There is a spectrum haunting C-SPAM. I, on the contrary,

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Wheeee: Mar 11, 2001; When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies.

Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life.

That which has become hard shall not triumph.

go for it

# ? Mar 16, 2016 06:51

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# ? May 26, 2024 21:00

R. Guyovich: Dec 25, 1991

this isn't the complete list (found here). i removed most of the non-essentials and some of the essentials, too. because sadly, we can't all be academics.

i'll put a :love:

next to the really really important stuff so you know what's a Top Pick from your old pal, the homework explainer

as far as "what should be read first," i would start with the basics i.e. marx and engels. go for the manifesto then maybe socialism utopian or scientific, then have at whatever. i started closer readings of marxist texts on the subjects most interesting to me, namely film, theater and literature and have since moved into histories and revolutionary theory. there isn't a "right path" for reading or texts and nobody but the most vulgar of dorks will look down on you for not having read something, because no one and i mean no one has read all this stuff.

McCaine posted:

A Very Personal Communist Bibliography

Works by Marx and Engels

The Condition of the Working Class in England (Friedrich Engels) � Classic of Engels; early political economy, lively description of, well, the condition of the working class in Manchester and elsewhere in 1844.

The German Ideology & Theses on Feuerbach (Marx/Engels) � Don't originally belong together but are often combined. First "Marxist" book, programmatic statement of historical materialism.

Manifesto of the Communist Party (Marx/ Engels) � Needs no introduction.

Preface to a Contribution to a Critique of Political Economy (Karl Marx) � Very brief, abstract, but famous summary of historical materialism. Only half a page.

Capital (3 vols) (Karl Marx) � Get the Penguin editions. Marx's critique of political economy.

Socialism: Utopian or Scientific? (Friedrich Engels) � A summary of the Anti-D�hring, classic statement of the significance of scientific socialism.

The Civil War in France (Karl Marx) � Marx's interpretation of the Paris Commune.

Critique of the Gotha Programme (Karl Marx) � Programmatic statement of the differences between Marx and Engels' views and those of state-oriented (left) social-democrats.

The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (Karl Marx) � Not as essential perhaps, but a classic of Marx's own history-writing, and thereby an example of what he and Engels considered good political history. Many memorable quotes.

The Origins of the Family, Private Property, and the State (Friedrich Engels) � An anthropological, historical materialist view of the early societies and the origins of the various structures of oppression and exploitation out of them. Perhaps the first feminist ideas in Marxism also.

Grundrisse (Karl Marx) � Again, get the Penguin edition. Marx's drafts, notes, and outtakes for Capital, as well as various musings on technology, political economy, labour, and so forth. Essential for the deeper level grounding.

Political Works by major Marxist politicians and secondary literature on the thought of major Marxist politicians

The Essential Works of Lenin (Lenin; ed. Henry Christman) � Cheap Dover edition of Lenin's main works in their standard English translations. Includes "The Development of Capitalism in Russia;" "What is to be Done?;" "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism;" "State and Revolution." These are Lenin's canonically major theoretical publications on political topics in his own lifetime.

On Practice and Contradiction (Mao Zedong; ed. Slavoj Zizek) � Mao's two main early texts on his theory of contradictions and their resolution in political practice. See also "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People" and Combat Liberalism. and here's a Homework Explainer Top Tip: don't read zizek's introduction to the texts if you opt for this edition. it'll gently caress up your understanding of mao big time!

Selections from the Prison Notebooks (Antonio Gramsci) � Selection of Gramsci's ideas on hegemony, ideological struggle, politics, etc.

The Black Panthers Speak (ed. Philip Foner) � Collection of the major texts of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. (note: revolutionary suicide is also cool.)

The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Malcolm Little; ed. Alex Haley) � Major political autobiography by a great American revolutionary.

Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder (Lenin) � Lengthy polemic, in the form of a series of thematic essays, by Lenin. Aimed against his Left Communist opponents, in particular in Germany and the Netherlands.

On Guerrilla Warfare (Mao Tse-Tung) � Mao on waging people's war. Rather abstracted and probably not of great use for most First Worlders, but still.

Thomas Sankara Speaks (Thomas Sankara; ed. Michael Prairie) � Collection of the (few) speeches and statements by Sankara, revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso, on anti-imperialism and the like.

it's not on the original list, but i'd also recommend "on the opposition" and "anarchism or socialism?" by one j.v. stalin.

Marxist (and other useful) political economy, history of economics, and the like

The Limits to Capital (David Harvey) � Lengthy analysis of the nature of capital and capitalism based on Marx's "Capital," with a particular focus on uneven development and geographical distribution.

A Companion to Marx's Capital (David Harvey) � Based on his YouTube lectures, a guide to the reading of Capital, mainly vol. 1. Strong on the conceptual structure of the book and the contradictions inherent in capitalist accumulation, including money and finance, but not as good a guide on value theory.

Debt: The First 5000 Years (David Graeber) � Anarchist anthropologist Graeber's magnum opus on debt, money, obligation, and the history of economic institutions. Rewards a careful and critical reading. Not a Marxist text and by no means wholly reliable, but very stimulating and original, destined to be a classic.

Reclaiming Marx's Capital (Andrew Kliman) � Important, if technical, work on Marx's value theory. Refutes 99% of all the objections to it you'll ever hear or read.

History, historiography, etc., except of topics specified elsewhere

Late Victorian Holocausts (Mike Davis) � A provocative title, but don't let that put you off. Brilliantly puts the liberal political economy of 19th and early 20th century imperialism and colonialism in context, shows its murderous implications many times worse than the "monsters" of communism, and relates all this to the emerging science of systems theory besides. Will make you hate economic liberalism, however nice sounding, forever.

Settlers: Mythology of the White Proletariat (J. Sakai) � Essential classic of Third Worldist theory and the Marxist theory of settlerism. Not reliable on every detail, but a revolutionary work in every sense of the word.

Labour Aristocracy: Mass Base of Social-Democracy (H.W. Edwards) � Another major text of the Third Worldist viewpoint. Makes the crucial argument for the origins and nature of social-democracy as arising out of imperialist rent.

Age of Revolution 1789-1848, Age of Capital 1848-1875, Age of Empire 1875-1914 and Age of Extremes 1914-1989 (Eric Hobsbawm) � Perhaps the authoritative Marxist history of the modern age in four successive parts. An essential reference point for debates in Marxist interpretation of the recent past.

Open Veins of Latin America (Eduardo Galeano) � Essential reading on the colonization and underdevelopment of Latin America.

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Ilan Papp�) � Not Marxist per se, but a standard work on the origins and nature of the settler state Israel and their oppression and exclusion of the Palestinians, with of course major repercussions in global politics.

King Leopold's Ghost (Adam Hochschild) � Popular anti-imperialist history of Belgian colonialism and the colonial debates.

Philosophy and Theory

Aesthetics and Politics (Adorno, Benjamin, Bloch, Brecht, and Luk�cs) - Great Verso collection of the debates between these major Marxist philosophers before the war on aesthetic and political topics.

The Dialectic of Enlightenment (Adorno and Horkheimer) - Fundamental text of the Frankfurter Schule: reflections on fascism, liberalism, and technology in the wake of the Holocaust.

The Society of the Spectacle (Guy Debord) � Perhaps the central text of the Situationist movement and in some ways the most serious theoretical reflection on the worldview of 1968 (it was written in 1967). See also Comments on the Society of the Spectacle, though this is not as interesting.

Orientalism and Culture and Imperialism (Edward Said) � Not at all Marxist, but obligatory classics on understanding Eurocentrism and orientalism in culture and ideology at a conceptual level.

Postmodernism: The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (Fredric Jameson) � Difficult, but rewarding classic on postmodern culture from a Marxist viewpoint.

Jean-Paul Sartre: Basic Writings (Jean-Paul Sartre; ed. Stephen Priest) � The father of Marxist existentialism on freedom, art, politics, etc.

Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays (Louis Althusser) � Can't stand him personally (note: smdh), but by many Althusser is considered a major figure in postwar Marxist history and philosophy.

Liberalism: A Counter-History (Domenico Losurdo) - Excellent historical analysis of liberal thought from a Marxist perspective, showing its essence, strengths, and limitations.

Illuminations: Essays and Reflections (Walter Benjamin; ed. Hannah Arendt) � Selection from the best essays by the great messianic Marxist thinker Benjamin, including his essential pieces �The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction� and �Theses on the Philosophy of History." Top Tip: you only really need to read the two named essays, which i . namaste.

The Wretched of the Earth (Frantz Fanon) � Classic statement of anti-colonial Marxism, on the need for revolutionary violence against colonialism, etc. See also "A Dying Colonialism."

Black Skin, White Masks (Frantz Fanon) � Fanon on racism and the psychology of colonialism.

On the USSR

Farm to Factory (Robert C. Allen) � Brilliant work by a major liberal economic historian demonstrating the enormous superiority of the Soviet planning policies of the 1920s and 1930s, up to Khrushchev's time, compared to any realistic alternative. Will shock your worldview if you're used to the Western portrayal of Soviet economic policy as hopeless from the start.

Ten Days That Shook the World (John Reed) � The canonical novelization of the experience of the Russian Revolution.

not on the original list, but "is the red flag flying?" and "human rights in the ussr" by al szymanski and "socialism betrayed" by roger keeran and thomas kenny are also what i'd consider essentials.

On China and Korea

The Transformation of Chinese Socialism (Lin Chun) � Great book on the attempts to build socialism, development, and national unity in the Maoist period, and the changed aims and methods in how these are dealt with in the Deng period and since.

The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World Economy (Li Minqi) � Marxisant world systems analysis of the rise of capitalist China and how this not only reorients the world system towards Asia, but also further contributes to the decline in the rate of profit and thereby forces capitalism to the limits of its ability to expand.

Fanshen and Shenfan (William Hinton) � In-depth, personal chronicle of the transformation of a Chinese village during the Maoist period and after.

Race to the Swift (Jung-En Woo) � On Korean development, and why it had everything to do with planning and imperialism and little with miracles of the market.

The Korean War (Bruce Cumings) � Progressive standard work on the forgotten war.

Red Star Over China (Edgar Snow) � Popular and readable narrative of the Communist struggle in China against the KMT, landlordism, and the Japanese in the 1930s.

# ? Mar 16, 2016 07:45

Wheeee: Mar 11, 2001; When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies.

Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life.

That which has become hard shall not triumph.

you a good man, homework explainer, a good man

# ? Mar 16, 2016 08:21

Mofabio: May 15, 2003; (y - mx)*(1/(inf))*(PV/RT)*(2.718)*(V/I)

Wheeee posted:

nothing's stopping you from finding out tomorrow

*spits fingernail* AM�I�BEING�DETAINED

edit�thx�for�summer�backpacking�reads

Mofabio fucked around with this message at 08:28 on Mar 16, 2016

# ? Mar 16, 2016 08:21

goatse.cx: Nov 21, 2013

I'm reading the beenie sanders thread and the one lesson they took away from this ordeal is that 'we can still transform the Democratic Party if we try harder in the future! look how close we got this time!' :downsbravo:

# ? Mar 16, 2016 10:38

HorseLord: Aug 26, 2014

probably better than seeing them go balls out for hope and change and then spend 8 years explaining why being as identically imperialist as the previous guy is actually good

# ? Mar 16, 2016 12:39

R. Guyovich: Dec 25, 1991

goatse.cx posted:

I'm reading the beenie sanders thread and the one lesson they took away from this ordeal is that 'we can still transform the Democratic Party if we try harder in the future! look how close we got this time!'

you'd think sheepdogging were real, with that kind of attitude prevailing!

# ? Mar 16, 2016 17:29

Mofabio: May 15, 2003; (y - mx)*(1/(inf))*(PV/RT)*(2.718)*(V/I)

adding to the bookchat list:

if you want to understand where western patriarchy came from:
Caliban and the Witch (pdf)
basically you spend a hundred years waging a terror campaign across europe and the new world, kill 200,000 women, make their daughters watch them burn, strip them of their traditional jobs as healers and midwifery, strip them of property, decriminalize rape, all to turn women into little worker factories. a marxist analysis of women's transition to capitalism. also a great history on peasant uprisings.

if you want to understand the last great western general strike:
May 68 And Its Afterlives
about 1/3 about the maoist roots of may 68 and the algerian question background, and 2/3 about the later reaction of french New Philosophers, the May running dogs who'd trot out lies over the next decades, and how france in general recharacterized May from a genuine revolutionary moment to individualist youth rebelling against their parents. Kristin Ross is an excellent writer and it's a dang quick read for what it is

if you want to understand the last great american general strike:
Black Reconstruction
just started this one so no big thoughts, but it took almost a century for history to acknowledge a black man was right: the slaves freed themselves via general strike, as the union pushed further south

if you want to understand early capitalism:
Empire of Cotton
goes really really well with late victorian holocausts. why was the first indian holocaust in 1877? because in response to the US civil war cotton famine, the raj built infrastructure to convert the indian countryside to commodity production. book is pretty liberal, but since marxism is scientific, that just means you have to translate its facts and events into your framework yourself

75% women and people of color

good stuff to alt-tab to when you're supposed to be working

# ? Mar 16, 2016 22:53

R. Guyovich: Dec 25, 1991

Mofabio posted:

adding to the bookchat list:

if you want to understand where western patriarchy came from:
Caliban and the Witch (pdf)
basically you spend a hundred years waging a terror campaign across europe and the new world, kill 200,000 women, make their daughters watch them burn, strip them of their traditional jobs as healers and midwifery, strip them of property, decriminalize rape, all to turn women into little worker factories. a marxist analysis of women's transition to capitalism. also a great history on peasant uprisings.

if you want to understand the last great western general strike:
May 68 And Its Afterlives
about 1/3 about the maoist roots of may 68 and the algerian question background, and 2/3 about the later reaction of french New Philosophers, the May running dogs who'd trot out lies over the next decades, and how france in general recharacterized May from a genuine revolutionary moment to individualist youth rebelling against their parents. Kristin Ross is an excellent writer and it's a dang quick read for what it is

if you want to understand the last great american general strike:
Black Reconstruction
just started this one so no big thoughts, but it took almost a century for history to acknowledge a black man was right: the slaves freed themselves via general strike, as the union pushed further south

if you want to understand early capitalism:
Empire of Cotton
goes really really well with late victorian holocausts. why was the first indian holocaust in 1877? because in response to the US civil war cotton famine, the raj built infrastructure to convert the indian countryside to commodity production. book is pretty liberal, but since marxism is scientific, that just means you have to translate its facts and events into your framework yourself

75% women and people of color

good stuff to alt-tab to when you're supposed to be working

that's some good stuff mate. caliban and the witch is on the original list and i didn't include it because i hadn't gotten to it yet. still finishing up settlers atm.

# ? Mar 17, 2016 20:45

oystertoadfish: Jun 17, 2003

i spergposted about empire of cotton earlier itt i really liked that book

its not marxist but the concept of 'war capitalism' it espouses is certainly not, like friedmanesque. thomas or milton

edit vv oh y0 im a lapsed catholic too. i live literally 650 ft from a church so i still go sometimes. dont know much about liberation theology tho. my favorite catholic-related work of literature is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_and_the_Glory (spoilers i guess) i think its a really good novel

oystertoadfish fucked around with this message at 06:50 on Mar 18, 2016

# ? Mar 17, 2016 20:50

Yadoppsi: May 10, 2009

While we are on book chat. Can any of you recommend some or talk about Liberation Theology? As a lapsed Catholic this article caught my eye:

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/9/22/pope-embraces-liberation-theology.html

A theology is obviously not going to reach its conclusions thru historical materialism so is it really an ally of socialism?

Searching for related information led me to The Catholic Worker Movement. A chapter is only one city away from me so I'm going to check them out next day off. Better than sitting around Marxistly on the internet all day.

EDIT: \/ \/ Here's that blog post fyi

Yadoppsi fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Mar 18, 2016

# ? Mar 18, 2016 03:47

goatse.cx: Nov 21, 2013

I'd love reading about that as well. I read about liberation theology in mccaines blog and he seemed to think that it's for chumps.

# ? Mar 18, 2016 03:58

R. Guyovich: Dec 25, 1991

i haven't read much about it but honestly if your aim is to build workers' power in the center of imperial reaction, can you afford to be picky?

# ? Mar 18, 2016 06:37

rudatron: May 31, 2011; by Fluffdaddy

it should be seen as a sometimes-ally and not a core of a movement

# ? Mar 19, 2016 10:14

Jewel Repetition: Dec 24, 2012; Ask me about Briar Rose and Chicken Chaser.

Y'all are crazy. Just thought I'd say that since I hadn't in a while.

# ? Mar 22, 2016 10:28

rudatron: May 31, 2011; by Fluffdaddy

I'm sane, its everyone else on earth I'm worried about.

# ? Mar 22, 2016 11:59

R. Guyovich: Dec 25, 1991

Jewel Repetition posted:

Y'all are crazy. Just thought I'd say that since I hadn't in a while.

cool, you can go back to loving off now

# ? Mar 22, 2016 16:01

R. Guyovich: Dec 25, 1991

get on this train while you still can comrades, the socialism sex parade is in full swing

# ? Mar 22, 2016 22:47

Top City Homo: Oct 15, 2014; Ramrod XTreme

socialism is sexy? now is my time

i tried all the engels and finally there is a way that will hit the marx

# ? Mar 22, 2016 23:23

Mofabio: May 15, 2003; (y - mx)*(1/(inf))*(PV/RT)*(2.718)*(V/I)

no�more�seizing�my�means�of�reproduction

# ? Mar 23, 2016 04:21

goatse.cx: Nov 21, 2013

Ok, after the discussion earlier in the thread I've done more reading on China, and I'm much more willing to entertain the idea that China is some 'compromise' form of socialism. Namely (1) the state has complete control over investment via ownership of all the major banks, effectively a form of central planning (2) objectively impressive achievement in poverty eradication, health and education especially compared to Eastern European ex-Soviet states where capitalism DID revive and all those indices fell (3) successfully averted the 2008 finance collapse, showing that the capitalist law of value do not yet prevail in its economy.

With that said, the ideological decay both Inside the party and the general populace is absolutely severe and if you read any news article about China recently you would learn that the cause of the recent slump in Chinese economy has been identified as 'excessive productivity' and privitization and closure of state enterprises is being proudly pushed by Xi and the CCP leadership as the solution. Also just a couple of days ago the premier li keqiang met with Christianne lagarde where he promised further financialization of the Chinese economy and more integration with world market. I guess it could be the case that they're just saying what the west want to hear but I doubt it.

goatse.cx fucked around with this message at 10:05 on Mar 23, 2016

# ? Mar 23, 2016 09:58

jarofpiss: May 16, 2009

goatse.cx posted:

Ok, after the discussion earlier in the thread I've done more reading on China, and I'm much more willing to entertain the idea that China is some 'compromise' form of socialism. Namely (1) the state has complete control over investment via ownership of all the major banks, effectively a form of central planning (2) objectively impressive achievement in poverty eradication, health and education especially compared to Eastern European ex-Soviet states where capitalism DID revive and all those indices fell (3) successfully averted the 2008 finance collapse, showing that the capitalist law of value do not yet prevail in its economy.

With that said, the ideological decay both Inside the party and the general populace is absolutely severe and if you read any news article about China recently you would learn that the cause of the recent slump in Chinese economy has been identified as 'excessive productivity' and privitization and closure of state enterprises is being proudly pushed by Xi and the CCP leadership as the solution. Also just a couple of days ago the premier li keqiang met with Christianne lagarde where he promised further financialization of the Chinese economy and more integration with world market. I guess it could be the case that they're just saying what the west want to hear but I doubt it.

yeah i mean china still being socialist doesn't mean we can't criticize it, though we need to acknowledge imperialism's likely influence on these developments. but when talking about this stuff with anticoms it's important to put up a united front.

# ? Mar 23, 2016 20:00

Mofabio: May 15, 2003; (y - mx)*(1/(inf))*(PV/RT)*(2.718)*(V/I)

DOCTOR ZIMBARDO posted:

stupid stupid liberals

i wish liberals would think about and apply liberal values to the workplace. a workplace with free speech, a free press by workers, elections for bosses and CEOs, right to appeal punishments, pay and position equality, and a social contract instead of individual contracts and you're on the red road to socialism, brother

but like jewel repetition said, challenging the authoritarian structure of the workplace is for goddamn crazies

# ? Mar 23, 2016 20:15

Yadoppsi: May 10, 2009

Really cool update!

I visited the Catholic Worker's chapter near me and it was pretty standard stuff: food drives, helping people get their GEDs and find employment etc. But one of the people I talked too is involved with Occupy Canton. I stopped going to Occupy after the big rallies in the city center died down but she and others formed a small working group that had its HQ in the city library. Their were part of the lobbying effort and succeeded to get Canton to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code. More enforcement and inspectors have been hired and slumlords are starting to be dragged into court.

Nowadays OC is canvasing neighborhoods to find abused tenants and help them file formal complaints to start the legal process. Its small steps but it's measurably helping people. I've volunteered to help on my weekends. It helps that the city council is on our side. Investment capital is pouring into the city through the Football Hall of Fame and it wants the city cleaned up. We just need to keep the political pressure on the slumlords rather than "bad tenants."

# ? Mar 23, 2016 21:07

rudecyrus: Nov 6, 2009; fuck you trolls

Bernie's best hope at this point is to keep Clinton from getting the 2,382 pledged delegates needed to lock in the nomination. And then hope that the superdelegates will swing over to his side. Which won't happen, but I wish him the best.

# ? Mar 23, 2016 21:13

R. Guyovich: Dec 25, 1991

Yadoppsi posted:

Really cool update!

I visited the Catholic Worker's chapter near me and it was pretty standard stuff: food drives, helping people get their GEDs and find employment etc. But one of the people I talked too is involved with Occupy Canton. I stopped going to Occupy after the big rallies in the city center died down but she and others formed a small working group that had its HQ in the city library. Their were part of the lobbying effort and succeeded to get Canton to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code. More enforcement and inspectors have been hired and slumlords are starting to be dragged into court.

Nowadays OC is canvasing neighborhoods to find abused tenants and help them file formal complaints to start the legal process. Its small steps but it's measurably helping people. I've volunteered to help on my weekends. It helps that the city council is on our side. Investment capital is pouring into the city through the Football Hall of Fame and it wants the city cleaned up. We just need to keep the political pressure on the slumlords rather than "bad tenants."

this is really cool, comrade. keep up the good work

rudecyrus posted:

Bernie's best hope at this point is to keep Clinton from getting the 2,382 pledged delegates needed to lock in the nomination. And then hope that the superdelegates will swing over to his side. Which won't happen, but I wish him the best.

i'm assuming this is wrong thread

# ? Mar 23, 2016 22:15

DOCTOR ZIMBARDO: May 8, 2006

I am on my way to a worker advocacy clinic where I will volunteer to try to help workers organize and learn how to advocate for themselves in the hideously pro-boss american legal system. However I did not make any progress on my goal of putting together a fundraiser. On the bright side I had someone suggest forming a PAC lol.

e: also on the home front my sweet old aunt Joanie is resharing Jacobin articles about antifascism from my fb wall lol.

# ? Mar 23, 2016 22:44

Top City Homo: Oct 15, 2014; Ramrod XTreme

Yadoppsi posted:

Really cool update!

I visited the Catholic Worker's chapter near me and it was pretty standard stuff: food drives, helping people get their GEDs and find employment etc. But one of the people I talked too is involved with Occupy Canton. I stopped going to Occupy after the big rallies in the city center died down but she and others formed a small working group that had its HQ in the city library. Their were part of the lobbying effort and succeeded to get Canton to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code. More enforcement and inspectors have been hired and slumlords are starting to be dragged into court.

Nowadays OC is canvasing neighborhoods to find abused tenants and help them file formal complaints to start the legal process. Its small steps but it's measurably helping people. I've volunteered to help on my weekends. It helps that the city council is on our side. Investment capital is pouring into the city through the Football Hall of Fame and it wants the city cleaned up. We just need to keep the political pressure on the slumlords rather than "bad tenants."

alot of good can be done on the city local level

although sometimes the state legislature comes in and fucks its all up

# ? Mar 24, 2016 04:31

Yadoppsi: May 10, 2009

Homework Explainer posted:

yeah i mean china still being socialist doesn't mean we can't criticize it, though we need to acknowledge imperialism's likely influence on these developments. but when talking about this stuff with anticoms it's important to put up a united front.

Oh for sure, i'm just really anxious about the country's future is all. Stalin was absolutely correct about one thing: should the soviet union ever fall, the world would be gripped by a hundred years of the darkest reaction. that is most certainly what we're living through right now.

# ? Mar 25, 2016 16:52

Enjoy: Apr 18, 2009

goatse.cx posted:

Oh for sure, i'm just really anxious about the country's future is all. Stalin was absolutely correct about one thing: should the soviet union ever fall, the world would be gripped by a hundred years of the darkest reaction. that is most certainly what we're living through right now.

Depends what you mean by reaction, decolonisation hasn't been reversed and many of the military and fascist dictatorships have liberalised

# ? Mar 26, 2016 02:25

R. Guyovich: Dec 25, 1991

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3rLzAHj1Jo

it's time to get educated, comrades

# ? Mar 26, 2016 18:21

Top City Homo: Oct 15, 2014; Ramrod XTreme

Yadoppsi posted:

That's what I hope. I'm going to geek out a bit because I love my city and all politics is local.

Canton, OH has seen better days and has fallen pretty far from the days it was known as the birthplace of president McKinley or later "Little Chicago." Like most of the Rust Belt, Canton was hit hard by de-industrialization. Then after the great recession hit the city was kicked in the balls when Kaisch's state government hoovered up much of the revenue that once stayed local. (An aside, don't believe for a second Kaisch's moderate image on the repub primary campaign trail. The only difference between him and Walker is that our unions were strong enough to beat back his busting with a popular referendum.)

At the worst Canton's poverty rate was 27% threes times as much as the national average.. The rebound came agonizing slowly. It started when an eclectic group of bohemians, LGBTs, and young professionals got together and created the Arts District seven years ago. It made the downtown core more than a collection of brick streets around government buildings and businesses but someplace you might want to hang out even live close to? With that came First Friday, on the first Friday of the month there would be a themed party in the core. Maybe I'm looking back with blurred vision but that was the start I think of more people realizing they were neighbors and a community and that things could change. I dunno.

Its been slow and steady. And things still aren't perfect by any means. Fully a third of Canton's families can't afford to by a house and have to rent instead, leading to issues with slumlords I mentioned last post. Our mayor tried to entrench himself this November by changing the city charter from a mayor-council to a strong mayor system but we voted the charter down and voted the mayor out.

Despite living in the thick of what my suburban coworkers would call the ghetto I have hope. Density is increasing as young people move back into the city. The police are now heavily involved in community outreach and old-timers tell me how much less visible and common crime is. Tenants are being educated about their rights and slumlords are being cracked down upon. Canton, Ohio can become great again.

good job. if you imagine your city as the only thing that exists you can focus your policy to get it to its best possible state

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waves_of_Economic_Development#Sustainable_Local_Economic_Development_.28SLED.29

# ? Mar 26, 2016 21:45

HorseLord: Aug 26, 2014

Enjoy posted:

Depends what you mean by reaction, decolonisation hasn't been reversed and many of the military and fascist dictatorships have liberalised

lol you think decolonalization happened

what happened was it shifted back from "Our government runs your government" to the modern equivalents of The East India Company owning your economy

# ? Mar 27, 2016 05:20

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# ? May 26, 2024 21:00

Enjoy: Apr 18, 2009

HorseLord posted:

lol you think decolonalization happened

what happened was it shifted back from "Our government runs your government" to the modern equivalents of The East India Company owning your economy

Truly, when the Belgians stopped hacking the limbs from Congolese farmers, that was a day of darkest reaction

# ? Mar 27, 2016 06:16

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > Comedy Goldmine > The Goodmine > There is a spectrum haunting C-SPAM. I, on the contrary,

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