The Left | ContraPoints

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7:20

You seem to not care about what's even possible, that's how deep you are in pure theory. If anything is anti-Marxist, it's that.

Not really. Marx specifically critiques any and all forms of ideology and theory that aren't initially derived or based on the real material conditions of man. Any "theory" that doesn't start with a consideration of man's material conditions is not Marxist. Thus, not caring about what is "even possible" because one is too "deep" into "theory" is a garbage critique.

You know sometimes I think you don't want your ideas to succeed-

ideas to succeed

ideas

The supermarket of ideas is a bad understanding of how history develops. Our ideas don't need to 'succeed.' What does succeed even refer to? Succeeding within the framework of bourgeois parliamentary politics? Are we just the left wing of capital? Socialism is not social democracy, and although social democracy is a perfectly valid endeavor to pursue, it is not socialism. We cannot "convince" proles of communism anymore than you can "convince" someone of the laws of physics. This is not to say that communism is dogma nor that it is an objective truth, rather, I am trying to make the point that communism isn't just some random utopian nonsense that your average leftist pulled out of their ass. It is a theory derived from an analysis of the history of man and from the inner workings of capitalism itself. People can critique the theory, defend it, advance the theory, etc. But whether your average liberal within a developed nation agrees with your positions or not means nothing at this point. We are clearly not in any sort of revolutionary situation at the moment.

Communism is in large part the logical conclusion of the premises already in existence. People can educate themselves, and we can help that process of course. Part of being a communist is keeping the theories accessible and 'intact' so that future generations and peoples don't have to start their analyses and critiques from square one. I am not attempting to say activism is pointless in the least bit. That being said, unless any one of you decides to directly attempt to advance the productive forces of society, create some incredible open source tech, engage in direct action (helping people within communities, etc), or advance Marxist theory/critique, you won't really be helping to """achieve""" communism by simply attempting to market our ideas and theories. If your goal is to move politics within developed nations to the left so that social democratic policies get passed, then YES, this IS your goal. However, once again, that is not communism.

šŸ‘ļøŽ︎ 7 šŸ‘¤ļøŽ︎ u/Liquid_Blue7 šŸ“…ļøŽ︎ Sep 25 2017 šŸ—«︎ replies

I usually like Contra, but this video is terrible. The criticisms are nonsense.

If you ignore the massive amount of things that leftists do that aren't punching nazis, then all they do is punch Nazis, no shit. It's like when liberals get all their news from twitter and write think pieces about how Antifa don't help combat poverty, when if they actually knew anything about leftists politics they'd know the people punching Nazis are the same people organising soup kitchens and free day care etc.

Also, "The left needs to be cool, and not talk about punching Nazis all the time. They should talk about 'Drugs and Rock and Roll' instead". Maybe listen to some e.g. Oi Polloi and realise again, the people punching Nazis and playing in Antifascist bands are the same people.

šŸ‘ļøŽ︎ 4 šŸ‘¤ļøŽ︎ u/Praseodymi šŸ“…ļøŽ︎ Sep 25 2017 šŸ—«︎ replies

For people who think Contra favored the interviewer character / that the points made by that character are hers, or that she purposely straw manned the militant character as to provide a shit liberal take need to read the comment/clarification literally pinned to the video:

"Political videos tend not to be interpreted very charitably (I know this video is going to be upheld by centrists as evidence Iā€™ve ā€œgone full Antifaā€ and by leftists that Iā€™m a closet centrist) so Iā€™d better state unambiguously what I think.

The character Tabby represents a lot of what I think is wrong about leftist strategy: the indifference to optics, the undisguised hostility to the ideologically impure, the sectarian nitpicking, the alternation between extreme optimism (ā€œa communist revolution can happen in the United States and it will go well if it doesā€) and extreme pessimism (ā€œneoliberal propaganda has so tight a grip on the general public that why should we even bother trying to appeal to them?ā€), the blurring of lines between recognizing the necessity of violence in certain situations and the aesthetic celebration of violence as an end in itself. Nevertheless I try to represent Tabby with some sympathy, and anticipate that my viewers will like herā€”my audience is at least 95% trans Antifa cat girls, but I hope that doesnā€™t prevent them from thinking about the critique.

The character Justine is a mouthpiece for a lot of my complaints about the left, and the recipient of some leftist criticisms of me (ā€œyou go to brunch with these people?ā€), but I chose not to represent her as an attractive alternative. Sheā€™s complacent, frivolous, and ineffective, full of derision for the way other leftists do things but not contributing much for her own part either. When a fascist comes knocking on the door itā€™s better to have Tabby there than Justine. To see if Justine can put her money where her mouth is weā€™d have to see what speech she delivers following the fascist speech. This YouTube channel is effectively my attempt to make that speech, and I canā€™t be the one who judges how successful it is.ļ»æ"

She is literally saying the antifa character is 100/100 correct about bashing the fash, ffs.

Never does she say do not bash racists / queerphobes / fascists/ mysoginists, but pointing out that just bashing is certainly not the path to revolution.

IMO focalizing on self-defence against reaction, however it materializes, is important if not crucial, but ultimately, especially if done by and for itself with no actual mass organizing and movement building, is really fucking defeatist and purely defensive.

If anything the "ice cool" description of revolutionary action is reminiscent of the BPP.

šŸ‘ļøŽ︎ 18 šŸ‘¤ļøŽ︎ u/Zaratustash šŸ“…ļøŽ︎ Sep 25 2017 šŸ—«︎ replies

I agree with Contra. I think left is already cool, we just need to tailor our messages and presentation for the contexts we're in so they don't get shot down on surface level things. So if we're trying to communicate to people who think wearing a suit (emblems of the bourgeoisie) is cool or smart then we were a suit and prepare accordingly. Just think of it as socialist covert ops.

šŸ‘ļøŽ︎ 1 šŸ‘¤ļøŽ︎ u/WAzRrrrr šŸ“…ļøŽ︎ Sep 25 2017 šŸ—«︎ replies

Here's what's wrong with both of the "sides" in this video:

Opportunism does not necessarily mean a pliant, conciliatory attitude and vocabulary, nor radicalism a more acerbic manner; on the contrary, lack of clear, principled tactics is all too often concealed in rabidly strident language; and indeed, in revolutionary situations, it is characteristic of opportunism to suddenly set all its hopes on the great revolutionary deed. Its essence lies in always considering the immediate questions, not what lies in the future, and to fix on the superficial aspects of phenomena rather than seeing the determinant deeper bases. When the forces are not immediately adequate for the attainment of a certain goal, it tends to make for that goal by another way, by roundabout means, rather than strengthen those forces. For its goal is immediate success, and to that it sacrifices the conditions for lasting success in the future. It seeks justification in the fact that by forming alliances with other ā€˜progressiveā€™ groups and by making concessions to outdated conceptions, it is often possible to gain power or at least split the enemy, the coalition of capitalist classes, and thus bring about conditions more favourable for the struggle. But power in such cases always turns out to be an illusion, personal power exercised by individual leaders and not the power of the proletarian class; this contradiction brings nothing but confusion, corruption and conflict in its wake.

  • Anton Pannekoek, World Revolution and Communist Tactics
šŸ‘ļøŽ︎ 14 šŸ‘¤ļøŽ︎ u/[deleted] šŸ“…ļøŽ︎ Sep 25 2017 šŸ—«︎ replies

The worst remedy which could be used against unfavourable consequences of situations, however, would be to periodically put on trial the theoretical and organisational principles that are the very basis of the party, with the objective of enlarging its zone of contact with the masses. In situations where the revolutionary inclinations of the masses are weakening, this movement to ā€œbring the party towards the massesā€, as some call it, is very often equivalent to changing the very nature of the party, thus depriving it of the very qualities that would enable it to be a catalyst capable of influencing the masses to resume their forward movement.

  • Bordiga, Party and Class Action
šŸ‘ļøŽ︎ 14 šŸ‘¤ļøŽ︎ u/[deleted] šŸ“…ļøŽ︎ Sep 25 2017 šŸ—«︎ replies

I know so many comrades who need to see this

šŸ‘ļøŽ︎ 10 šŸ‘¤ļøŽ︎ u/EvilShayton šŸ“…ļøŽ︎ Sep 25 2017 šŸ—«︎ replies

she is my new favorite youtuber. bless her.

šŸ‘ļøŽ︎ 14 šŸ‘¤ļøŽ︎ u/rocknroll1343 šŸ“…ļøŽ︎ Sep 25 2017 šŸ—«︎ replies

My comment was removed for containing ableist language (woops, I wish the bot pointed out what I said so I can correct it)

But what I said was: the left needs to be effective communicators. For real, a book on organizational or interpersonal communication should be required reading along with Marx for those on the left.

šŸ‘ļøŽ︎ 15 šŸ‘¤ļøŽ︎ u/ComradeOfSwadia šŸ“…ļøŽ︎ Sep 25 2017 šŸ—«︎ replies
Captions
Ladies and gentlemen, a fascist. [applause] [Music: Wagner, TannhƤuser Overture] My fellow Americans, a war is about to be waged between everything you love and everything you hate. Our very right to exist as a people is under attack. Foreign invaders disguised as immigrants and refugees are being imported to our lands by a cabal of globalist elites. And if we donā€™t stop it soon, the result will be rape, chaos, and the end of civilization as we know it. I want you imagine the faces of your wives and children. Picture their pure, white, innocent faces. Now, watch as those same wives are violated, and those same children dashed to pieces under the black boots of the Third World horde. Does that thought fill you with rage? Good. We must be prepared to fight: to fight for our children, for our nation, for our history, for our culture; to fight for the homeland weā€™ve always known and the people weā€™ve always loved. Make America Great Again. Hail victory. [applause] Ladies and gentlemen, a leftist. [applause] [meowing] So, actually, according to Hegel, the for-itself can only be actualized through the in-itself, so the individuation of the subject necessarily demands the transcendence of the dialectical object through the sublimation of negative materiality. [audience laugh] Aw, fuck you, you fucking racists! Death to capitalism, hail Satan! [audience boos] [Tabby hisses] [Music: ā€œFuneral March of a Marionetteā€] So, that speech didnā€™t go too well, huh? Well, what do you expect? We have the politicians against us, a media run by giant corporations, and a complacent white middle class that prefers order to justice. Opposition to leftism is hardly surprising. So letā€™s accept that all of thatā€™s true. The gameā€™s rigged. Fine. Now how do you respond to that situation? Do you change nothing about your strategy at all and then blame the system when the predictable happens? Or do you try to improve your rhetoric somehow? Look, I donā€™t really need optics advice from a bougie queer aesthete who puts style over substance and thinks shining a pink light on everything can cover up her counterrevolutionary Trotskyite tendencies. I mean are you even a communist? No, Iā€™m not a communist. Well, why not? I like stuff. I like this, and I like this, and I like this. And thatā€™s why I canā€™t be a communist. Justine, you do realize that Marxism distinguishes between private property and personal property, right? Youā€™re allowed to own possessions, you just canā€™t exploit people by owning the means of production. Well, most of my stuff was made by Chinese slaves. Well, you should feel bad about that. Look, Iā€™m just trying to help you out here. Queer eye for the Marxist-Leninist. You know. Actually Iā€™m an anarcho-syndicalist. Right. Do you have any friends who arenā€™t leftist militants? [hiss] Thatā€™s what I thought. You know, Tabby, people think youā€™re weird. And theyā€™re afraid of you. Well, fascists are afraid of me. Really. Well letā€™s take a look at your twitter feed. Let's see, we've got guillotines, Soviet memes, ā€œLiberals get the bullet too?ā€ Bitch no wonder everyone thinks youā€™re some kind of scary terrorist. Okay, Jesus, letā€™s hear your mind-blowing revelations about respectability politics. Great. Letā€™s start by taking a look at these pins and patches. Positives first. The rose is great. Love the rose. Fantastic. Now, the hammer and sickle. We're gonna need to get rid of that. Oh, Iā€™m just wearing it ironically. Now donā€™t you start with that. I donā€™t care if itā€™s ironic or not. It makes me think of bread lines and gulags and it needs to go. Well, maybe youā€™re right. Fine, Iā€™ll get rid of it. See, I can think about optics. Whatā€™s that in your bag? Oh this? Yeah, weā€™re gonna need to do something about that too. Now hold on, getting rid of the hammer and sickle is one thing, but Marx is a foundational thinker in the history of progressive politicalā€” Iā€™m not talking about getting rid of Marx, Iā€™m talking about giving him a makeover. I mean just look at the cover of that thing. It's making me depressed just looking at it. Red and gold, what is this foreign shit, like a Chinese or a Soviet flag? Itā€™s un-American. I donā€™t trust it. I donā€™t like the cut of its jib. So you want a Marx-Engels Reader wrapped in an American flag? Oh, I can do you better than that. Letā€™s start with a gradient. Add a grid. Maybe a wave grid. Letā€™s get some shiny fonts. Maybe a bust. A pink bust. With 3D glasses. Pink glasses. Maybe some palm trees. Aw yeah. [a e s t h e t i c music] Or how about this: lots of brands. More more more. Oh my god. Itā€™s beautiful. Okay, one more, one more. A pink field. Chick lit. Yassss girl yassss. I just realized that I actually hate you. [knocking] Hello fellow whites, do you have a moment to talk about the need to secure a homeland for our people and a future for white children? Get the hell out of here before I smash your face you Nazi bitch. Effective, isnā€™t it? Well, I see your point. But this whole Antifa thing. I canā€™t help but wonder, from a strict PR perspective, if thereā€™s some way you can nooooooooooot do thaaaat. Are you saying we shouldnā€™t punch Nazis? Iā€™m saying if 30,000 people show up to counterprotest Nazis, you wonā€™t have to. [Matrix music] But that means getting 30,000 people on your side, which youā€™re not gonna do by tweeting death threats and communist propaganda, and using words like ā€œdialectic,ā€ and telling everyone to read obscure European philosophers with unpronouncable names and unintelligible ideas, and smashing windows for no reason that anyone can understand or sympathize with, and expecting that people are gonna leave their jobs and comfortable lives to join a revolution to establish an economic system thatā€™s primarily associated with starvation and dictatorship. Well thatā€™s an unfair association. Real communism doesnā€™t lead to starvation and dictatorship. Has there ever been real communism? Well, yes. Between 1910 and 1912, in Revolutionary Eastern Cameroon, a thriving though short-lived communist utopia did flourish, until it was smashed by Western imperialism. Right. But whatā€™s the chance of that actually happening on a large scale in the near future? You seem to not even care about whatā€™s actually possible, thatā€™s how deep you are in pure theory. And if anything is anti-Marxist, itā€™s that. You know sometimes I think you secretly donā€™t want your ideas to succeed, you actually enjoy being a pariah whose political ideas never gain any traction. Because if you have purely theoretical political beliefs then youā€™re never accountable for the way things are going. Iā€™m not saying theory is everything, only that thereā€™s no praxis without theory. Look, Iā€™m not some kind of political scientist. For all I know you could be correct. Iā€™m just saying, itā€™s a tough sell, and you are not selling it. Well, I wouldnā€™t have to work so hard to ā€œsellā€ it if we didnā€™t live in a neoliberal intellectual void where complacent so-called centrists with corporate backing have shifted the Overton window one inch left of fascism under the heading of ā€œfree speechā€ and ā€œclassical liberalism.ā€ [knocking] Is someone ready to bring their wares to the free marketplace of ideas? [hiss] Hey, hey, hey! You leave centrists alone. Thanks Justine! Jackie, get out of here. Youā€™re embarrassing me in front of my Antifa friends. [whisper] Iā€™ll see you at brunch. Mimosas! What the hell was that? Brunch? You go to brunch with these people? Well, itā€™s more of a boozy afternoon tea. Afternoon tea? Does Jeeves bring round madeleine cookies and fresh-sliced lemon wedges? No, but I do have a very nice Windsor china tea set. Unbelievable. You get the bullet too. You get the goddamn bullet too. Awww, come on. Me?? What do you want me to do, drink victory gin out of a rusty herring tin like the anti-imperialist revolutionaries in Eastern Cameroon? I mean nothing is ever good enough for you people. I could be munching on a cigar in the South American Jungle shooting at capitalists with a black beret and an eye patch, and I still wouldnā€™t be left wing enough for you. Well why donā€™t you start by not going to afternoon tea with people who protect fascists, and not complaining about the optics of the people who are risking their lives to keep you safe. How is Antifa keeping me safe? You do realize, donā€™t you, that 99% of what Antifa does is not punching Nazis. Most of what we do is behind the scenes organizing, infiltrating fascist groups, doxing them, disrupting their recruitment, and yes, we do engage in defensive violence at fascist rallies. And one of these days, if you can bear to tear yourself away from your tea set long enough, youā€™re gonna be at a counter-protest, and the black bloc is gonna save your life, because you donā€™t look like you can fight, and the police certainly arenā€™t going to save you. Well, maybe so. I mean Iā€™m the first to admit: these are not Nazi-punching hands. So, Iā€™m not gonna get in your way. But I canā€™t help but think that in the free marketplace of ideasā€”and like it or not, thatā€™s what weā€™re inā€” The corporate marketplace of ideas. ā€”what you are matters less than what you seem to be. And black-clad thugs in masks smashing things in the street seems pretty scary. Aw come on. You have to admit, thereā€™s something kind of appealing about a guy in a mask. What about a girl in a mask? [romantic music] I think we should just be friends while I figure myself out. Well, it was worth a shot. My point is, you canā€™t just win the war in the street. You have to win the war in the heart and the mind. You mean the propaganda war. SHHHHH donā€™t call it propaganda, there could be liberals listening. Look, what the left needs to get, and what the centrists need to get, and what only I and the fascists seem to understand, is that reason doesnā€™t matter very much. Oh boy. Here we go. What is it that centrists hate about social justice warriors? Itā€™s not that they don't have good reasons in support of their arguments, itā€™s that theyā€™re not cool, right? Social justice warriors are not cool. What do you mean, theyā€™re not popular? No, no, no. I mean theyā€™re not cool. You can be unpopular and still cool. In fact it can be cool to be unpopular. So what does it mean to be cool? Cool is calm, detached, and in control of yourself. And the leading complaint about social justice warriors is that theyā€™re emotional. The social justice warriors who everyone cringes at online are people, who Iā€™m sure are nice people, but who are having a bad moment, and theyā€™re caught on camera in the in the middle of an outburst. Theyā€™re out of control. And thatā€™s the problem. Itā€™s not cool. Look, this detached, ironic, pretend-not-to-give-a-shit posturing that white men mistake for rationality is really just the self-celebration of comfortable, privileged people with nothing at stake. People on the left are never gonna be ā€œcool,ā€ because anger and emotion are rational responses to injustice. I thought youā€™d say that. But what youā€™re failing to consider is that itā€™s possible to be both angry and cool. And what do you get when you sprinkle a little anger into a glass of cool? What? You getā€¦ Ice cold. [guitar solo] Iā€™m sorry. What? And thatā€™s what we on the left need to become: Ice Cold Motherfuckers. [guitar solo] What the hell are you talking about? Miles Davis. Incredibly cool. But pretty angry. Did not take shit from white people. But also: ice cold motherfucker. So your plan is to win over centrists by becoming an ice cold motherfucker. Precisely. What we need is social justice, drugs, and rock n' roll. This is ridiculous. And I suppose you think this is ridiculous? I think itā€™s stalemate. No itā€™s not, my queen is wide open. No it isnā€™t. Take me. Iā€™m gonna get going now. Wait, where are you going? Iā€™m gonna go bash the fash. Wellā€¦ be careful. Sure. Enjoy your tea tomorrow. What a goddamn lunatic. Iā€™m gonna miss her. [Music: ā€œFuneral March of a Marionetteā€] What ever happened to Bruce and Trixie? They got into a fight on Skype, remember? Anyway they killed each other, theyā€™re both dead. They kind of fired guns off in random directions, itā€™s best not to think about it too much.
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Channel: ContraPoints
Views: 1,410,994
Rating: 4.8968754 out of 5
Keywords: contrapoints, the left
Id: QuN6GfUix7c
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 14min 2sec (842 seconds)
Published: Sun Sep 24 2017
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