This year’s Left Forum was, in many ways, identical to last year’s forum. It was held at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice again, the panels and tables were peopled by all the same liberal and sectarian groups, and the array of issues covered were the same as always. For example, there were panels on single payer healthcare, Cointelpro, Animal Liberation, Imperialism, Syriza, Education, Independent media, Feminism, Black Revolution, and so on…
What marked this year’s forum as perhaps different was the already nostalgic focus on Bernie Sanders as well as an unstated and free floating sense of depression.
Due to the success of Trump and the failure of Sanders the US left has been, for the moment, rendered irrelevant. We’ve been reduced to hoping that the establishment as we’ve known it will be able to eke out a victory in November.
There is talk of harnessing the remnants of Sanders’ political campaign in order to launch a new “movement,” but the truth is that this election has already demoralized the US left. Instead of reexamining the assumptions, aims, and tactics that have led us to this most recent failure, we’ve pushed on with the same fragmented agendas.
And the best evidence of the poverty of the US left, the most obvious symptom of the impasse, was this year’s reaction to the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek.
I don't even bother defending Zizek anymore because it's already so fucking clear that the only people on the Left who dislike him are the dumbest and most childish elements among us
Asher Edwards
For whatever else can be said of Zizek, at least he's not one of the countless babbling idiots that consciously or unconsciously fight with a religious conviction to preserve capital. He's a rarity on a planet where Marxian and communistic ideas have been totally defeated. As for the people described in your article, they remain the norm. Nothing has happened recently to challenge the status quo. Sanders was a dead end from the start. Despite some glimpses of near-proletarian rhetoric his personality never had the potential to really channel working people in the right direction.
I don't really believe the US is totally doomed. Even if it's been checked for now the doctrine of proletarian emancipation will always be capable of widespread appeal as long as some force can present it to the public. But it's going to take decades for communism to rebuild itself again. For now the driving forces in politics are still the demands of the nation and capital.
Mason Peterson
Based
Kayden Thompson
"Standing against" those lunatics through online articles isn't enough. Actual leftists need to draw a line in the sand, and deny them a voice and platform. Fuck their "free speech," fuck their "diversity;" stop making concessions to these destructive faggots. They are cancerous and they poison everything they touch.
When they raise their ugly heads and try to dominate the discourse, they must be grabbed by their collars and thrown the fuck out.
Julian James
>but the truth is that this election has already demoralized the US left
Good joke.
Colton Wood
They are not "us". They are utopian uber-liberals, that want to make capitalism appear not oppressive. And they want to achieve i by spreading PC everywhere.
Samuel Morales
Why does the Left Forum even let liberals in? It's the Left Forum, not the Liberal Forum. We don't need these people. In fact, they're one of the bigger and more obvious drags on our movement.
What?
The relevance of the Sanders campaign to the Left should have always been that he was pushing the Overton Window leftward and making socialism more acceptable in public dialogue. Sanders not winning the nomination shouldn't be slowing anyone down. He was, after all, just a fairly mild SocDem. Gear up to use the anger at the skulduggery used against the Sanders campaign to build alternative politics on the left, don't even fucking bother with Shillary.
Jesus Christ.
Alexander Garcia
Post Left Communism when?
Liam Hall
Never because it's the exact kind of cancer that blog post was talking about.
Jackson Robinson
What is an example of a non-sectarian group? I don't understand
Elijah Price
I would fight to the death for Zizek.
Brody Ortiz
fucking faggot
Colton Reed
!
Levi White
U WOT M8?
Tyler Reed
...
Brandon Martinez
No shit. I've been saying it for ages, this because their objective is power. Not helping people or improving society, just power.
Oooh! So if we are not "FullAnarchismNow" we are same as Pol, huh?
ACCEPT THE NO LEADERS DOCTRINE OR DIE, amma right????
Kronstadt was the only right thing Lenin ever did.
Carter Cook
cult of personality built up around charismatic leader - check excessive preoccupation with killing and punishing enemies and dissidents - check ironclad dogma, competition for purest adherence to the faith - check little to no regard to rights of citizens, due process, free speech - check no economic theory beyond putting absolute power in a small number of questionably accountable people, having them make all the decisions, and hoping it works out - check ideological fetishism, allure to country of ideology's origin - check
diagnosis: fascist.
Sebastian Lee
Yeah, but they all met their end! Down with bully-bourgeoisie!
Jack Myers
Wut? When?
Again, when? We need to have knowledge of basic economic theory. The workers cannot waste all their lives digging into intelectual masturbatory ideology!
Again, what?
Not knowing what fascism is and calling anything authoritarian "Fascist" - Check.
if it wasn't already apparent that you are feigning ignorance…
No, no, you see, fascist governments are client states to big businesses that exploit the workers, when we skip that step and exploit them directly! IT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!
Diagnosis: buttblasted
Alexander Sanders
I cannot stand Zizek's voice, it gives me aids.
Chase Flores
Next thing you'll say that the problem is crony capitalism. "Big business", ayy lmao.
Recommended reading: "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism"
Ian Wilson
No, I'll say the problem is exploitation, fucker. All the corporations that owned the fascist governments, unsurprisingly, just happened to be very big.
But please, do go on strawmanning me as an ancap.
Aaron Scott
I shit and piss on Zizeks feelings about capitalism. There is more in line than some teenager dream of utopia where all people love eachother live happily ever after.
Liam Sanchez
Am I the USSR? Cheka was a legit tool to keep anarkids in check … Leninism is about how NOT to get Stalin. And this is why the Leader must not be part of the inteligentsia. He has to be able to delegate.
But go on about how "Bakunin best grill" and "we can have immideate transaction into fullGommunism without a state to secure historical progress".
No, Leninism is an adhoc justification for everything Lenin did. Stalinism is an adhoc justification for everything Stalin did. Leninism is not Stalinism because Lenin is not Stalin. The fact of the matter remains, autocrat #2 was able to take control of what autocrat #1 constructed with pitiful ease.
But go on about "shit I never said".
Gavin Campbell
This tbh fam. Hegel is the one true philosopher and Ziziek is his prophet.
Well at least you have the spine to be critical of him.
Gavin Allen
Do you even know the diference between Leninism and M-L?
Samuel Garcia
Is there a difference?
Jason Diaz
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Nolan Rodriguez
Wow, I was preparing for you to post something actually credible
Noah Wood
Xexizy is literally from the "I don't know what communism is" school of Marxism (emphasis on "school"). He's a memester who makes videos on a topic without reading the texts (never mind actually understanding them…), is trying to separate himself from Marx for some dumbass unexplored reason, and thinks that revolution can be won only through the threat of violence rather than real sustained revolution by way of eliminating the bourgeoisie. Seriously, I assume the guy is only a communist because he likes the colours or something. There is NO such distinction between Marxism and "Leninism," or "Stalinism" for that matter (the term was made up by Trotskyites to defame Stalin; Stalin's actual texts are quite good, no matter what you think of his actions). Lenin was a Marxist, and Stalin was a Marxist-Leninist, he always said he was nothing but a disciple of Lenin. Honestly, TheFinnishBolshevik should be required watching before posting here. Watch all his videos, but specifically the ones on "The Foundations of Leninism" to learn more about communism: youtube.com/channel/UCCvdjsJtifsZoShjcAAHZpA/videos
Nathan Hernandez
The only thing to see here is the redundancy of trying to no platform someone who never had an intelligible political platform to begin with.
Landon Scott
No, just no. He was a terrible writer and an even worse theorist.
Ethan Davis
Yep, that is EXACTLY what Zizek says!!!
Gabriel Edwards
...
Aaron Gomez
Read Ziziek asshat. I can't believe the trash that's been posting on here lately.
Kevin Russell
Nobody should get a free ride, not even Zizek.
Here he is spluttering at the ruthless cross-examination of a BBC radio 3 cozy chin-stroking show:
I don't know how you can possibly interpret this interview as Zizek sputtering at a ruthless cross-examination. Did you actually listen to it? The guy was a complete stooge and the frustration is palpable.
Jason Myers
And people say I'm the one who dosnt know his shit.
Connor Flores
Tell me how Stalin was not an ML, then, memeunist.
Juan Walker
I thought you were an ML. How is "The Foundations of Leninism" terrible? If you find nothing applicable therein, I am surprised.
Jack Sanchez
None fucking claimed that?
He's completely correct in that there is a huge difference between Marx own writing and the reeking shit that Stalin forced everyone in the Comintern to pay lip service to.
Luis Anderson
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Isaac Lewis
I meant Marxism-Leninism is no different than Leninism and "Stalinism." Stalin followed Lenin. Stalin adamantly stressed that all forms of Marxism other than Leninism were illegitimate and combined them as one indivisible entity called Marxism-Leninism. We're arguing over semantics for absolutely no reason. Why are you afraid of being called MLs? Why would you guys disregard Marx, of all people, by claiming you are "Leninists"? That seemed, until now, the ONE thing we communists could agree upon, but no longer I guess.
Dylan James
Stalin's interpretation Lenin was shit, I don't want to call myself a Marxist-Leninist because I don't want to be associated with that bastardization of either. Where your wild fantasies of "disregarding Marx" by not sucking Stalin's cock come from I have no idea.
Leninism was a practical application of Marxist theory (as interpreted by Engles) outside of the set parameters that orthodox Marxism envisioned (a revolution outside of a Industrialized country), he didn't even want to have "What is to be Done?" translated because he (correctly) foresaw that people wouldn't get the circumstances under which it was written - by completely ignoring these two points and trying to make Leninism into a worldwide "next stage" of Marxist thought Stalin has already ceased being a Leninist.
Add to this the fact that Lenin did not believe socialism could be established in Russia without help from a (presumed) soon-to-follow revolt in the industrialized west. And it did happen, in Germany, Netherlands, and Hungary - but they all failed, and the Bolsheviks where left purposeless. It's on this basis that NEP was implemented, and Stalin's "Socialism in one Country" was a denial of this reality.
Christopher Martinez
u left out the part where he read the flyer lol
Nathaniel Diaz
so Zizek in not radical enough???
Jack Cruz
He says mean no-no words which makes him a fasco-centric brocialist.
Easton Hughes
well, they are correct about him being a right-Hegelian. Maybe not a nationalist, but he does fetishize Europe and notions of European secular liberalism.
Jace Phillips
He states the quite obvious fact that Marxism was born out of a western tradition of egalitarianism and universality.
There's no "fetishism" of secular liberalism like Habermas (which he frequently criticizes on just this position).
Brody Peterson
If Zizek were trying to construct his own system, that would be one thing, but he doesn't. He wavers and equivocates, tells some meaningless story, makes a pop culture reference, and says everything ish quite the opposhite and sho on. We should be like Bartleby, he repeats over and over again, and then without comment drops that line. We should study, study, study, we should think and not act. Now we should build a EU army and concentration camps for refugees, which is very much acting without thinking and nothing that Bartleby would do.
I have read a lot of Zizek, and there is nothing of substance there. The accussations are as based on Zizek's words as they can be, which is to say they've assembled his various stances and some statements, but you'sd need to be some kind of criminal psychologist to figure out those rambling manifestos.
Alexander Howard
Yui's just a hegalist who leans towards the libertarian side of socialism
t. an user on bunkerchan IRC
Evan Lee
*Hegelian my bad
Dylan Sanchez
Yeah! Another master wong fag! I watch his videos mostly because I just think he's an amusing lunatic. i also would not fight him.
Of course, if we call it a vast administrative network, it is benign, just like cramming people into tiny ass camps becomes benign when you are just telling people where to live.
But, you know, when he shays militarization, he means, you know, quite the opposhite and sho on, my god.
Carter Butler
...
Ryan Young
ebin maymay tbqh fam
Andrew Brooks
He is not for refugees being kept out, Zizek only advocates for a more organized less chaotic way to bring in these refugees. This current chaotic way of bringing them in, dismissing any critique of the current way as fascistic is only feeding the far right and increasing the popularity of toxic anti-immigrant views in European society. He has cleared this up in many of his talks and articles. youtu.be/eW4Rya8zHDk?t=1h2m23s
The advocating for airlifts is due to the fact that the many of the boats used by human traffickers to bring refugees into Europe are completely unseaworthy and causes thousands of deaths.
lol the very first reply is some asshurt idpol autist
Tyler Hughes
this chaotic way you mention is caused by the closed borders and the walls raised by europe people started crossing the aegean sea because the evros path was closed by both greece and turkey
Bentley Roberts
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Adrian Nelson
and not just sticking them all into one ghetto either.
Jace Murphy
Of course greater regulation and more administration can obviously only mean facism and concentration camps. Are you lolbertarian are something? That's an incredible leap logic. You're a stupid asshole.