Scott Pilgrim #6
Category: Uncategorized
i recently watched the scott pilgrim movie and then finally finished reading the comics lol
not trying to be rude but seriously interested, how do you balance being both an anarchist AND a communist?
Almost all anarchists are communists, actually! Anarchism is just another form of socialist or communist thought – it is often called “libertarian socialism.” The thing that distinguishes it from other forms of socialism and communism is the belief that we should build a communist society without using the state apparatus – because anarchists believe that the state apparatus is inherently oppressive.
so i get that private ownership of production=capitalism and worker ownership of production=socialism. What’s the word for government ownership over production?
Some leftists call it “state capitalism.” I think that is a fair description of the power dynamic, although I imagine more authoritarian Marxists would disagree
What’s the difference between state socialism and state capitalism?
They are different words for the same thing. Libertarian socialists and anarchists often dont think state socialism is a thing, so they call it state capitalism. It really comes down to if you think the state apparatus can act on behalf of the working class or not. Anarchists dont think so, so the state owning the means of production is categorically not the workers owning the means of production, which is what socialism must be. More authoritarian socialists think that the state can own the means of production on behalf of the working class, so they call it socialism.
I personally think it is a bit silly to call it “state capitalism,” because it isnt capitalism. The power dynamic between the boss and the worker might be the same or similar, but it is still different enough that it deserves it’s own wording. It is fine to call it state socialism imo. There is no doubt that it sources from the socialist tree in some way. There can be shitty kinds of socialism.
Any good communist/anarchist (or a combination of) literature recommendations? 👀👀 Besides the Communist Manifesto and the Conquest of Bread
Sure! Here’s a pretty good starter list:
ANARCHISM
- Into to Anarchy – Philosophy Tube (video)
- To Change Everything – Crimethinc
- Are You An Anarchist? – David Graeber
- Anarchy Works – Peter Gelderloos
- Black Anarchism: A Reader
- The Dispossessed – Ursula K. Le Guin (fiction)
- Anarchism and Other Essays – Emma Goldman
- The Ecology of Freedom -Murray Bookchin
- Debt: The First 5000 Years – David Graeber
COMMUNISM/MARXISM
I love that the anarchism list starts with a youtube video (which I love) and the communism list starts with fucking Capital. I’ve never met someone who has finished Capital. It’s so fuckin hard
Tbh I should start the Communism/Marxism list with this:
Me: Borders shouldn’t exist. We shouldn’t dehumanize and denigrate people simply due to which side of imaginary lines they were born on.
Someone: Oh, so you think borders are imaginary? Well then aren’t all property lines imaginary? What, are you saying that private property is also imaginary?
Me: … literally yes, thank God, you’re getting it.
“When the working people ask for more than “the prime necessaries of life,” when they pretend “to share” in the profits resulting from their own industry, then they are accused of communistic tendencies.”
— Marx – on strike action, New York Daily Tribune 1853
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