He’s a mayor of a city who will have no influence on foreign policy. And he’s the best thing to happen to the American left right now.
I honestly wish Hexbears are less cynical about things like this. Just let people take the W for once. This is a huge step forward no matter how you look at it.
Also agreed. He should have, but he didn’t, and it doesn’t matter.
At the end of the day, his job is to improve the livelihood of the people, reduce poverty and homelessness in the city he’s been elected to govern. If the price is to pay some lip service about US foreign policy (which, again, he has no control over and his opinion holds no weight in the decision making process), then so be it.
If the price is to pay some lip service about US foreign policy (which, again, he has no control over and his opinion holds no weight in the decision making process), then so be it.
It isn’t, though. He would have won regardless. It’s something he can and should be criticized on, it demonstrates either a fundamental lack of principle and theoretical grounding, or a concerning degree of chauvinism. Possibly both, and neither are good for the goal of improving the lives of people.
However, here on Hexbear we’ve let China - a country that actually matters - off the hook for much of its inaction, and if so, why should we hold Mamdani - a mere mayor of an American city with no influence on the foreign policy of its federal government - to such high standards?
If China can play the long game to wait for the right moment to strike (one of the major excuses given here), maybe Mamdani the Socialist could too.
China is a state which has a stated strategy and goals and processes which it is holding to. Mamdani is an individual going rogue with statements and policy changes. These are uncomparable
Mamdani is part of a DSA faction which aims to produce a split in the democratic party by helping socialists and left liberals win races under the DSA banner. He absolutely has a long game. Its a stupid long game, but he has one
Despite this faction, I don’t think he is acting according to its strategic and tactical plans (and I think simultaneously that these plans are not concrete, meaningful, of well planned enough). If he is, I’d be very surprised. But even so, a western socdem/democ party planning and process is incomparable to CPC policies in size and scope and durability
Well, yeah, the DSA is a marginal nonprofit run by volunteers and the CPC is the ruling party of the worlds’ most powerful state. Theres gonna be a couple differences lol
I don’t think you realize how insane it is to defend either of Venezuela or Cuba in the USA ,it’s both a target in your head and will literally cause you to lose votes
Mamdani would not have lost if he had taken a blanket anti war stance and said “I may not agree with the policies but we shouldn’t be killing or starving their people”. Simple as
Consent manufacturing matters and contributing to creating a left that actively supports the imperialism the US performs matters. If you think otherwise then literally nothing the media actually does matters at all and we should all stop wasting our time with opposing any of it or trying to give people the correct takes on things because nothing the media says actually matters.
I know that nobody believes this I just want to put it in the starkest terms possible. It does matter. You can have an anti-imperialist left or you can have an imperialist supporting faux-left if you allow this poison to go unopposed. The man may only be a mayor but he gets a disproportionately loud voice among baby leftists because the media is completely obsessed with him. You are looking at the american equivalent of corbyn mania whether or not he can actually run for higher leadership, his voice and influence will remain even after he leaves office too, much like Corbyn continues to be the most powerful left wing voice over here despite having been ejected from the labour party literally years ago now. What they say will influence the beliefs and takes of an entire left that will bubble beneath him.
I have only a passing interest in the shenanigans of NY USA because of the insanity of Eric Adams (seriously, people just… let that go on?)
As an outsider it seems that this is a moment that the envelope of what are you are allowed to talk about, what ideas get taken seriously, got pushed to the left. I suspect he will dissapoint, political machines are very hard to shift and no doubt he’ll face a lot of opposition but like: A mainstream pollie got elected saying shit like “tax the rich” and “set up government run enterprise” in a country that is so allergic to collectivism they regularly permit children to be mass murdered.
It shows that left wing populist ideas are still, in fact, popular in the country, and not at all as some Hexbears (and certain segment of terminally online left) have claimed that the American people are a total lost cause. Funny that I’ve been accused of being a “doomer” by some of these same people.
Having said that, the election of a single mayor means nothing if there is no political movement that emerges from this. And nothing is going to get done if there is no movement behind Mamdani that can translate the energy into political action.
I mean, I’d say social-democratic ideas in america are more hurtful than anything, since it inherently doesn’t address the contradiction of the working classes of the global south and the west. Even if they do push the envelope, what success is that when they still inherently work against the interests of the working classes of the world at large? All you’re getting with those ideas is a v*ush worldview.
I think the ideological leanings of the western left are concurrently irrelevant on the whole, and considering that Mamdani and his breed are getting more alike , they would be more hurtful to the international working class than helpful.
If revolution in the global south happens first, then the revenues of both the proles and the capitalists in the west would be relatively decreased, since the goods made in the global south would be more expensive due to wage increases in case of intensified class struggle and even victory of the proletariat in the global south. Only once the west has been immiserated in terms of it’s revenues for both classes, will the proles blame the bourgeoisie and revolt against them, enabling them to fight against them without hurting the global south.
It would be quite the contrary if the “revolutions” would happen in the west first, especially of variety of Mamdani and the rest. They would be hard-pressed, simply by their material interests, to actually help the global south, since their consumption funds would be depreciated. Socialism for me but not for thee. No doubt that maybe you and the other comrades of Hexbear would be opposed to this, but you would ultimately represent oscillations in a movement where the interests of the workers of the west are paramount. I just think revolutionary defeatism is the ultimate tool of a true western communist, whereas the upheaval ultimately ending in some kind of social democracy for america, which in Mamdani’s own words denounces the liberatory movements of the global south, would simply continue the fundamental contradiction of imperialism in our world.
He’s a mayor of a city who will have no influence on foreign policy. And he’s the best thing to happen to the American left right now.
I honestly wish Hexbears are less cynical about things like this. Just let people take the W for once. This is a huge step forward no matter how you look at it.
I agree, which is why he probably should have said that instead of what he did say when he was asked about Venezuela.
Also agreed. He should have, but he didn’t, and it doesn’t matter.
At the end of the day, his job is to improve the livelihood of the people, reduce poverty and homelessness in the city he’s been elected to govern. If the price is to pay some lip service about US foreign policy (which, again, he has no control over and his opinion holds no weight in the decision making process), then so be it.
It isn’t, though. He would have won regardless. It’s something he can and should be criticized on, it demonstrates either a fundamental lack of principle and theoretical grounding, or a concerning degree of chauvinism. Possibly both, and neither are good for the goal of improving the lives of people.
I don’t disagree with you at all.
However, here on Hexbear we’ve let China - a country that actually matters - off the hook for much of its inaction, and if so, why should we hold Mamdani - a mere mayor of an American city with no influence on the foreign policy of its federal government - to such high standards?
If China can play the long game to wait for the right moment to strike (one of the major excuses given here), maybe Mamdani the Socialist could too.
China is a state which has a stated strategy and goals and processes which it is holding to. Mamdani is an individual going rogue with statements and policy changes. These are uncomparable
Mamdani is part of a DSA faction which aims to produce a split in the democratic party by helping socialists and left liberals win races under the DSA banner. He absolutely has a long game. Its a stupid long game, but he has one
Despite this faction, I don’t think he is acting according to its strategic and tactical plans (and I think simultaneously that these plans are not concrete, meaningful, of well planned enough). If he is, I’d be very surprised. But even so, a western socdem/democ party planning and process is incomparable to CPC policies in size and scope and durability
Well, yeah, the DSA is a marginal nonprofit run by volunteers and the CPC is the ruling party of the worlds’ most powerful state. Theres gonna be a couple differences lol
Lmao no
I don’t think you realize how insane it is to defend either of Venezuela or Cuba in the USA ,it’s both a target in your head and will literally cause you to lose votes
Mamdani would not have lost if he had taken a blanket anti war stance and said “I may not agree with the policies but we shouldn’t be killing or starving their people”. Simple as
any contribution to Inventing Reality for the state’s aggression must be vigorously condemned.
Consent manufacturing matters and contributing to creating a left that actively supports the imperialism the US performs matters. If you think otherwise then literally nothing the media actually does matters at all and we should all stop wasting our time with opposing any of it or trying to give people the correct takes on things because nothing the media says actually matters.
I know that nobody believes this I just want to put it in the starkest terms possible. It does matter. You can have an anti-imperialist left or you can have an imperialist supporting faux-left if you allow this poison to go unopposed. The man may only be a mayor but he gets a disproportionately loud voice among baby leftists because the media is completely obsessed with him. You are looking at the american equivalent of corbyn mania whether or not he can actually run for higher leadership, his voice and influence will remain even after he leaves office too, much like Corbyn continues to be the most powerful left wing voice over here despite having been ejected from the labour party literally years ago now. What they say will influence the beliefs and takes of an entire left that will bubble beneath him.
I have only a passing interest in the shenanigans of NY USA because of the insanity of Eric Adams (seriously, people just… let that go on?)
As an outsider it seems that this is a moment that the envelope of what are you are allowed to talk about, what ideas get taken seriously, got pushed to the left. I suspect he will dissapoint, political machines are very hard to shift and no doubt he’ll face a lot of opposition but like: A mainstream pollie got elected saying shit like “tax the rich” and “set up government run enterprise” in a country that is so allergic to collectivism they regularly permit children to be mass murdered.
Seems like an encouraging sign?
It shows that left wing populist ideas are still, in fact, popular in the country, and not at all as some Hexbears (and certain segment of terminally online left) have claimed that the American people are a total lost cause. Funny that I’ve been accused of being a “doomer” by some of these same people.
Having said that, the election of a single mayor means nothing if there is no political movement that emerges from this. And nothing is going to get done if there is no movement behind Mamdani that can translate the energy into political action.
four shore, I hope that people can keep the momentum going. Basically everyone would benefit from a less… bleak… usa.
I mean, I’d say social-democratic ideas in america are more hurtful than anything, since it inherently doesn’t address the contradiction of the working classes of the global south and the west. Even if they do push the envelope, what success is that when they still inherently work against the interests of the working classes of the world at large? All you’re getting with those ideas is a v*ush worldview.
Do you think people will leapfrog from imperialist liberalism to revolutionary communism without a path of political development? Did you do that?
I think the ideological leanings of the western left are concurrently irrelevant on the whole, and considering that Mamdani and his breed are getting more alike
, they would be more hurtful to the international working class than helpful.
If revolution in the global south happens first, then the revenues of both the proles and the capitalists in the west would be relatively decreased, since the goods made in the global south would be more expensive due to wage increases in case of intensified class struggle and even victory of the proletariat in the global south. Only once the west has been immiserated in terms of it’s revenues for both classes, will the proles blame the bourgeoisie and revolt against them, enabling them to fight against them without hurting the global south.
It would be quite the contrary if the “revolutions” would happen in the west first, especially of variety of Mamdani and the rest. They would be hard-pressed, simply by their material interests, to actually help the global south, since their consumption funds would be depreciated. Socialism for me but not for thee. No doubt that maybe you and the other comrades of Hexbear would be opposed to this, but you would ultimately represent oscillations in a movement where the interests of the workers of the west are paramount. I just think revolutionary defeatism is the ultimate tool of a true western communist, whereas the upheaval ultimately ending in some kind of social democracy for america, which in Mamdani’s own words denounces the liberatory movements of the global south, would simply continue the fundamental contradiction of imperialism in our world.
Yeah it’s selling out the global working class for treats like healthcare
Of course we’re cynical, people celebrating this are the same people who were jacking off to Bernie and AOC five seconds ago