Ask Lemmygrad

Hi comrades,

My professor emailed me today talking about how he is on tenure track and is now under review to extend his path to tenure. This is a normal process and part of it that would help the review committee is getting letters of experiences from students. He gave me a list of things that I should mention which I will when I write it (my experiences with his lectures, impact on my academics, anything specific that he helped with, etc.).

My only issue, and it’s not really an issue, is that I’ve never done anything like this before and was wondering if anyone else had had this experience and would be willing to share some tips on how to go about this. Even if you’ve never had to do an academic support letter I would still appreciate any advice.

Is there a way I should structure this? Do I address the committee? They have no official name, just the “review committee,” so should I start by saying something like “dear Review Committee”?

I was told that not writing a letter would not impact my grades or professional relationship with my professor, but I want to do it as it’s great practice for me and I want the committee to know just how great this professor is.

Thanks for your help!

Sometimes when a socialist is lil' booj/labor aristocracker, I see this canard used to console them that just because they're a part of an exploiting class doesn't mean that they can't be a traitor to that class and aid the revolution. A similar sentiment is expressed when someone brings up that Engels, Lenin, and Mao all came from priveleged backgrounds, or when someone brings up the clapback that Zhou Enlai made against Kruschev. However, I really can't shake the feeling that that's just copium, especially in the context of the imperial core.

When not invested into making more money, the income of this strata goes into consuming treats. So, so many treats. Services like Netflix, YouTube, Twitch, and Steam are high powered treat beams aimed directly at their brains. On top of this, the places people own their own homes (or rent, but they make enough income that they don't need to worry about not making rent) are invariably in white flight crackerburbs and gentrified parts of cities; I like to call such places the crackersphere.

Considering being an actual communist requires being among the masses, this presents a pretty big issue for would-be communists within the crackershpere. How is one supposed to relate and build comradery with proletarians when they share none of their struggles? Not many are willing to give away their things and become proletarians themselves. Hell, the most famous living socialist in the Great Satan is currently a millionaire parasocial treatboy.

If this post seems kind of half cooked and rambly, that's because it is. This is a thought that's been haunting my mind for awhile now.

Edit: I've read all of the responses to this post so far and you're all right. I definitely have a lot of Christian idealism I've yet to purge from my mind, and it's an individualist lens that ignores how to figure out how to collectively change material conditions in favor of individual moral pissing contests that are as connected to reality as debating the number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin. This logic, if taken to its extreme, results in the kind of left deviationism perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge.

While this is a point often used as a purity test, I think I posted this as more of a call for help. The atomization and alienation of this society is literally driving me insane.

I’m an American Marxist-Leninist, so I know that it is materially possible for a privileged westerner to come around. But a few of us being able to unlearn the constant propaganda and overcome the horrific state of American education and the political climate isn’t enough.

The Overton window is so far to the right here in the United States that most don’t entertain the idea of a future beyond capitalism being possible or necessary. Even when Americans see this wretched system for what it is, they’d sooner turn to nihilism or accept whatever additional crumbs are thrown.

I know it’s important to maintain revolutionary optimism and always strive to be part of the solution, but it feels like an extra big battle to build a proper revolutionary left.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/5696292

I legit cannot find anything about them except a fedipedia article. I just heard on that apparently they have a newsletter. Only found the main JCP stuff but I'm not interested in them since they're libs basically unlike Action Faction.

I'm just curious since they seem to be pretty mysterious. No website, no mail, no contact. No anything. Then again they are a faction (maybe?) so they're probably still within the main JCP.

I am aware that this is a silly question, it’s stupid, really.

This has to do with a provincial government, not the feds. If you know anything about disability politics in Canada then you are probably aware of the Canadian Disability Benefit that was recently rolled out. This is a federal program that is supposed to give those on provincial disability programs a $200 “top-up” on the already existing provincial cheque. The federal government did not think this decision through incredibly well, or maybe they did, because they specified that the provinces could treat this extra $200 how ever they pleased but “encouraged” that the money be exempt from any cut backs.

Because of this, my province (I do not care if I am doxing myself at this point) is slashing $200 from their own disability cheques. So instead of an extra 200, we would be getting the same amount of money before the CDB went into effect. Moreover, the CDB is not automatically applied to people on these provincial programs, instead we have to apply by ourselves, but the process is a pain in the ass because before we can even attempt to apply to the CDB we have to be approved for the Disability Tax Credit, which, once again, is not automatically applied. To even apply for the DTC you need a doctor to sign off on it and it costs $250.

The easy solution would just be to not apply for the CDB, but here’s the thing, my province is FORCING us to apply to it, and if we do not notify them of our application process by September 5th they are going to claw-back the $200 anyway regardless of whether we have been approved for the CDB or not.

This all sounds incredibly unethical, right? So what can I do about it? I have been trying to call my disability program to get answers but apparently they are getting a very high number of calls (no shit, I wonder why) and I haven’t been able to speak to anyone regarding what I can do and what will happen if I refuse to go through with my CDB application. I wanted to contact the feds about this gross misuse of federal funding but apparently they wont do anything because they are allowing the provinces to do whatever they want, so far it seems only my province is clawing-back benefits. Not only are benefits being reduced, but rent is also going to skyrocket as well (a deliberate policy choice by the provincial government). This is just another example of the provinces having too much power.

I’ve seen people use the legal system to get things done but I do not know if that is something that I would be able to do. After trying to keep it together for so long since I got that stupid letter in the mail I have finally had a breakdown today. I hate this government and I want to fight back but I do not know how.

I wish my grandparents never immigrated here…

For anyone wondering South Yemen was the communist Yemen until it reunited with the North and became Yemen

When does a regime become so reactionary and fascistic that critical support for it isn’t justified? Obviously I’m not saying that this applies to countries like Iran, Russia, and the former Syrian Arab Republic (among others), but when do the negatives outweigh the positives of supporting said country against foreign aggression/western imperialism? Thanks!

Subscribed - only your subscribed communities, regardless of instance.

Local - only lemmygrad posts, all communities

All - all federated instances together, regardless of which communities you subscribe to

I ask because I realize we have a lot of communities on lemmygrad but the same 2 or 3 tend to pop up. I also noticed posts on lesser-known communities tend to take longer to see some interaction, if at all.

Hi I am a fresh party member and unfortunately I have found myself completely alone in my area. There used to be a communist party where I am situated but it was shut down by reactionaries. My leaders have recommended that I go to protests and start my own SDS chapter at my college. There is a problem, in order to start my own SDS chapter I need people. So far my recruiting has consisted of providing material support to a person, and then If they are sympathetic I direct them to Marxism. The next step should be to attend protests and find sympathetic people. While practice is the sole criterion of truth, which is in fact what my superior told me, I would like to arm myself with theory in the meantime. Are there any recommendations on any good books, any advice on how to win over people? For context my speaking style is substance over style, I am an educator. I am said to have the "voice of a professor" by people who know me.

It feels like the German railroad system is being actively sabotaged with bureaucratic obstacles and legislative nonsense, like lobbyists are actively lining the pockets of politicians to make the Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) worse.

On top of that the statements of politicians, promising to make the trains come on time by 2070(!), it feels like they are not even trying to do stuff. Now Merz said the 58€ ticket (which was already raised from 49) should cost 90€ because it "costs the state too much".

When I look at chinese railroads, what type of rail infrastucture they can build in 10-15 years, I wonder what is going on in Germany.

I had this idea since corruption is basically legal, masked as lobbyism and because german bureaucracy is basically one of the worst in the whole of Europe if you ask me. Do you think this is too far fetched or could this actually be the case? And are you able to find some sources?

edited typo

I'm not sure how to write this without it sounding like ragebait or a fed post.

But why do most fellow Marxists critically support Russia today?

I can understand having seen Russia as a potential temporary ally or a necessary power that can stand against US / NATO hegemony over the globe. In short I can understand it from a strategic standpoint.

But what about morals of this?

To explain I've seen seen Russia as a necessary potential ally in the past too. But that has changed with the Ukraine war and concurrent events in Russia.

The way I see it, even with a CIA coup, a full scale invasion of a country still isn't justified. It's bordering on insanity in my mind to start such a war. The way the war and conscription is handled in Russia is also highly critiquable. The way people who fall from grace, also "fall out of windows" too.

The other major event that made me doubt Putin more was part of the leaks that happened with Navalny's death. Specifically the revelation of how Putin spend hundreds of millions not just on a palace like so many corrupt leaders and dictators do, but essentially what amounts to an own private town.

This is what lead me to believe that Putin devolved into insanity and paranoia from what he used to be, a calculated sensible dictator.

With all this in mind, why should we offer critical support to Russia instead of Ukraine?

Yes you can argue that Ukraine has been taken over via a pro-western coup regime, but they're still not the aggressors in the war.

I find it morally questionable to support an aggressor in such a clear scenario. And purely strategically speaking with how Russia is bogged down in Ukraine, I find their military capabilities not great either for any conflict with NATO.

Do any of you have any moral reasoning to critically support Russia? Or do you support it out of strategic reasons despite moral objections?

liberal and conservative use totalitarianism to equate communist with fascist.What about using reactoionary to equate them with fascist?

I found many neocons were Trotskyite in their youth.And neocons have passion in interventionist policy as Trotskyite in the world revolution.

Are there any other reasons for this distaste besides them not being supportive of AES?

Hello again! I've been doing some reading on the countries of West Asia, slowly going over each of their individual histories as well as just trying to understand this region in general since I haven't really gone into it too much before. I've finished up on Iraq and Afghanistan (Blowback pod is great for that) As well as some focus on Iran after recent events. However I'm struggiling to find good resources on Syria that isn't just liberal throat gurgiling. Do you guys have any book reccomendations or pointers? I enjoyed reading the replies on my last post on Ukraine and the replies were all so well done I thought I'd ask again but for Syria. Thanks :)

Am I going crazy or something? Because I distinctly remember reading somewhere that the labor-power of a human, their capacity to perform labor is the economic analogue of the horse-power of an engine, it's ability to do work.

I also remember reading somewhere that Marx modeled the concept of labor-power after it's thermodynamic counterpart (hence the name, labor-power)

Now I've been searching for a source from Marx's own writings, and although the way marx treats labor-power is entirely analogous to how one might treat an engine with the capacity to do work, I haven't yet found an explicit comparison in his writings. Reading through chapters of capital is taking some time ...

So my question to the comrades here is, am I hallucinating this connection between political economy and thermodynamics, or is it real (and where in marx's writings should I look).

For additional context: I was banned from a certain place for using this analogy (oddly harsh punishment perhaps). I don't really care about being unbanned, but I do want to know if I was wrong.

There's a lot of buzz around the dozens of children killed in Texas floods, wherein most of the discourse is about defunded scientific institutions a la NOAA/NWS.

But from the edges of the discourse, I saw some level of celebration, much to my pearl clutching chagrin. Doing more research, it turns out this camp is nothing but a preparatory camp for elite WASPs (white anglo saxon protestants)

As such, while I mourn the loss of life in general, I can't help but consider this as the first major rupture of the 1% intergenerationally.

I.e. the same elite WASPs who voted for these conditions are now forced to reconcile that even their children aren't safe from the world they're destroying.

Superficially, one might think the political rupture/opportunity here is Republican vs Democrat, or even 1% vs the 99%.

Rather I see it as an opportunity to radicalize more young 1%ers into revolutionary suicide against their families given the material evidence that they are disposable just like everybody else

Curious on other perspectives though?

I have often heard the term "state capitalism" being used by Western academics to refer to AES states like China or Vietnam. Lenin also uses the term a lot in The Tax in Kind and distinguishes it from true socialism.

Can any Chilean or Iberoamerican explain what tf is happening?

The west media likes to use CCP instead of CPC?

“This person does not grasp class struggle; he has never referred to this key link. Still his theme of ‘white cat, black cat,’ making no distinction between imperialism and Marxism.”

This supposed quote by Mao comes from the top of this work here. Does anyone know its origins?

Hello Lemmygrad. I'm trying to understand the labour theory of value, and one thing I'm wondering about is the value of 'status symbols'. For commodities like this, it seems the price is always higher than the same commodity that's not a status symbol (like fancy cars or whatever). Those commodities seem to have disproportionately more value than the extra labour needed for the non status symbol version. How does LTV explain that?

My thinking is that LTV assumes that people will choose the cheaper between two equivalent commodities, but the opposite is actually true for status symbols (like, between 2 necklaces that are exactly the same, demand for the more expensive one will actually be higher). Does that sound about right? Or am I missing something deeper?

I should really get around to reading Capital...