znsh

Got recommended some of his videos, primarily the one where he reacts and responds to The Deprogram's episode on China.

He goes off saying that China isn't socialist, that there is no such thing as "socialism in transition" or "highest stage of socialism". I stopped watching about 20 mins in.

The current world situation and what is to come is doing a number on my mental health, along with obvious and not so obvious personal things going on. I'm in dire need of essays/readings/podcasts/videos what ever to help me find some hope and optimism in these times. I really don't want to fall into depression and apathy again, it sucks.

Edit: I went for a hike and feel better :D

Doesn't have to be explicitly Marxist of course. I love the WW2 USSR posters and art myself.

EDIT: Is there a site that archives art like that (posters, magazines, zines etc.)?

Before I go do my own research I'm asking it here as I know I will potentially get further reading recommendations and such.

What is the ultra-left/ultras? I've seen a couple of mentions here over the past few months I've been on and never got to asking. I imagine it has something to do with ideological purity regarding ML, but that's about it and even that is just an assumption.

Reading Blackshirts & Reds and am at about 40% through the book. The amount of critique he is giving to how poorly the economic situation in the USSR was, how Stalin's way of running things and how people were negligible about their jobs because there was no reason to be competitive or to do a good job is honestly a bit stark. Is this anti-communism or is this just good faith criticism?

What is the lemmy grad consensus on Torkil Lausen? A while ago I remember there was a post about how his opinions on the USSR were trash and in general people didn't seem to like him. Wanted to pick up a book of his, but now I'm unsure.

This question is coming from another post where I was asking what the intelligensia and petit bourgeoisie difference is (https://lemmygrad.ml/post/10748355)

This is a comment I left when discussing: "This one is really difficult for me to grasp, it’s probably my ignorance and lack of knowledge, but why would someone who is a small business owner that doesn’t employ any other worker be bourgeois? Are freelancers and struggling artists who are trying to get their foot in the door of an industry also in that class? I hope I don’t come off as aggressive (I just read back what I wrote and it sounds a bit like that, but I swear it isn’t :D)"

I don't want to complain too much since in all honesty this isn't even remotely a serious enough topic. As I've gotten more and more educated in ML and adjascent knowledge, I've tried explaining to people my views, why they make sense and how they apply to the urrent world we live in. I push back when people claim outrageous things and I get mocked in return and called a fool. Not being taken serious is harder than I thought and I knew this would happen kind of, but never expected for people, family, friends to actively not take any of this seriously. Should I just accept that ML views are so radical that people don't even want to hear them? Or should I push forward?

EDIT: Thank you everyone for your comments, it's gotten clear to me that I was too aggressive and wasn't using the right approach when talking about certain things, I auto assumed the other person would receive what I'm talking about with open arms which was the wrong course of action. Will adjust my framing and discussion to meet the person halfway next time.

Got into a discussion with a friend who is a biologist about the "human nature" argument against communism. My best shot was saying that we used to live in a sort of proto communism so the evidence of it working are there. He didn't accept that argument and basicly said that due to natural selection, competition etc. and that all social structures eventually disolve.

I didn't have good ideas on how to respond after that.

EDIT: Forgot the question, how could I have defended this argument more?

EDIT2: I read each and every comment anyone posts, I just can't respond to all of you, thanks so much for the explanations it really goes to show how awesome this community is.

I can't seem to find the original post with all the resources. Can someone link it please?

As usual I'm turning to lemmy to get answers/resources on this before I make assumptions and do further reading myself.

Holidays have started and with that comes family discussions on topics such as China having a socials points system which dictates (apparently) everything from you being able to buy a house or enrolling your child into a good school.

Is this true or not? I've heard mixed responses and would love more explanations.

Not in the sense that I want to start a business and exploit people. I am probably misinterpreting a lot of the ideas of socialism/communism as I feel that if I think about making more money (investments, switching jobs, vying for a promotion) that I'm going against the core ideas and values of communism/socialism. I've mostly read/listened that to be a communist/socialist you are putting your community first and thinking of other people while trying to make more money is, to me, inherently individualistic.

The only reason I'd like to make more money is to live a more comfortable life and build upon it.

I hope this makes sense.