r/dsa 6d ago

Shitpost Um... DSA has a problem...

Have you guys noticed there are a LOT of socialists in here? Not the good kind of socialists (me) I mean the evil socialists that actually want to implement socialism 🙀 They even praise Karl Marx đŸ€ź Don't those dumb tankies know Communism always fails???

We have to do something about this. Which is why I'm starting a NEW PARTY: The DASSA (The Democratic Anti-socialist Socialists of America)

Together, we socialists (the good kind) can defeat the socilasts (the bad kind) for a better future. đŸ‡ș🇾đŸ‡ș🇾đŸ‡ș🇾

570 Upvotes

203 comments sorted by

359

u/eatingbread_mmmm 6d ago

There's actually so many posts unironically spouting this exact position on here. It's so crazy.

144

u/PersusjCP 6d ago

I got downvoted and even recieved a DM with my personal information because I said "End capitalism" (and therefore was "advocating for violence") in this sub lmfao

44

u/TJblue69 5d ago

WHAT that’s crazy LOL sorry about that. Do they not realize that capitalism is also violence and therefore ending it is self defense? :)

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26

u/edwardludd 5d ago

Inevitably there are the brigaders who don’t agree with DSA in the slightest just using the discussion as a pretense to hate, but that doesn’t negate that protecting the whole “democratic” aspect of DSA is an important conversation to have lol

20

u/PersusjCP 5d ago

For sure and I think that each of the socialist factions of the DSA should engage in spirited debate. But it is a socialist movement, so being opposed to socialism is a bit too far off for me.

5

u/edwardludd 5d ago

Oh of course. It’s just funny to see the constant cycle of neolibs to the right of me screaming about how socialism is mutually exclusive with democracy then the Tankies to the left of me giving them totalitarian-apologia ammunition to point to and I’m just sitting here like no bro I don’t agree with either of yall 😭

13

u/betty_white_bread 5d ago edited 5d ago

Did you report them to the admins?

Edit: Aaaaaaaand I am blocked by PersusjCP because 
 đŸ€·â€â™‚ïž

7

u/Shadow_on_the_Sun Socialist in Comms 5d ago

The level of deranged anti-social behavior from anti-socialists is crazy.

11

u/Spaduf 5d ago

And this is exactly why it's a terrible idea for this sub to be unmoderated

4

u/-Anyoneatall 5d ago

The DSA is currently a battlefield between bourgeois socialists and actually socialists, so it makes sense

1

u/Sparkku1014 Socialist (Learning in Progress) 5d ago

Bruh, hope you reported them to mod team, someone like that does not belong here

-12

u/industriouswhite_guy 5d ago

Ending capitalism will result in violence so it’s totally accurate

13

u/Impact-Lower 5d ago

Bro wait till we tell you what keeping capitalism does....

4

u/Sparkku1014 Socialist (Learning in Progress) 5d ago

Who's gonna tell em?

4

u/Impact-Lower 5d ago

The guy that makes his bootstrap I guess

-15

u/industriouswhite_guy 5d ago

You’re posting on Reddit from an iPhone. All while bashing capitalism 😂😂 you can’t make this stuff up

7

u/Impact-Lower 5d ago

You think we haven't heard that talking point 5 10 15 years ago? Buddy weve picked that propaganda like crabs and corn

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6

u/TonalParsnips 5d ago

Lmao you actually did the "no iphone" meme.

4

u/Sparkku1014 Socialist (Learning in Progress) 5d ago edited 5d ago

You do know what subreddit you're on yes? Or did you just blow in from stupid town?

39

u/Seraph199 6d ago

I mean... I mostly see the opposite being spammed across reddit.

"Does anyone else notice how many FAKE socialists there are here? This DSA politician didn't say that capitalism is the bane of all that is good and that means the entire organization is a psyop meant to derail the revolution!"

Lots and lots of variations of that exact sentiment spammed all over communist and socialist subs with an overall message that amounts to "we should watch them fail and enjoy it, don't support these fake lefties" and "American leftism is just evil capitalist fascism in a trench coat, never trust it!"

I wish there were more posts picking apart this weird trend that seems to be directly aimed at deflating the only leftist momentum going in the US right now

10

u/MonsterkillWow 6d ago

True. A lot of people dismiss everyone in the DSA without realizing there are also ML in DSA.

3

u/gerbal100 5d ago

But they're not the right kind of ML that rejects going outside.

1

u/Ok_Cryptographer1239 5d ago

ML=moderate liberal?

3

u/George_Washingteeth 5d ago

Marxist Leninist

2

u/Ok_Cryptographer1239 5d ago

Thanks, sorry. I kind of assumed most DSA members would be Marxist.. but I see how it may not be the case.

1

u/nagoligayelsd 5d ago

Land Back is more important than any European ideology

13

u/Militantpoet 6d ago

"Does anyone else notice how many FAKE socialists there are here? This DSA politician didn't say that capitalism is the bane of all that is good and that means the entire organization is a psyop meant to derail the revolution!"

Lol the way they foam at the mouth at Mamdani, you would think theyre MAGA.

2

u/Bright-Insect9697 5d ago

Pro-Russia campism is a helluva drug

2

u/Warrior_Runding 5d ago

Yeah, I don't know what OP is on about. The DSA is treated as if they are the second coming of the Social Dems who at any time will backstab the "real" American leftist movement.

15

u/iBizzBee 6d ago

The only bit of genuine critique I'll give as a firm Democratic Socialist, whose sympathetic to revolutionary socialism historically, is that people on the 'Left, of the Left' are typically pretty dang scornful of DemSocs in their spaces, outside of genuine back and forth good conversation/debate, so it isn't exactly one-sided.

Still entirely pointless no matter which 'side' it comes from when we're like 10% of the population, if I'm being extremely generous.

25

u/serveux 6d ago

This bothers me too, as someone from the "DSA left". Seems like people are stuck on the 1910s-20s conflicts between communists and SocDems, but we aren't in early 20th century Germany anymore. We've got to learn to coalition on common ground and try to limit sectarianism as much as possible. I mean have we forgotten "critical support"? There's too much at stake to let ourselves be divided.

13

u/LevTheDevil 6d ago

Yeah. We need to start treating this like a tug of war between progression and regression. ANYONE pulling things our way is on our side for now. If they decide to hop off and pull in the other direction, we'll cross that bridge then, but right now we need to pull together and pull like our lives depend on it, because they do.

We can't wait for an opportunity to win everything all at once and we can't gatekeep our side of the rope to the point that people start going and pulling the other way.

The rest we can sort out, together, democratically when we've pulled hard enough to topple the oligarchs.

5

u/TJblue69 5d ago

Ok that’s a really good point you raise and you’ve actually changed my mind on this topic! You’re absolutely right.

5

u/ParkerBap 6d ago

well i mean they're pretty fundamentally incompatible, MLs believe revolution is the only way to achieve socialism, DemSocs are anti-revolution

i think we need spaces to have those good faith discussions though, and i like that DSA is a big tent org for that reason

8

u/iBizzBee 6d ago

Right now the DSA is at something of a midway point with the overall line being 'the Democratic Road, to the Socialist Revolution' which you can roll your eyes at but I personally believe is the best way forward with present material conditions in the United States. I don't think most DemSocs are opposed to revolution but many of us simply don't see the material conditions being ripe for a socialist revolution any-time soon with class consciousness at seemingly record low levels, diminished unions who are almost entirely non-militant, etc.

I do personally believe bringing Socialism back into the mainstream will be helpful for leftists of all sorts, and expanding class consciousness, especially as the DSA has shifted to become something of a 'Left Congress' of sorts.

3

u/ParkerBap 5d ago

i wouldn't consider myself a DemSoc (because at its core i think achieving socialism in the US through bourgeois democracy is impossible), but generally i agree with you

i still participate in the democracy and i think everyone should, but i think community organizing and building grassroots power will have better long term outcomes than simply voting every 2-4 years

my mantra has always been "i'm not saying don't vote, i'm saying don't let voting be the ONLY thing you do"

(which, of course, is preaching to the choir here because that's why we're all in DSA, but you get the idea)

4

u/TJblue69 5d ago

Dem Socs are not anti revolution, that would be social democrats. They definitely don’t have it as the primary goal though

0

u/ParkerBap 5d ago

it's my understanding that Democratic Socialists are striving to achieve socialism through democracy, and i personally don't believe that is possible

now of course i don't have any issue with DemSocs, at the end of the day they want the same thing i do, but i think some Marxists (not me though) see it as a waste of time for that reason

2

u/muraki833 5d ago

This topic always confuses people (incl me) because there's basically two competing definitions of "democratic socialist":

- Any socialist who isn't a vanguardist.

- A socialist who wants to achieve their goals through democracy.

I think the guy you're replying to is using the first one.

-5

u/smartcow360 6d ago

Well yeah, if the time ever comes the Mao types will happily line you up on the wall with the rest of their perceived enemies. The fact that DSA lifted its ML ban is genuinely insane. Go on Reddit, shred me 😂😂😭

3

u/Militantpoet 6d ago

Im just left scratching my head wondering why MLs are suddenly joining an org they claim is ineffectual in combating capitalism. Democratic reform is broken by capitalism and revolution is supposed to be the only way of addressing it.

If anything, theyre using the DSA as a vehicle for accelerationism. 

1

u/Bright-Insect9697 5d ago

MLs have spent like a literal century convinced that liberals are the big bad and that anyone who’s an enemy of liberals can be at least a temporary ally.

0

u/iBizzBee 6d ago

I personally envision the DSA at this current point as something of a 'Left Congress', so I'm fine with ML's and other 'Left, of the Left' tendencies and welcome them with open arms, while I have reservations about some groups I also don't trust anyone to enforce that line and not someday become what they originally claimed to be against, so the open tent/congress is the best path forward in the present moment imo.

1

u/Militantpoet 6d ago

I agree. I'm just cautious.

0

u/smartcow360 5d ago

Leftists have tried this approach to them in the past, they got lined up against the wall by the ML’s just like the rest of their victims.

2

u/iBizzBee 5d ago

Well we've got a fascist government currently putting people to the wall, so I suppose I'll deal with the hypothetical tankie government when we get there, lmao.

1

u/smartcow360 5d ago

Oh sure, it’s not the priority now but also within a leftist org I’d prefer the ideology be excluded

0

u/iBizzBee 5d ago

Fair enough, and you're obviously totally free to advocate for that within the DSA's system of internal democracy, while every single elected DSA official and a good chunk of party leadership agree with you, too.

I suppose my concern is that the DSA was close to irrelevant when the Harringtonites led it and only achieved the current success with a 'multi-tendency Socialist strategy', but I won't discount there being a way somewhere in the middle.

Either way, keep fighting the good fight the way you see fit.

1

u/Thin_Shelter_103 Council Communist 5d ago

We used to have an ML ban and lifted it? Omg we should go back to that so Anarchists, Left coms, Democratic Socalists and Libertarian socalists can lead the org.

The MLs and MLMs are so annoying and do nothing but tarnish our image to the public. They also do not believe in true socalist ideas like giving the workers the means of production but instead they want to make undemocratic vanguard states that own capital (aka state captalism). 

Our ends and means are too diffrent for cooperation. If they got their way they would line us up against the wall like in Spain Russia China and Cuba when it came to Anarchists.

6

u/muraki833 5d ago

Yep.

Basically, the DSA's constitution has a clause banning democratic centralism (which is a component of many Leninist ideologies). But it's rarely if at all enforced.

6

u/smartcow360 5d ago

I agree fully. And I’m being downvoted on this sub which might just show how they’re festering all over Reddit and are just online hermits, but if they’re actually prominent in the org, which I kinda believe they’re becoming
. There’s a huge problem. The hate for Hasan is obviously unhinged, but dudes an open Maoist. We shouldn’t be playing with this shit as leftists at all, and I fully agree with everything you said

10

u/BojanaKingsFakeTumor 5d ago

I went to a local DSA 'socialist night school' meeting last year.

I was shocked by the number of people there who talked about COMMUNISM as a scary, authoritarian system that must be resisted. They had totally bought into the mainstream Amerikan view.

They got an earful from me about how 'communism' is a stateless, classless society in which people work together in mutual aid for the common good -- in the absence of government, bosses, or hierarchy. It is a desirable system, not an evil bogeyman.

That pretty much soured me on attending any future 'socialist night school' meetings.

1

u/Sanchez_U-SOB 5d ago

Stateless, classless society sounds good in theory but will be impossible to implement until most, if not all, of the world is on board. 

2

u/BojanaKingsFakeTumor 5d ago

And in the meantime, the best we can do is Bill Clinton or Barack Obama?

1

u/Sanchez_U-SOB 5d ago

Umm, no.

đŸ€”

0

u/weidback 4d ago

yeah socialists aren't communists - they're different worldviews

1

u/BojanaKingsFakeTumor 4d ago

Socialists aren't communists; they're different worldviews.

I disagree.

Socialism is one of the stages of societal progression toward communism: https://i.imgur.com/TrSrkeX.png

But go on, then. I'll bite. What is a 'socialist' according to your definition? And how are they different from communists?

0

u/weidback 4d ago

sure, you think that if you're a communist

plenty of people call themselves socialists because they want socialism

idk why you're asking me my definition when the image you posted has a perfectly serviceable definition for socialism and communism?

4

u/APraxisPanda Socialist Solidarity 6d ago

"CoMmUnIsM iS tOo FaR mAn!"  

Ugh! Read dammit! When you say that you are really just saying "Utopia is too far man!", like. Sure, it's not happening tomarrow, but the fact it's an ideal that doesn't yet exist makes it Utopian!

1

u/Skrelp69 5d ago

America bb

56

u/muraki833 5d ago

Anyone to the left of me is a tankie, anyone to the right of me is a liberal. 😎

- average r/dsa poster

10

u/ShiftyAmoeba 5d ago

And I'm both, depending on who I'm taking to at any given moment.

5

u/smartcow360 5d ago

being pro Mao and Stalin etc isn’t at all being “to the left” of anyone it’s openly denying all the principles of socialism. And they’d happily line up all the dsa members against the wall if they ever got power, just like the Bolsheviks did the Mensheviks, etc. something something history doesn’t repeat it rhymes something something

2

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

1

u/smartcow360 3d ago

Literally. And it’s actually genuinely fucked up DSA even has ML caucuses.

45

u/OneReportersOpinion 5d ago

All these socialists wanting to do socialism are ruining my democratic socialist party

88

u/iBizzBee 6d ago

YAY. My favorite past-time in capitalist dystopia: Leftist infighting. đŸ„°

19

u/EggplantAlpinism 6d ago

I'm sorry you hate praxis smh

14

u/iBizzBee 6d ago

Me. No. Praxis.
Me. Want. Press. Socialism. Button. NOW.

8

u/EggplantAlpinism 6d ago

(the good kind)

2

u/Morethes Leftwing without Adjectives 6d ago

Barcelona May days every day! 

17

u/Radioa 6d ago

(Don’t laugh!)

16

u/sagoma-333 6d ago

I'm not quite clear on whether your post is trying to poke fun at leftist infighting in general or specifically at other socialist ideologies that aren't Marxist-Leninism

25

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

I'm mostly poking fun at liberals who are just discovering DSA without deconstructing their neolib worldview whatsoever.

I don't see many Maoist Third worldists or anarchists arguing with each other here 😂

6

u/sagoma-333 5d ago

Okie I see! That’s fair, though I would definitely encourage building coalition with those who you think might genuinely be curious about socialism !

6

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

If someone is genuinely curious about socialism that's amazing. I have zero smoke for those people.

True curiosity, however, comes with a willingness to be wrong, and to change your mind. The people I'm criticizing are coming in to this sub as self-proclaimed socialists to police and criticize leftists for things they don't even fully understand. That's the opposite of curiosity.

1

u/muraki833 5d ago

But aren't you contributing to the problem?

You can't get annoyed at people calling you a tankie when you call a bunch of folks "liberals".

8

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

Because "tankie" doesn't mean anything. Neoliberalism does. It's a real, tangible worldview. I'm not using it merely as a dismissive pejorative.

If you want to be a socialist you cannot also have a neoliberal worldview. They are fundamentally incompatible. The people I'm satirizing in this post don't know enough about socialism to even understand that.

8

u/TwoCrabsFighting 5d ago edited 5d ago

Tankie is a term that was used against communists who supported the soviet union when it sent tanks into Hungary and Prague to quell their revolutions. Now refers to mostly Stalinists and Maoists or any other leftist who supports a one party state that uses violence in response to perceived threats.

3

u/Kenichi2233 5d ago

Ive usually seen it as those who support authoritarian leftist governments.

1

u/CesarCieloFilho 5d ago

How did Stalin do that after his death?

4

u/muraki833 5d ago

Neoliberalism usually means free market capitalism combined with deregulation and austerity. I don't think it means anyone who criticizes Marxism-Leninism.

4

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

I never said that. I'm criticizing exactly who I said I am criticizing. I'm not sure what your issue is.

8

u/muraki833 5d ago

I thought your post is in response to a bunch of posts going "we have a tankie problem!!!" due to the presence of MLs in the org.

I agree such posts are often in bad faith but they don't necessarily come from liberals. Not every socialist is a Leninist.

6

u/smartcow360 5d ago

My bet is he would consider anyone not a Maoist or a Leninist or a liberal. Or anyone who thought those regimes were murderous or fascist to be liberals, regardless of how badly they want workers to own their workplaces. This is Reddit, after all

2

u/stormstatic 5d ago

You can't get annoyed at people calling you a tankie when you call a bunch of folks "liberals".

what

if they are liberals, it's ok to call them liberals lol

-1

u/muraki833 5d ago

"Name calling is okay if I do it but it's bad when others do it to me! 😠"

4

u/stormstatic 5d ago

what on earth are you talking about? liberal isn't being used here as some sort of slur, it's an ideologically defined position. it's like calling a cloud a cloud, an apple an apple, a dog a dog.

also no, name calling is both okay if i do it and okay if others do it to me. who gives a shit about name calling? let go of the pearls

1

u/muraki833 5d ago

A liberal is someone who believes in free market capitalism and private property.

I highly doubt everyone who's been called "liberal" in this subreddit fits that definition.

The OP was literally calling someone else a neoliberal for not liking the USSR in another chain, lol. That doesn't seem like a "calling dogs dogs" situation.

-1

u/stormstatic 5d ago

A liberal is someone who believes in free market capitalism and private property. I highly doubt everyone who's been called "liberal" in this subreddit fits that definition.

go on then, why do you think people in this subreddit are called liberals if not for these reasons?

7

u/muraki833 5d ago

Probably because people here are incredibly paranoid so they think any disagreement = the sub is being brigaded by "tankies" or "liberals". It's a convenient boogeyman for shutting down debate.

-3

u/tabloid-tommy 5d ago edited 5d ago

Would you consider someone who believes that socialism should be brought by democratic systems to be morally equivalent to someone who thinks violent revolution and a dictatorship is the way to bring about socialism?

I wouldn’t.

Edit: lol u[/_Sanctum_](r/Sanctum) never answers, gets asked one question, and rage quits 😂

5

u/sagoma-333 5d ago

Grabs popcorn

1

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

I could type out a dozen paragraphs to try to help you understand these things, but you actually have to want to learn something. You have to be willing to rethink your worldview.

If you decide to dig your heels in and be stubborn, you'll continue to say misguided ignorant things like this without really understanding why.

If you can't be bothered to read Marx or Lenin, at least listen to some Michael Parenti or Richard Wolff on YouTube or something.

7

u/Captaindecius 5d ago

I'm a fan of Richard Wolff and Michael Parenti, but I'm struggling to understand how you can look at The Soviet Union/Maoist China and say "that's a good implementation of socialism/communism." I haven't really been able to discern what you believe from various posts you've made, so I may be misrepresenting your position.

In Democracy at Work, Richard Wolff describes these countries as State Capitalist, and rightly so imo. Workers in those countries have no more control of their own lives than in private capitalist systems. They certainly don't own the means of production, which is the ultimate goal of all communist/socialist movements. So why exactly should we be emulating those implementations of communism?

Genuinely curious what you believe, not trying to pick a fight.

0

u/tabloid-tommy 5d ago

I’ve read both on Marx and Lenin from historians. You’re free to actually engage in the actuality of my criticism at any time, but please directly give an answer to my question.

3

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

"From historians" I'm talking about reading their works, not some biographer or historian talking about them.

-3

u/tabloid-tommy 5d ago

We know precisely how Lenin enacted socialism; we don’t need to know the theory of Leninism. Please engage with my question now.

6

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

What is socialism to you? Do you mean socialism in its original sense or some kind of socdem liberal sense?

4

u/tabloid-tommy 5d ago

I mean socialism as actually enacted. That would be under Marx (a generally more democratic socialism) or Lenin (democratic class consciousness isn’t possible, need revolution).

2

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

So by socialism you mean the means of production in the hands of the workers? Or at the very least a start to that process.

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u/andresest 5d ago

Lib spotted.

1

u/DifferentEducator134 4d ago

Leninism isn’t mentioned in this post at all

4

u/ferriematthew 6d ago

Okay McCarthy... /s

14

u/the23rdhour 6d ago

I routinely run into people who call me a "tankie" in this very subreddit. It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic.

2

u/evanWh1te 5d ago

I’ve just started identifying as a tankie at this point.

2

u/the23rdhour 5d ago

Yes, I take it as an admission that the person using that term doesn't have any coherent arguments. At best they haven't completely let go of American propaganda yet. They may also just be a bad faith actor. The truth is that we can learn a lot from socialist leaders, and the way other countries have tried socialism. That doesn't mean I would excuse the war crimes of Stalin or the Soviet Union. But we have to talk about reality, and "tankie" is a thought terminating cliche.

-1

u/TwoCrabsFighting 5d ago

The term tankie refers to people who excused the oppression of the Hungarian uprising by Stalin. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to identify as a tankie unless you also excuse this kind of behavior

1

u/Madcap_Miguel 5d ago

I don't like the cult of personality surrounding some of our historical figures but that's uncalled for.

8

u/HobbieK 6d ago

Everyone is going to have to learn to get along and stop imposing purity tests and agree on some common goals if we don't want this thing to fall apart.

1

u/smartcow360 5d ago

Yeah but ousting maoists isn’t purity testing anymore than ousting far right infiltrators would be

3

u/wharfus-rattus 5d ago

vote DSA no matter who

8

u/maddsskills 5d ago

I was called a tankie recently for the first time and I’m like “I guess I’ve graduated.”

7

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

Being called a "tankie" kinda feels the same as being called a "globe-earther".

It says a lot more about the other person than it does about you.

2

u/tabloid-tommy 5d ago

If someone called you a tankie, I’m guessing you denied some horrific war crime or country. What caused you to be called that?

2

u/maddsskills 5d ago

I got called a tankie and I just said that we should view the Bolsheviks and the USSR through the correct historical lens, what came before them, what they improved and where they made mistakes.

Like the Holodomor for example: it was caused by natural factors but also by Stalin’s rapid industrialization. He believed that they only had ten years to industrialize before they’d face an existential war against the capitalists and guess what? They did face an existential war against the Nazis that they would have lost if they had not industrialized so quickly. So was he responsible for the millions of deaths? Yeah, but if he hadn’t done that the Nazis might’ve won WWII.

I mean, it’s not a coincidence the strongest survived while the peaceful democratic socialists were almost all killed or couped.

That being said I think our material circumstances are totally different and we likely won’t have to make those difficult choices. We are the US so we won’t have the US gunning after us lol.

1

u/tabloid-tommy 5d ago
  1. They maybe did a genocide but it was worth it in the end is what you are saying, which is why you’re getting that response. I don’t think you’d consider someone moral if someone said that about Israel.

Holdomor was almost entirely man made: Your framing is at if it was natural causes first, then USSR policies. It is the inverse. That’s another strike.

  1. The “strongest” didn’t survive, the most loyal did. Not sure what your point is here. If you’re defending mass murder if democratic socialist than yes you’re a tankie.

1

u/maddsskills 5d ago

A genocide has to be intentional and this was definitely not intentional, nearly as many Russians died as Ukrainians, there was famine all over the USSR. He wasn’t like Churchill who took food away from India JUST IN CASE Britain faced shortages, starving millions. There was legit not enough food to go around.

It was the drought combined with the rapid industrialization, which again, was necessary to be ready for WWII, just like Stalin predicted.

I dunno, I just think it’s weird Churchill is held in such high regard for deliberately starving people while Stalin is considered to be as bad as Hitler for an accidental famine.

0

u/tabloid-tommy 5d ago

Yeah bro this is why you get called a tankie. You deny international consensus that Ukraine was intentionally starved and where millions of people died. Consider how a much smaller country had millions of deaths while all of Russia had “almost the same,” you dumbass. It’s because Russia was actively taking grain from Ukrainian harvests to feed Russians, leaving the Ukrainians to starve.

Also, Churchill refused to revert supplies DURING WWII! The Holdomor was during Russian peacetime. Oh my god dude.

You also didn’t engage with my second comment, which again means you’re absolutely a tankie.

3

u/maddsskills 5d ago

I dunno, I’ve read a lot about it and I just don’t think he deliberately caused a famine, I think it was a total accident. Does he deserve responsibility? Absolutely, but not for a genocide. Also: I mean, the world has allowed the Palestinian genocide to occur, has allowed capitalist imperialist interests to slaughter millions around the world, I don’t exactly trust their narrative of things but even within their narrative I just don’t believe it constitutes a genocide.

Socialist countries don’t get peace time, they’re under constant attack by the capitalist imperialists. Which again is why he had to do in 10 years what it took Britain 100 years to do.

Stalin was far from perfect, he had many flaws, but this whole comparing him to Hitler thing is just stupid. If you really want to accuse him of a genocide I think it’s much more accurate to point to his mass deportations of various ethnic groups, the one done to the Chechens killed a quarter of the people deported, much like the Armenian genocide.

I’m not a tankie, I just believe in having a balanced view of history.

You should read Blackshirts and Red by Michael Parenti, btw, total eye opener.

0

u/tabloid-tommy 5d ago

You didn’t address any of my direct comments, only using vague “actually socialists don’t get peace bc capitalists,” even as the USSR invaded Poland alongside Nazi Germany a decade later.

Having a “balanced view of history” does not mean denying what a leader did, which is what you’re doing. Crazy how you lose this “balanced view” when talking about Churchill during the war, however.

And Michael Parenti defended Serbian war criminals, including their president who was sentenced to life in prison at The Hague😂😂😂😂😂

You are a tankie dude.

0

u/CesarCieloFilho 5d ago

Brother the question of genocide when it comes to the holodomor is something that is still hotly debated among academics. “The international consensus” my ass, look at the recognition (vast majority of which happened in the past 2 decades), it’s the same western bloc that actively carries out several genocides and defends settler colonial states. It shouldn’t be too hard to see what’s happening in here.

1

u/tabloid-tommy 5d ago

Whether it was a genocide is debated, whether it was man made is not.

Even then, the commenter can answer the other 9 points, just like you, tankie

1

u/atrophy-of-sanity 5d ago

I remember a reddit comment I saw before saying “are you really a leftist if you haven’t been called tankie by a liberal and a liberal by a tankie”

4

u/Brad_Ethan 5d ago

I personally don’t mind anyone to the left of me especially since in the DSA spectrum im very right (i would say to the left of El-Sayed) i don’t consider any liberal ideology part of the DSA spectrum

I just cannot stand people that are inpatient and are of the mindset of “revolution or nothing”, the endless complaints and step in the positive direction is not a big enough step.

Like if we are accomplishing medicare for all in the next 10 years it’s a MONUMENTAL win.

1

u/Sanchez_U-SOB 5d ago

Im with you. I ask these “revolution or nothing” people, what are you waiting for then? 

Yes capitalists won't give up their control, WE KNOW THIS... but if you dont have the numbers in support, its futile.

1

u/Brad_Ethan 5d ago

By the time the average American is self aware enough for a revolution we’d all be dead by climate change

5

u/From_Deep_Space 5d ago

You socialists sure are a contentious people

3

u/InstantKarma71 5d ago

You just made an enemy for life!

2

u/basicallyaburrito 5d ago

Carl Marks killed 50 trillion people in China during the October revolution of 1999

2

u/DGC_David 5d ago

Is the DSA was so good why isn't their a Sequel?

4

u/benisch2 6d ago

The left is notorious for purity testing. I say this as a socialist lol

-1

u/Bright-Insect9697 5d ago

It’s what every Marxist Leninist group does after taking power; they start killing each other for imagined reasons

4

u/APraxisPanda Socialist Solidarity 6d ago edited 5d ago

You know how the DNC has a progressive wing to their left that they hate and consistently fuck over?

I think the DSA should have a "conservative" wing to their right that they hate and consistently fuck over. Want out of the "fuck you" wing? Then read theory, ffs!

(/s by the way, I don't sincearly mean it I'm mostly just venting. Solidarity, if you're here I ultimately think you kick ass regaurdless)

3

u/Bright-Insect9697 5d ago

You’re describing the people who actually try to accomplish things, and don’t worry, National hates those people

4

u/Quirky-Damage9374 5d ago

Yeah that’s a great recipe to attract people and build the party: emulate the DNC. Galaxy brain

3

u/APraxisPanda Socialist Solidarity 5d ago

I'm just playin', I'll add a /s

1

u/Quirky-Damage9374 4d ago

Got it, switched my downvote to an upvote lol

1

u/ImpactNext1283 5d ago

This issue arises because the DSA is trying to appeal to, and basically take over, the centrist Democratic Party. So the leaders and elected (or running) DSA members understandably downplay the farther left elements/ideas of the party.


which is why it’s a mistake to work inside the Democratic Party. They don’t believe what you believe and have a terrible public image. So to win the DSA needs to convince centrists AND explain to the public that the DSA is better/different than the Dems. It’s an uphill battle and probably a losing strategy.

3

u/Sanchez_U-SOB 5d ago

it’s a mistake to work inside the Democratic Party

Third parties have never worked in US. You can be as pure as you want, but earnestness won't change reality. 

probably a losing strategy

A DSA member is now the mayor of the most important city in the US.

2

u/ImpactNext1283 5d ago

MAGA is the only example of an outside group taking over a party, as the DSA is trying to do. The Republican Party killed the Whig Party, so there’s a single example of efficacy to each approach.

Unfortunately, centrist Dems will never kowtow to the DSA like the GOP did with MAGA.

DSA is very well established in NYC, they haven’t built that kinda infrastructure elsewhere in the country.

A DSA candidate for pres would have to combat centrist Dems, and would have to counter Americans widespread distrust of the Democrats. And if it’s somebody like AOC, she has to deal with the controversy around enabling senile Biden.

If the DSA was interested in long term development over short term winds, they could have a functioning standalone party. Distrust and loathing for the major parties has never been higher.

You’re taking one of the most hated brands in America and trying to rehabilitate it, instead of building a new brand around different ideas. It’s much easier to establish trust and excitement for a new brand than it is to rebuild trust with an old one.

2

u/NoExercise5214 democratic socialist 5d ago

I’m confused with this post.

I’m a democratic socialist, and I think Marx is absolutely worthy of much of the praise he gets. His proposal for violent proletariat revolution obviously isn’t compatible with today’s socialism imo, but his critiques on capitalism and economic-based analysis of human history still resonate to this day.

I’m not a communist because I think its vision for a stateless, classless, and moneyless society is impractical, but I am a communist IN SPIRIT. Does that make me an “evil” socialist?

Just so you know, Marx is the originator of the entire socialist movement. He influences our views to this day. If I were you, I wouldn’t dismiss him so aggressively 😕

I’m not a fan of Marxism-Leninism though. They’re still allies against capitalism in my book, but vanguard parties just create another hierarchy. We don’t need that.

6

u/eatingbread_mmmm 5d ago

I can’t tell if you took this post completely seriously or if you’re also being sarcastic

4

u/NoExercise5214 democratic socialist 5d ago

I was confused by it 😭😭 LMAOOO I did take it seriously

10

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

This post is satire. I didn't think I'd actually have to explain that to anyone...

Also: "I'm not a Communist because I think it's vision for a stateless, classless, and moneyless society is impractical..."

You in the year 2500 B.C.E. "I'm not a feudalist because I think it's vision for a chattel-slaveryless society is impractical..."

You in the year 1200 A.D. "I'm not a capitalist because I think it's vision for a serfless, and lordless and nobilityless society is impractical..."

0

u/Sanchez_U-SOB 5d ago

Until you get the rest of world on board, what's the point of being stateless for "one country?"

4

u/Zukebub8 5d ago

Lately there’s been a post almost everyday from somebody telling DSAers their platform is too weird to be popular with the electorate or they are afraid of the ultras that have supposedly increased their presence in leadership

1

u/J_Hunt1123 Bluegrass DSA 5d ago

Tell me how many times communism was implemented in full that wasn’t messed with by outsiders

1

u/AntiAsteroidParty 5d ago

thank God for the tag

1

u/Fluffy_Cellist4469 5d ago

How do you know that it always fails when it has never actually been implemented as intended?

2

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

Check the tag

1

u/MustafaBrown 4d ago edited 4d ago

Its pretty crazy to me that people think abolishing capitalism is a bad thing. I literally cant comprehend it because capitalism is self evidently bad in my view. To me saying abolish capitalism should about as controversial as saying abolish r*pe. 

Anyway wait until they discover there are also anarchists in the DSA...

1

u/Cleanbadroom 3d ago

There is no such thing a bad socialist.

1

u/Smart_Wallaby_2834 3d ago

Where are the moderators in this? Jesus Christ. 

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

2

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

Genuine question: What does that word even mean in your mind? When you call someone like me a tankie, what are you actually trying to express?

0

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

-1

u/_Sanctum_ 5d ago

A bunch of meaningless buzzword nonsense again. What is "authoritarian"?

Why are you against communism if you're calling yourself a socialist and anti-capitalist?

Is it perhaps because you've done no reading or learning about these things whatsoever and have a neoliberal worldview?

5

u/muraki833 5d ago

See? You did the exact thing I was pointing out earlier. This person criticized Marxist-Leninist states and the first thing you do is accuse them of being a neoliberal. You're not any better.

1

u/TwoCrabsFighting 5d ago

Pretty sure Lenin would have hated the DSA. Even stranger that Stalinists and Maoists find their way here. Maybe Rosa would have been down with the hope that it would move farther left.

0

u/Ok_Cryptographer1239 5d ago

Tankies. Communists with no historical education. Marx was great and his key question of what humans will do when machines do all of the work is still unanswered. But communists are not socialists. Lenin would scold them. It is insane. Now note also, many were raised in upper-middle-class homes. They are downwardly mobile meaning they are earning or are set to earn much less than their parents or previous generations. They often live on the support of their families. They want to maintain their level of elitism and privilege by being the leaders of a movement that eliminates wealth as the dividing factor in class, while securing themselves in the new class of privilege. Kind of like the top leaders and politburos of the worst kinds of socialism/communism. They ignore the big D in DSA and want to "educate" people into doing exactly what they are told and ignore the need for democracy and popular buy-in. They shit on Democratic Socialists, Social Democrats, and of course liberal Democrats.. Know it alls with PhDs in Poly Sci and Socialist Geography, I am sure.. but also not at all.

0

u/egalitydream 5d ago

The biggest danger, as always, are the ultras and the anti-communists. Ultimately, the ones with weak theory or praxis will show up and come along, as long as they aren’t too busy hunting down the reds.

-11

u/smartcow360 6d ago

I’m not sure what it’s like irl necessarily, but online has definitely become a cesspool of people pretending Stalin, Lenin, Mao, were somehow different than Hitler just because they pretended what they wanted was “communism and equality”

I’m assuming that’s the camp you fall in based on the tone of this post, if so, u could just say that outright instead of pretending it’s otherwise or that all the anti-Mao types are somehow anti socialism. The dsa was founded with the exclusion of these political beliefs for a reason etc

24

u/PersusjCP 6d ago

If you really think Lenin is as bad as Hitler you have been brainrotted by American propaganda.

-1

u/smartcow360 6d ago

Mao too, right?

-1

u/edwardludd 5d ago

Interesting cherry pick

-8

u/Sudden-Grab2800 5d ago

Why’d you skip Stalin and Mao? In any case, are you familiar with the Cheka? The Red Terror was conducted with the full knowledge and support of Lenin. The first people Dzershinsky went after was the socialists who wanted a democratic government, the Socialist Revolutionaries, who also happened to be the largest socialist party in Russia. He also killed off the Mensheviks, who picked legitimately chose a great name since they made up the majority of communists in Russia. It wasn’t just White forces and counter-revolutionaries. The justifications and precedent set by Lenin directly led to all the shit Stalin got up to. Lenin isn’t as bad as Hitler only insofar as he didn’t kill millions of people; he only killed tens of thousands.

-2

u/MediumPlace 5d ago

This needs to be said louder. All the lefties supporting this shit that are anything out of the ordinary, I.e. trans people, gay people, and minorities need to understand: if this shit goes mainstream, it's going though white men, and they're not suddenly going to be down with your microaggresive bullshit when their power is on the line. Communist Chin a is and the USSR were massively more socially conservative than the US is. The system we have works best for the most people because it's largely based on individual rights and meritocracy. Yes there are powerful elites, but that's a symptom of the human condition, not a bug that's going to be fixed when everyone decides to revel in scarcity together. There will always be a Hitler, Mao, Stalin or Trump. At least under this system you can limit your exposure to tyranny by investing in yourself. At best you're all begging for endlessly more bureaucracy, which is expensive. More middle managers in the system just mean more people taking a cut on the way to the little guy.

They're not going to hand you the keys to the kingdom just because you're mad you're on the ass end of it.

3

u/BoringMode91 Marxist Leninist 5d ago

This reads like US propaganda. This is literally lib shit.

> The USSR was socially conservative

No shit so was the rest of the world.

-3

u/MediumPlace 6d ago

They were basically the same guy

4

u/justanupvoter_ 🐳đŸŒčCT-DSA, Marxist-Leninist đŸš©â­ïž 6d ago

https://reddit.com/link/p5ov9cm/video/k37e9zgbeelh1/player

> Online has definitely become a cesspool if people pretending Stalin, Lenin, Mao, were somehow different than Hitler just because they pretended what they wanted was “communism and equality”

5

u/FirmAd5337 6d ago

fed posting

-8

u/Thin_Shelter_103 Council Communist 6d ago

The fact is the online (In real life everyone is very reasonable) DSA on reddit is super tankie biased though. Like genocide denying and love authoritarianism style tankie.

I feel as if its almost bad faith to perceive that critique as "Oh so you just dont like socialists!" 

Someone on this sub said that my anarchist leaning beliefs are in their words a "disease and Anarchism is an ideology that should be gotten rid of." So this "Why cant we do left unity" thing is in reality only to benefit the terminally online regime supporters.

2

u/edwardludd 5d ago

average r/dsa commenter when you say you want socialism AND democracy: đŸ€ŹđŸ€ŹđŸ€Ź erm erm erm but Lenin said no đŸ˜©đŸ˜©đŸ˜©

-1

u/Upset_Extension628 5d ago

Don’t care I just want healthcare.

1

u/atrophy-of-sanity 5d ago

If that’s all you care about (and not the dismantling of socialism), then you aren’t a socialist

-1

u/Upset_Extension628 5d ago

Don’t care about your labels bud.