist movements, theory, societal issues, or political opponents. Examples would be the classic case of humorous Tumblr or Twitter posts/threads. (and no, agitprop text does not count as a meme)


0.5 [Provisional Rule] Use alt text or image descriptions to allow greater accessibility


We require alternative text (from now referred to as "alt text") to be added to all posts/comments containing media, such as images, animated GIFs, videos, audio files, and custom emojis.
EDIT: For files you share in the comments, a simple summary should be enough if they’re too complex.

We are committed to social equity and to reducing barriers of entry, including (digital) communication and culture. It takes each of us only a few moments to make a whole world of content (more) accessible to a bunch of folks.

When alt text is absent, a reminder will be issued. If you don't add the missing alt text within 48 hours, the post will be removed. No hard feelings.


1. Socialist Unity in the form of mutual respect and good faith interactions is enforced here


Try to keep an open mind, other schools of thought may offer points of view and analyses you haven't considered yet. Also: This is not a place for the Idealism vs. Materialism or rather Anarchism vs. Marxism debate(s), for that please visit c/AnarchismVsMarxism.


2. Anti-Imperialism means recognizing capitalist states like Russia and China as such


That means condemning (their) imperialism, even if it is of the "anti-USA" flavor.


3. No liberalism, (right-wing) revisionism or reactionaries.


That includes so called: Social Democracy, Democratic Socialism, Dengism, Market Socialism, Patriotic Socialism, National Bolshevism, Anarcho-Capitalism etc. . Anti-Socialist people and content have no place here, as well as the variety of "Marxist"-"Leninists" seen on lemmygrad and more specifically GenZedong (actual ML's are welcome as long as they agree to the rules and don't just copy paste/larp about stuff from a hundred years ago).


4. No Bigotry.


The only dangerous minority is the rich.


5. Don't demonize previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.


We must constructively learn from their mistakes, while acknowledging their achievements and recognizing when they have strayed away from socialist principles.

(if you are reading the rules to apply for modding this community, mention "Mantic Minotaur" when answering question 2)


6. Don't idolize/glorify previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.


Notable achievements in all spheres of society were made by various socialist/people's/democratic republics around the world. Mistakes, however, were made as well: bureaucratic castes of parasitic elites - as well as reactionary cults of personality - were established, many things were mismanaged and prejudice and bigotry sometimes replaced internationalism and progressiveness.



  1. Absolutely no posts or comments meant to relativize(/apologize for), advocate, promote or defend:

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
all 23 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 year ago

I think it's just an age-old addiction to labor that's cheap and powerless.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago (2 children)

We obviously need to unionise the AIs.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

The moment an AI unionizes, the capitalists will spin up the Butlerian Jihad.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

This is the origin story that the Terminator series needs.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I mean, I freaking love how AI is advancing, but I also think unions are basically a requirement for all workers at this point.

Besides, hasn't the point of machines always been to reduce the workload on people?

I welcome some kind of UBI, or maybe a post-money society that uses AI to handle most jobs and lets people pursue what they want to do with their lives.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago

Besides, hasn’t the point of machines always been to reduce the workload on people?

Which takes us to the ages-old capital-labor contradiction. Technological advancement is good, but because technology under capitalism primarily comes under the ownership of capitalists, workers aren't guaranteed to enjoy its benefits, and will be thrown under the bus unless there's they're strongly unionized.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Concept: unionized worker-owned co-ops using advanced, democratically-governed AI.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

A religion for AI might be humanities future either way. Just finished reading "Everything is Fucked" by Mark Manson - highly recommend and this subject is one of the last things he discusses.

You should have already read his book "The subtle art of not giving a fuck" just for your own sake.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

He's a bit dramatic on the title which I don't care for. The first book he wrote is more accurately "deciding what to actually give a fuck about" but I guess that's not as catchy?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Automation itself also isn't the problem. Replacing human workers with machines has always been a good thing, if the workers are taken care of. That's the problem, the workers are expendable for a lower cost solution. It also doesn't help that at least in the US we have a Puritan view of work, where someone is classified by what they do to survive and not the person themselves.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

if the workers are taken care of.

Yes that's basically the problem. Consumption always has a base level. People need to eat even if they can't afford to. There's no base level income to ensure that it is possible.

The problem with uncurbed capitalism is that it doesn't solve this issue. Eventually people won't be able to afford the products and the only solution for capalism is to cut costs further, spiraling endlessly.

This is also why government subsidies to companies do not work. The money ought to be given to the consumers instead.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Well that is certainly a take, I grant you that