I’ve become very skeptical of the concept of “brainwashing.” Over the past few months this skepticism has boiled over into open and explicit disagreement with even well-meaning pushers within the Marxist-Leninist corner. I often find it difficult to explain concisely why it is…
Westerners are willingly complicit in crimes because they instinctively and correctly understand that they benefit as a class (as a global bourgeois proletariat) from the exploitation enabled by their military and their propaganda — organs of coercion and consent.
TRUEEEEEE
At least for all of history up until now.
I don’t yet personally know any liberals who support the illegal invasion of Venezuela, even some of the most turbo-lib places on reddit are anti-invasion, probably because they are realizing that they will continue to pay the costs while receiving none of the benefits.
US global petty bourgeois is slowly collapsing into the rest of the global proletariat. So, they are taking the right position, even if for the wrong reasons.
But I do know some neo-cons and reactionaries who changed their minds overnight: they’re thrilled. I figure because they think they’re gonma get cheap oil at no personal cost, and because libs and leftists are mad and that’s the only thing that gets them off now.
i fundamentally disagree with the notion that westerners understand anything about macroeconomics and geopolitics. at the population level we are not educated we are not literate.
Westerners understand extreme basics, which does distort the bigger picture. It’s really easy to understand a war for oil, it’s a little more complicated to understand war as an economic engine for the military-industrial complex, but you’ll start losing them when it gets more complicated: domino theory and Monroe doctrine and underdevelopment and imperialism etc etc.
Ask any Global North person who doesn’t regularly engage in politics if they would risk a reduction in their material comfort if it meant we left other nations alone. See them change their tune.
Capitalism requires their material comforts reduce, regardless of them leaving other nations alone or not.
A lot of them actually see the invasion as the reason their material comforts are being reduced - they pay the cost of invasion and get none of the benefits.
The truth is that invasion is simply an independent variable, the bourgeoise will continue to suck up all wealth and resources, from Latin Americans, from USians, indiscriminately.
You have way more faith on the average global north person than I do. I am from the Global South and have lived in the GN for years. They have repeatedly shown me that they have principles until gas prices or treats are threatened. I don’t blame them for it, it is what it is, and being a beneficiary of empire shapes your priorities like that, but i’m also keenly aware that, as a class, they’ll turn on us faster than they’ll turn on their masters. I don’t expect anything other than performative solidarity from the GN working class. That’s why I only ask them to leave us the fuck alone.
Oh no, I agree with you. GN will reject all principles for cheaper gas and better material comforts. They are losing their material comforts anyway so they might accidentally hold the right position on basis of losing their material comforts.
That’s the part where I disagree with you. I think that, if given the choice, they’d choose 1000 venezuelans to die than having one oil CEO get Luigi’d, if the first option had a slightly better outcome for them. That’s what I meant that the GN working class would turn on us faster than they would turn on their masters.
probably because they are realizing that they will continue to pay the costs while receiving none of the benefits.
What do you mean? “Protecting our freedoms” is definitely a benefit that definitely is a real, tangible thing for the average American’s living standards
TRUEEEEEE
At least for all of history up until now.
I don’t yet personally know any liberals who support the illegal invasion of Venezuela, even some of the most turbo-lib places on reddit are anti-invasion, probably because they are realizing that they will continue to pay the costs while receiving none of the benefits.
US global petty bourgeois is slowly collapsing into the rest of the global proletariat. So, they are taking the right position, even if for the wrong reasons.
But I do know some neo-cons and reactionaries who changed their minds overnight: they’re thrilled. I figure because they think they’re gonma get cheap oil at no personal cost, and because libs and leftists are mad and that’s the only thing that gets them off now.
i fundamentally disagree with the notion that westerners understand anything about macroeconomics and geopolitics. at the population level we are not educated we are not literate.
Westerners understand extreme basics, which does distort the bigger picture. It’s really easy to understand a war for oil, it’s a little more complicated to understand war as an economic engine for the military-industrial complex, but you’ll start losing them when it gets more complicated: domino theory and Monroe doctrine and underdevelopment and imperialism etc etc.
Ask any Global North person who doesn’t regularly engage in politics if they would risk a reduction in their material comfort if it meant we left other nations alone. See them change their tune.
Capitalism requires their material comforts reduce, regardless of them leaving other nations alone or not.
A lot of them actually see the invasion as the reason their material comforts are being reduced - they pay the cost of invasion and get none of the benefits.
The truth is that invasion is simply an independent variable, the bourgeoise will continue to suck up all wealth and resources, from Latin Americans, from USians, indiscriminately.
You have way more faith on the average global north person than I do. I am from the Global South and have lived in the GN for years. They have repeatedly shown me that they have principles until gas prices or treats are threatened. I don’t blame them for it, it is what it is, and being a beneficiary of empire shapes your priorities like that, but i’m also keenly aware that, as a class, they’ll turn on us faster than they’ll turn on their masters. I don’t expect anything other than performative solidarity from the GN working class. That’s why I only ask them to leave us the fuck alone.
Oh no, I agree with you. GN will reject all principles for cheaper gas and better material comforts. They are losing their material comforts anyway so they might accidentally hold the right position on basis of losing their material comforts.
That’s the part where I disagree with you. I think that, if given the choice, they’d choose 1000 venezuelans to die than having one oil CEO get Luigi’d, if the first option had a slightly better outcome for them. That’s what I meant that the GN working class would turn on us faster than they would turn on their masters.
What do you mean? “Protecting our freedoms” is definitely a benefit that definitely is a real, tangible thing for the average American’s living standards