Materialist Analysis Sorely Lacking in Resistance Telegram Channels
Title. I have spent quite some time on the TG Resistance chat groups such as those of Resistance Trench and Slavyangrad to keep up with the latest information on the warfronts, and perhaps it shouldn't be shocking, but I was dismayed by the lack of not even Marxism, but basic material analysis of the situations in many of the groups' vocal members.
Conspiracy theories are common and hardly refuted, biological essentialism which feeds into conspiracy theories are taken as basic assumptions and thus led to unconstructive discussions that are hardly more than venting war-formeted hatreds that have morphed into just racism (you know, blaming Jews on what are structural forces of the Western Financial Empire).
I have met particularly deranged individual calling me a Jew for analysing the Iran war with a Marxist perspective, in the group with predominantly Shia muslims, which I can understand, as war can be blinding, but the event that led to my worse dismay, was one of the moderators of the Slavyangrad group, a TG group more focused on the Russian-Ukraine front, failed to recognise me putting a title drop of Lenin's "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism" in the group, and replying that Imperialism exists before capitalism.
At that point, I realised, these people have not had even the most cursory material understanding of history, even though they are good people that definitely stand against the empire, they lack the perspective to see that history is moved by structural forces and material circumstances instead of the inherent goodness and badness of individuals.
I am not saying we shouldn't be in contact with these groups, these people, but on the contrary, I believe we must reach out, comrades. These are the people who already see what the destructive forces of the world are, but they are still trapped in the languagescape designed by the imperialists to designate particular groups of people as undesirables and scapegoats. We should go out and explain more to them how does the structural forces of material and resource limits shape history, shapes elites and shapes their prejudices and exploitative excuses.
I am sure you all have your own circles, which you see individuals that are so close, yet still so far from the root of the problem. Reach out to them. The languagescape controlled by media in the English Sphere might be through, but now the Empire has been weakened, and it must be our duty to tear down their illusions, especially for people who already feel pain and are looking desperately for explainations.
MaKaNaS - 4mon
@PumpkinFactory@lemmygrad.ml Totally agree, the only approach I also see in most groups about geopolitics on Telegram is from a nationalist or religious perspective, going all over the importance that capitalism, colonialism or imperialism have in all current conflicts, especially in more generalist English-speaking channels, you have to look for specific Marxist or anarchist channels to get a materialist analysis of the present, and in Spanish the picture is not much better...
I think it has to do with the discursive degradation that capitalism has been imposing for decades and the meme culture that prevails on the internet, the majority of the population has a very limited and biased political culture and knowledge of history, having lived their entire lives immersed in the alienating capitalist system without much response (censorship and repression have taken care of this)
18
ComradeRandy - 4mon
Dude youre describing literally the entirety of the US population.
13
rainpizza - 4mon
Now, that you are bringing this topic, it is important to remind everyone that Resistance channels should be considered as a "Mass line" type of org. In a mass line, there are a diversity of ideologies which includes liberals and fascists that are posing as the goal of the mass line(in this case anti imperialism).
Someone may expand on this later(or correct me) but there are two type of orgs: "Cadre type which include highly developed marxists that have a good usage of dialectics. More on this here" and "Mass line which is the one that includes people from every ideology that agree in the main cause of the org". Resistance channels, Unions, Solidarity orgs are a few examples of Mass line movements that are in dire need of comrades joining them.
You are absolutely right that there is an important need to infiltrate and educate them with patience toward marxist conclusions. However, it takes a lot of patience and it may not be the calling for everyone. TO view this from another perspective, it is our responsibility to bring a materialist analysis while dressing and season it for the audience.
Hopefully, someone can develop a guide for anyone that wants to join this journey! As for me, I was working with a comrade here to move one Iranian channel to the left and to drive out fascist and nazis. Fortunately, it is going well!
12
Man in the Moon - 4mon
Psychologically tormenting SSlavyangrad would be so worthwhile if time had no value
PumpkinFactory in theory
Materialist Analysis Sorely Lacking in Resistance Telegram Channels
Title. I have spent quite some time on the TG Resistance chat groups such as those of Resistance Trench and Slavyangrad to keep up with the latest information on the warfronts, and perhaps it shouldn't be shocking, but I was dismayed by the lack of not even Marxism, but basic material analysis of the situations in many of the groups' vocal members.
Conspiracy theories are common and hardly refuted, biological essentialism which feeds into conspiracy theories are taken as basic assumptions and thus led to unconstructive discussions that are hardly more than venting war-formeted hatreds that have morphed into just racism (you know, blaming Jews on what are structural forces of the Western Financial Empire).
I have met particularly deranged individual calling me a Jew for analysing the Iran war with a Marxist perspective, in the group with predominantly Shia muslims, which I can understand, as war can be blinding, but the event that led to my worse dismay, was one of the moderators of the Slavyangrad group, a TG group more focused on the Russian-Ukraine front, failed to recognise me putting a title drop of Lenin's "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism" in the group, and replying that Imperialism exists before capitalism.
At that point, I realised, these people have not had even the most cursory material understanding of history, even though they are good people that definitely stand against the empire, they lack the perspective to see that history is moved by structural forces and material circumstances instead of the inherent goodness and badness of individuals.
I am not saying we shouldn't be in contact with these groups, these people, but on the contrary, I believe we must reach out, comrades. These are the people who already see what the destructive forces of the world are, but they are still trapped in the languagescape designed by the imperialists to designate particular groups of people as undesirables and scapegoats. We should go out and explain more to them how does the structural forces of material and resource limits shape history, shapes elites and shapes their prejudices and exploitative excuses.
I am sure you all have your own circles, which you see individuals that are so close, yet still so far from the root of the problem. Reach out to them. The languagescape controlled by media in the English Sphere might be through, but now the Empire has been weakened, and it must be our duty to tear down their illusions, especially for people who already feel pain and are looking desperately for explainations.
@PumpkinFactory@lemmygrad.ml Totally agree, the only approach I also see in most groups about geopolitics on Telegram is from a nationalist or religious perspective, going all over the importance that capitalism, colonialism or imperialism have in all current conflicts, especially in more generalist English-speaking channels, you have to look for specific Marxist or anarchist channels to get a materialist analysis of the present, and in Spanish the picture is not much better...
I think it has to do with the discursive degradation that capitalism has been imposing for decades and the meme culture that prevails on the internet, the majority of the population has a very limited and biased political culture and knowledge of history, having lived their entire lives immersed in the alienating capitalist system without much response (censorship and repression have taken care of this)
Dude youre describing literally the entirety of the US population.
Now, that you are bringing this topic, it is important to remind everyone that Resistance channels should be considered as a "Mass line" type of org. In a mass line, there are a diversity of ideologies which includes liberals and fascists that are posing as the goal of the mass line(in this case anti imperialism).
Someone may expand on this later(or correct me) but there are two type of orgs: "Cadre type which include highly developed marxists that have a good usage of dialectics. More on this here" and "Mass line which is the one that includes people from every ideology that agree in the main cause of the org". Resistance channels, Unions, Solidarity orgs are a few examples of Mass line movements that are in dire need of comrades joining them.
You are absolutely right that there is an important need to infiltrate and educate them with patience toward marxist conclusions. However, it takes a lot of patience and it may not be the calling for everyone. TO view this from another perspective, it is our responsibility to bring a materialist analysis while dressing and season it for the audience.
Hopefully, someone can develop a guide for anyone that wants to join this journey! As for me, I was working with a comrade here to move one Iranian channel to the left and to drive out fascist and nazis. Fortunately, it is going well!
Psychologically tormenting SSlavyangrad would be so worthwhile if time had no value