Self-Improvement

The Left needs to develop a culture of self-improvement urgently. I have two main reasons for believing this.

First, we all know that revolution can't be done if we're not consistently learning new things and developing new habilities. The demands of revolutionary life are many: you need to read a lot, you need to be able to organize efficiently, you need language skills, you need a lot of endurance, oratorical skills, the hability to create content, to create new platforms of communication, and so on. And obviously, we also need to learn how to defend ourselves, because no one else will.

Second, the quest for self-improvement plays a huge part in virtually every other political worldview. Just look at younger conservatives, they gravitate around whoever sells them the "sort yourself" mentality, who makes motivational speeches, who tell them to get better at things: Jordan Peterson, Joe Rogan, Gavin McInnes, and so on. When you can help people's lives, they gain confidence in you. Of course, this type of "self-improvement" is shallow: they only want to increase productivity and get people to follow conservative patterns of behavior. We want to liberate people, so we need to propose an alternative.

There a lot of lost, self-loathing individuals out there, and they're all flocking to Jordan Peterson's bullshit. We need to react.

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=AeGKcX-JHNE
theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/02/limits-to-growth-was-right-new-research-shows-were-nearing-collapse
jewishgeneticdiseases.org/?p=60)
youtube.com/watch?v=YjcIRQuCXr0
youtube.com/watch?v=QnIsdVaCnUE
twitter.com/NSFWRedditGif

It's ironic that when I was a Holla Forumsack, I actually didn't want to learn new skills and improve my career, because I believed that humanity is inherently corrupted by cultural marxism and infiltrated by judaist thought patterns.

Now as a socialist, I actually don't even mind learning about enterprising, how to start a business and learning new skills. Why? Because I have re-gained my faith in humanity and I believe when I live in this capitalist world, might as well make the best of it, since I might NEVER see socialism in my lifetime, but what I can do is read in meantime and hopefully spread these ideas on and influence others.

we need to work out, Self care and look sharp. Im not talking about spending a lot of time and money on looks, just hit the gym three times a week follow a diet (doesn't have to be expensive) and care about how you present yourself. I know its all idealist bullshit but we're the torch bearers of the revolution after all and people see before they listen. People are more willing to learn from people that look as if they have their life together (whatever that means to them). I'm not endorsing capitalist values and saying its good to buy into the whole self help narrative or that someones looks discredits their ideas, but for a lot of people looks influence their opinion of someone.

Do people really need to be told this shit? Here on Holla Forums there's a big emphasis on reading the literature instead of wiki skimming but I feel like the rest of it, working out and having hobbies and shit, is a mix of common sense and preference. I'm not your fucking dad. You know what you have to do if you want to avoid being fat, or expand your intellectual horizons, or whatever else. Motivation is going to come from your priorities.

The alt-right method seems to be merely instilling guilt e.g. "only low test beta males don't work out" "if you don't have kids by 25 you're a genetic failure" etc and I'd be really surprised if this sort of rhetoric was actually successful in turning internet slobs into anything other than internet slobs.
I don't necessarily disagree with "self-improvement culture" or whatever but it seems oddly paternalistic to impress my personal goals on everyone else.

But remember, we also have to sound good. Improve your hability to communicate, memorize important data, learn to express your ideas well, etc.

youtube.com/watch?v=AeGKcX-JHNE

Yeah sorry but I can't meme this enough. Even small-time shit like gardening or beekeeping or raising goats is both fun and teaches you husbandry, a useful skill for the coming revolution

Self-improvement is a capitalist meme.

this is why ML's shoot you

You have marxist psychoanalysis already, and discordian anarchist meditation and spirituality.

But he is basically right: need for self-improvement is meme created for purpose of increase the productivity of working class. The point is to make your free time organised just like your work in industry, and to improve yourself as a worker also in time that's theoretically free. Self-improvement, and all this coaching culture, is just another idea made by bourgeoise to opress us and decrease level of freedom.

LOL

Keep "improving" for porky.

The best self-improvement for the left is being lazy, unproductive, demanding thief.

Can you stop being faggots. We're not going to be able to overthrow capitalism as fat internet slobs like I know I am now.

nah my dude

DUDE JUST STOP WANKING, READ MARCUS AURELIUS AND LIFT WEIGHTS AND YOULL BECOME UBERMENSCH LMAO

t. every MDE and enlightened alt right slug

Self improvement is fine and good but self improvement culture is revolting and reactionary shit full of wastes of skin.

then we should create our own alternative associations for it, like the german SPD did pre-WWI

What do you want to improve, what makes such a change an improvement, and towards what end do you seek to do this? "Self-improvement" is a vague enough concept to include singing lessons and a trip to the shooting range.

I just looked into the project in that webm. Looks dead as fuck. Such a shame.

Tbh if my free time wasn't rigidly scheduled like it is now I suspect I'd be even more depressed. Idk if this shows the poverty of my ability to imagine beyond the system I've grown up in or if its just a character trait but if I just do "whatever whenever" like you're saying I'll be depressed as fuck.

everyone, start by learning new languages.

i remember a few months ago some of us tried to learn speranto, im still on it

It's funny how you actually perceive yourself so much as a commodity that you think bettering yourself and your own life will only benefit those above you.

Which associates were those?

I agree, be a swole, intelligent, wealthy white man with a strong family

Now how exactly does socialism factor into that?

In the very second paragraph of the OP there are examples of things many of us will probably have to learn eventually, and the reason for it. So if "self-improvement" is too vague for you, narrow it down to learning how to read more than two lines of text without losing focus like a 15 year old with ADD.

Don't worry about it. If you need to be explained in detail how human material, its knowledge and skills increase a group's hability to achieve its goals, you're probably a lost case and this whole thing isn't for you

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Sasuga conservatism…

Tell me about what self improvement I can do that isn't heavily marketed to loser retards or aren't only there because capitalism is garbage.

Change capitalism and 99% of this garbage won't even be a problem.

How strong do I need to be to fight fascists? Or the police state, for that matter? No, I'm not going to overthrow capitalism single-handedly, but my aim is to be as prepared as possible in time for the revolution.

Suggested reading material is appreciated also. I finished the Communist Manifesto and am currently reading "Your Country is Just Not That Into You" by Jimmy Dore. Is the manga version of Das Kapital an acceptable form of literature?

My reading list following the works previously mentioned:
And anything by the following figures:

Anything I should add? Anything I listed I should skip? If so, why?

it's amadeo bordiga
lenin is good, mao zedong is worthless and kim is even much worse

Sorry, fucking autocorrect… What's so wrong with Mao and Kim? I will admit that I can't stand the other two Kims, and anyone who earnestly supports the DPRK is an edgy tankie faggot taking the anti-imperialism meme too far.

CUT OUT SOCIAL MEDIA, GAMES AND OTHER TIME WASTERS OUT OF YOUR LIFE. BLOCK SITES, DELETE ACCOUNTS, DEINSTALL GAMES. THESE THINGS DO NOT GIVE YOU FULLFILLMENT, THEY STOP YOU FROM BEING BORED. BEING BORED IS GOOD, BEING BORED MAKES YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING USEFULL. READ BOOKS, PAINT, DRAW, GO OUT, DO THINGS THAT MAKE YOU FEEL FULLFILLMENT INSTEAD OF PLAYING GAMES THAT ONLY DISTRACT YOU FROM YOUR FEELINGS OF USELESSNESS

Requesting the image: Get Fit, Get Theory, Get Ready.

Self-improvement? Sure!
As a replacement for meaningful structural change in society? No!
There's a difference between taking care of yourself and guilt tripping people into eating vegan and recycling and going to yoga etc. etc.

I dont think OP is promoting this.

Jesus christ, cool your fucking autism. You've been trying to sucker people into doing nothing under the same flag for this whole thread. Yeah, the capitalist system does have a grip on people's choices and their actions, but we shouldn't be pretending that personal agency doesn't exist. Otherwise, why would Marx have placed his trust in people to work towards socialism?

I'm a former labor/political organizer trained by the best, ask me anything

Where are you from? What's your organisation? Do you make any trainings for international comrades?

I'm from Texas but studied in New York. I have been with TSEU (part of CWA) the Democratic Cops of America, a bunch of campaigns, and done a little bit for the Worker Defense Project.

The best way to get some training wherever you are is to go to a local political group and sign up to volunteer.

What the fuck word filter is that

What the fuck word filter is that

I was thinking today about the carceral state and how prisoners, who are often poor minorities, are forced to do labor for profit. I was wondering if it is possible to organize them into a labor union then I looked it up and found that since 2013 it is illegal to form prisoner unions.

Has anyone you organize with put forward a plan to organize prisoners or is it a stupid idea?

Prison staff are often the targets, never heard of prisoners being organizing targets. As it is it's pretty difficult to fight for the rights of regular people even if they save lives, let alone folks who've forfeited rights. Unfortunately they're not a super viable target right now.

Oh please. Quit LARPing as a revolutionary. Nobody here will overthrow capitalism. Capitalism will destroy itself when we run out of ressources.

wont that destroy us too? All we gotta do is build solidarity.

Democratic Cops of America is filtered?

Self-improvement is a dumb meme to compensate for the loss of culture with something that misses the self-actualization aspect of culture and anchors it to work instead.

that was my only post in the thread so far
and no I'm not either

If you're overweight today and it's not genetic you don't have any excuses. It's never been easier to get fit with all the resources and cheapness of all things necessary for losing fat and building muscle.

...

But those other things don't make me feel fulfilled.

Well, do the first things make you feel fulfilled?

Why?

Fucking this.

Nothing does.

lol, you kids. An inherent part of self-improvement is becoming more self-reliant, responsible and thinking for yourself, i.e. becoming less of a leftist.

Actually, self-improvement is what all of you desperately need. I honestly wish you all the best of luck in escaping your stupid delusions.

People who dismiss any kind of self improvement must have very cushy lives.

lol wut? The whole self improvement genre is basically written by the petty bourgeoisie and outright capitalists.

t. some virgin fuckwit from Holla Forums

A lot of things really do suck.

Being older than 25 and not having a toe in the job market, being friendless and socially isolated, taking on two part time jobs to provide for family, etc. Some people have shitty enough lives that it's disgusting to tell them to sit on their hands until a revolution comes along.

Here are some ways to improve yourself, in order:
1. Stop wasting people's time with slide threads about being a fat loser
2. Stop using your computer.
3. Stop talking to people.
4. Stop breathing.

your concern shilling is about 40 years too late. that meme has long been BTFO

None of this has anything to do with the self improvement genre, which largely promotes fucking magic.

?

What were you intending this to mean?

Stuff like "The Secret." It's just wish-magic. "Want it hard enough and the universe will give it to you" type shit. It's about as useful as praying.

The other user was speaking on my behalf, but he hit the nail on the head without naming it. The "Want it hard enough" shit is called the law of attraction.

What about the pleasure of being cummed inside?

The second part of the fucking sentence is "I have two main reasons for believing this." and the reasons are listed right below.

Some of you people are so fucking retarded, good lord.

Not so fast there: theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/02/limits-to-growth-was-right-new-research-shows-were-nearing-collapse

if it was so easy skinny lard

Do something courageous like kiss a wild animal.

I can speak 3 languages fluently, read another 2, and translate another 2 with some effort (latin and ancient greek)
I'm done learning new languages for the rest of my life dude

Learning korean right now.


Your request is hereby granted.

Lift Weights, Read Marx, Tear Shit Up!

Saluton! Kiel vi fartas?

>>>/fit/

No fucking way, hose.

If you want that you first have to construct a foundation of virtue. You want a better man? You first have to rationalize what makes a good man. Can you do that? Take the eastern European homeless man pictured - does he need to sort himself out? Should he lift weights and clean his room to become a better man? Or are those not actually aspects of what it means to be a good man?

>jewish handlers get incredibly mad due to their inferior genes (jewishgeneticdiseases.org/?p=60)

It's not possible, bro. Either you start out jacked before becoming a commie or you will never be jacked.

Not to mention you will be bullied by all the leftist cucks that have zero agency or will

Toxic masculinity manifests in swoleness, after all.
All the hambeasts will hiss at you.
You can only be equal in your line of work if you all flush yourself down the drain.
Those who step out get henpecked by the lazies.

Sad state of affairs, but that's just how it goes.
Excellence is shunned and people like you have been responsible for it.
Now it's biting you in the ass.

You were doing so well then you go and spew out this crap.

and people wonder why the left is practically dead

we already have self improvement, it's called the leftypol reading list.

...

it was real in my mind; action or nothing loser

If you guys really wanna achieve something you would work on creating some kind of breakaway commune or psuedo marxist production company.

Im sure people would enthusiastically support you through crowd funding.

Just consider this please before committing some act of violent terrorism that gives the state more excuses to impose police state tyranny.

Its not in our mutual interest for that to happen and the reaction to more police state bullshit will NOT be enthusiasm for more authoritarian collectivism but rather true freedom and liberty.

Also buy some fucking bitcoin. You can use your profits to fund a commune or breakaway society. But I have a feeling in a few weeks after you see your mad gains you wont be marxists anymore. And I challenge you guys to try earning some kind of independent income before writing off money and capitalism as a whole. Most people find it extremely comfy when they realize how easy it is to make money from the internet sitting on their ass at home and thats also why so many people despise others that are trying to destroy the system that makes their life comfy.

I think you missed the whole point of this buddy.

Already did, quite wealthy on my own now, capitalism is still shit. Thanks for asking.

lel so your longing for communism purely out of altruism?

And just because you didnt enjoy it doesnt mean other people wont and its not fair for you to impose YOUR totalitarian system on others. And you possibly tried the wrong career? Are you expecting to get paid to do nothing?

Meanwhile you could be trying to start your own commune or marxist production company. Why dont you ask for money on kickstarter to make a culty commune in utah where you manufacture firearms and run the company democratically?

lel

goodjob making excuses for your own failure.. see how far that gets you

just know that at any moment your n33tbux or mommy could cut you off and you are at the will of another human

t. huge fucking faggot

There is already a system forcefully imposed onto everyone of us, it's called capitalism.
You just don't realize it because you have been told from birth that this capitalist system in which most people are forced to sell their labour to survive is "just the way things are and there is nothing one can do about it" similar to how a common serf during the middle ages wouldn't question the aristocrats rule and why he is obliged to give them a huge amount of the food and other things he produced.
This is impossible because the ruling class wouldn't just leave me alone to do so.
What happens when a region or a group of people try to secede and/or stop obeying the law in order the create their own society set up on different rules?
They will get crushed for disobeying the law by the police/army which are tools of the ruling class.
This is why violent revolution is necessary.

Nice argument. So well thought out! And I was saying that you may have chose the wrong career but also there is no reason you cannot live in your own marxist micro cosm if you wish. That way we can both have our cake and eat it to. But you are so selfish that you are willing to tear the world apart just to suit your selfish fantasies.

Its just freedom though. No one is forcing you to participate. Go start a commune and no one will stop you. Literally you have to restrict peoples freedom to stop capitalism. You are not being logical whatsoever. My bias is towards capitalism but if you want another option you are going to have to create it yourself because most creative people become capitalists when they start to acquire value and see how awesome it is.

I understand if you are arguing for welfare but its not going to happen soon unless you move to a place with welfare and in any case you should learn how to acquire wealth.

Luckily there are millions of altruistic wealthy people that would love to help you start a commune or coop and then you can live peacefully the way you want and i can live peacefully the way I want. Freedom. This is a video titled "how to get the fucking money"

youtube.com/watch?v=YjcIRQuCXr0

Delusion. You might have to jump through a few hoops and pay taxes or something but still you can start a coop and there are coops all over the place and you are just making excuses cause youre lazy. There are no laws stopping people from freely associating and living together and sharing their wealth and deciding on production democratically. Even if the end result was imperfect this is realistically your best shot at achieving anything and you fucking know it.


This is sad and you will do nothing but give the police state more power. You really think youre going to "win?" You might get some asshole like soros to help you out for a while just to cause instability but you know this will only cause the authoritarians to get more power and then the reaction to that wont be a longing for less freedom but liberty and thats when people will try to get their freedoms back through libertarianism. Youre delusional if you think a police state causes people to want communism.

Further more you are so incredibly fucking selfish that you would actually hurt people just because the world isnt set up the way you like it? That is sick and you wouldnt be any better than the capitalists that you hate so much. There are already social democracies that take care of the poor through welfare and that is something to work towards possibly with democracy but the moment you start hurting people you will only cause your own destruction and give the state more power and the fact you are willing to do that shows how delusional and unintelligent and irrational you are.

Youre disgusting. But i feel sorry for you. You dont even know how to help yourself so you blame all your problems on outside force. I wish i knew how to help you but Im tired right now and cant think of a solution except to try to appeal to your logical side however small it may be.

Nope, i choose the job not because it could make me shit gold, but because i find it interesting.
However, i'm not living in a bubble isolated from the world, i'm inhabiting a planet i cannot leave whose assets are slowly ruined by that very system which is so fine.
I admit it's quite selfish of me to want to live long, and having fresh water and food in 60 years for me and my familiy.


As opposed to hurt them because the world is set up the way you like?

Kek, in this capitalist society I can only survive if I have money. In order to get money I will either have to sell my labour to someone or convince others to sell their labour to me. And just starving in the street is not a viable option for any sane person.
You literally ignored my previous post
Yes and this option can only come into existence after the forces who try to stop it from coming into existence are crushed. The ruling class won't just stop enforcing this capitalist system onto us if we ask them nicely.
I am a well off middle class person from a first world country with a stable job and income, this isn't about me, this is about the well being of humanity and our planet as a whole.
The selfish person is you, because your whole argument is based on the assumption that people only become leftist because they care about their own individual material wealth. This says a lot about you.
Also this capitalist system hurts and murders countless humans every day, way more than any communist experiment ever did, so revolutionary violence is nothing special.
youtube.com/watch?v=QnIsdVaCnUE

NO ONE IS STOPPING YOU FROM MAKING YOUR OWN COMMUNE SOMEWHERE. GO BUY LAND IN UTAH WITH ALL YOUR BUTT BUDDY COMMIE FUCK BOIS. IF YOU NEED MONEY TO BUY IT THEN GO ON KICKSTARTER AND ASL PEOPLE TO FUND YOUR PROJECT TO SHOW THE WORLD COMMUNISM COULD WORK.

YOU GUYS HAVE A FALSE DELUSION THAT ANYBODY CARES WHAT YOU DO ON YOUR OWN PRIVATE PROPERTY. NO ONE IS PREVENTING YOU FROM LIVING OUT YOUR DREAMS. THERE ARE CORRUPT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS THAT HAVE INTERVENED ON THESE KIND OF PROJECTS BEFORE BUT THEY ARE CORRUPT AND THERE NO LAWS AGAINST THIS ALTHOUGH YOU MIGHT HAVE SMALL PAIN IN THE ASS THINGS LIKE TAXES OR SOME OTHER MINOR SHIT BUT ITS NOT AN EXCUSE AND IF YOU REALLY HAD ANY MOTIVATION YOU WOULD TRY TO START YOUR OWN FUCKING COMMUNE.


wrong.. people can be delusional just like on this board

HILARIOUS. AND YOU DO YOU REALIZE WHEN YOU CRITICIZE SOME CORRUPT BUSINESS GUY THAT IS LIKE ME SAYING ALL COMMIES ARE LIKE STALIN OR SOME SHIT.

FALSE LOGIC YOU FAGGOTS

THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WOULD BE SUPPORTIVE OF A SMALL COMMUNIST EXPERIMENT IN THE US AND WOULD PROBABLY HELP YOU GET STARTED IF TOOK ANY INITIATIVE WHATSOEVER.

Tsk, all this anger. You need to sort yourself out bucko.

Telling me what I should do violates the NAP

HUE HUE HUE ITS CALLED A FUCKING SUGGESTION AND IM TELLING YOU NOT TO BE VIOLENT WHICH IS INFACT NOT A VIOLATION OF THE NAP

Best thread around here. Lift weights and read theory.

We /ULTRA/ now!