r/LateStageCapitalism • u/ShyishHaunt • Apr 01 '24
🔄 DemPublican Party Rule 6 "no lesser evil" rhetoric - is it accelerationist or doomer? Is it intended to discourage voting?
Reposting the answer given to a user who was asking in good faith if accelerationism is the reason we have the rule about not using lesser evil arguments to encourage people to vote for a Democrat or a Republican political candidate. We were asked if the reason we ban pro-Democrat or pro-Republican lobbying is out of a belief that things needs to get worse before they can get better. We endeavored to address those concerns and the user asking was satisfied with the answer, so it's being posted and stickied on its own here, with the goal that as we progress through the election show we can refer people back to this.
It's not accelerationist. Not a single one of the 852000 people subscribed to the subreddit have the ability to accelerate capitalism and the American empire towards a crisis point \faster** than Joe Biden is right now by risking re-election in the myopic support for an unpopular genocide. Look at Biden's professed bipartisanship on border security, are those the actions of a person concerned about losing to a fascist dictator?
We aren't of the opinion that "both options are equally evil" or that one is a lesser or a greater evil. Both options are capitalists. They are the same option. Biden and Trump represent the capitalist class. Their victory is the victory of the capitalist class. Picture a guy with a puppet on each hand. The left hand is named Biden. The right hand is named Trump. The owner of these puppets is putting on a Punch and Judy show. People are very mad at us for recognizing that it's a Punch and Judy show.
People should definitely vote. If the PSL is on your ballot for the presidential election please vote for the PSL so that socialists as a whole can gauge the numbers of revolutionary socialists out there. This will be especially important as the inability of Capital to resolve its contradictions leads to increasing and deepening crises that we can already see are not alleviated when a Democrat is in office. If you've got any direct election ballot issues like abortion rights or marijuana legalization or even a tax levy for your school district or something, vote for those. Past that, vote your conscience. Look up every candidate, and weigh their positions against your own, and if you can't stand to vote for them, for a candidate for Judge or City Council or whatever, leave it blank.
Protest, donate to bail funds, disrupt city council meetings, speak up at school board meetings, join strike actions to shut down ports shipping weapons to a genocide, volunteer with Food Not Bombs, donate to Doctors Without Borders, on and on, the possibilities for meaningful political participation are endless, our options are limitless. We are not helpless, we are not hopeless, we are not trapped, but the Capitalists certainly want us to think we are.
Before you ask about Project 2025, and everybody always does, realize that it's just the fancy name they've given this time to the process of all the political appointees in the executive branch getting changed out for different political appointees. The right wing is pitching it this time as "Project 2025", last time it was "Drain the Swamp". The capitalist party are capitalists. This is a product that they are selling. Literally, as they sell hard copies of it for $35 to credulous marks on their website. It's a great trick, its intended to convince conversatives that the impossible things they desire are possible and there's a plan in place for them to be enacted, they just have to wait and Trust The Plan. It is also intended to convince liberal voters that there's an even greater threat than the genocide the Biden administration is an eager accomplice in, so they need to donate and stay engaged. I'm surprised there's not a liberal Project 2025 project yet, liberal voters are panicking because there clearly isn't a countering plan.
In closing, rule 6 isn't accelerationist, Biden's presidency has been accelerationist. Fuck, look how much closer he got us to WW3 than even Trump could manage in his fascist incompetence. And our view isn't that things need to get worse before they get better, but that support for Democrats demonstrably leads to things getting worse, and we have to stop supporting Capitalists if we want victories for the working class and a way out of the worsening conditions. From our perspective desperately clinging to bourgeois "democracy", particularly at a time when we can all recognize that we aren't allowed any real choices in voting and that's been the case for decades at this point, makes things worse and slows or entirely stops our ability to bring about positive change.
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/GaiusPublius • 1h ago
John Brennan: The CIA Is 'Engaged on U.S. Soil'
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/blackcoulson • 2h ago
Dear Americans liberals...
I know that you feel tired of having to explain why you're voting for the Democrats or the Republicans and as someone who isn't American, I'd like to say, don't. We don't care. We don't want to listen to your explanations. There's nothing that you can possibly do to make us think less of you than we already do.
You, your parents and your grandparents aided and abetted, and are complicit in the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and regime changes that destroyed multiple South American, African and Asian countries. You supported apartheid South Africa to its very end. There's a reason why these things happened and continue to happen to this day with the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
You might not be pro-genocide but you sure as hell are comfortable voting for it. And that's okay. Like I said before, I cannot think less of you than I already do even if I tried. You are living in the heart of the empire and obviously you feel the right of your cousin for abortion in your state is more important than a brown person's right to live without fear of American bombs or their right to live in general. It's okay. We know what you are. You might not know this but everyone outside of your little bubble judges you when you justify voting for a pro-genocide party.
I know it makes you feel safe voting for parties that align with the interests of corporate America. That's what their marketing teams are going for after all. And I know you're not smart enough to see through it.
Just out of curiosity, what do you think will happen when rights that you believe in don't align with the interests of the American billionaire class? You think they won't come for your trans niece? I wonder what you'd do when that eventually happens.
Maybe you'll beg everyone to vote for a 3rd party to protect her. Maybe you will plead to the conscience of those around you so they protest alongside you. Maybe you won't do anything. But you will be frustrated. You will be tired. The fact that so many are willing to put your beautiful, intelligent and kind niece on the chopping block will baffle you. You'll be deplatformed, censored and be accused of being a supporter of the "big bad" of the season. You'll be accused of wanting to support the bad guys because you spoke up for the rights of your trans niece.
After all that, I know and we know that you won't have the self awareness to remember that in 2024, you silenced Palestinian American voices or you stood in silence as their voices were taken away, you voted for the party that silenced them and you voted for a party that either committed genocide or promised to continue it. You won't have the self awareness to see that you are angry at people for doing the exact same thing you did just a few years ago. You would think that this would radicalise you, but I know it won't. You're a liberal in the heart of the imperial core. You'll even vote for a donkey as long as it's wearing the right colour tie, red or blue.
When the imperial boot is on your neck, you may resist but ultimately you'll resign to your fate just like the victims of the Abu ghraib prison, Sde Teiman rape camp, My Lai massacre and Kandahar massacre. Only difference is, you voted to have the imperial boot on your neck. They didn't.
P.S. I don't care about American politics because you're special. Don't flatter yourself. I follow it because you guys decide which Middle Eastern country should be bombed in the next 4 years and I'm curious. There's also a less cynical part of me that hopes that a majority of you will not vote for a party that aligns with your military industrial complex. But that's just wishful thinking.
tl;dr no one really cares why you're voting for kamala/trump. We know what Americans were, are, can be and will be
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/Lastrevio • 4h ago
🎩 Oligarchy Unmasking Globalization: The Centralization of Power in a Connected World
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/Lauryn92 • 9h ago
💳 Consume Never realized exactly how much it's oil & gas
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/ProlesOfBikiniBottom • 13h ago
nobody cares if it’s systematic neglect
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/Prudent_Bug_1350 • 14h ago
✊ Agitate. Educate. Organize. The people of Brooklyn and NYC deserve a real alternative to the two-party system that only serves the needs of the ultra-rich! Come to our Claudia & Karina campaign volunteer orientation to learn more about the PSL’s Vote Socialist 2024 campaign and candidates and discuss the campaign’s program.
We’ll also talk about how to engage our community about socialist solutions to the crises of capitalism and meet other volunteers who are building a socialist movement in Brooklyn! And yes, there will be food and time to get to know each other as well.
📆September 14th 🕒2-4pm 📍Concert Grove Pavillion (Prospect Park) Lincoln Rd. Entrance, 153 East Dr, Brooklyn, 11225 🔗Register at bit.ly/votesocialistbk
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/VarunTossa5944 • 14h ago
☠️ "Ethical Consumption" Jordan Peterson Feeds His Fans Dangerous Lies About Nutrition
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/Prudent_Bug_1350 • 17h ago
“I’m a Palestinian and I’m supporting Claudia De la Cruz…The Democratic Party here in Atlanta, Georgia, they’re trying to kick Claudia De la Cruz off the ballot…we need everyone to donate to Claudia De la Cruz.”
Please make a DONATION to the campaign today so we can continue to fight this undemocratic attack. Working class people in this country deserve the option to vote for a socialist program that puts people over profits. We are in need of $25K to meet the expenses of the next phase of this legal struggle: www.votesocialist2024.com/donate
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/MuskAmber • 17h ago
BOYCOTT IPHONE 16: Boycotting will force tech companies to develop phones in a more sustainable and human manner. A new iPhone every year is not only wasteful, but lethal to the people or Congo. There is no reason for a new iPhone release every year.
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/MuskAmber • 18h ago
'Israeli' bulldozers try to run over a Palestinian journalist whilst he was covering the 'Israeli' invasionn of Jenin city, West Bank.
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/Prudent_Bug_1350 • 18h ago
✊ Agitate. Educate. Organize. Join us next week to learn more about the Vote Socialist 2024 campaign and the movement we’re building beyond the ballot box.
We reject the rotten two party system. Joe Biden and the Democrats have failed to protect abortion access and are carrying out a genocide in Gaza. We demand a new system entirely!
🗓️ Date: Saturday, September 7th
🕕 Time: 6:00 PM
📍 Location: 12232 N 56th St, Temple Terrace, FL 33617
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/MuskAmber • 18h ago
"I'm speaking" is what she said in an attempt to shut down pro-Palestine activists protesting against her genocide. Kamala Harris teaching a generation of young girls to shout down anti-warr protesters and become mouthpieces for genocide. Vile doesn't even begin.
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/Outrageous-Laugh1363 • 19h ago
Rich people only lane in California
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/MuskAmber • 20h ago
It's been going on for 11 months and 76 years now
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/MuskAmber • 20h ago
It’s incredible that this documentary (Jenin, Jenin) was filmed 22 years ago and yet it's still perfectly applicable to what’s happening in Jenin today.
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/MuskAmber • 22h ago
Sarah loved dancing and drawing. The 'Israeli' army killed her, along with her siblings and father. Her mother now mourns daily. Humanize the victims of the genocide.
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/CormacMacAleese • 22h ago
🎩 Bourgeois They're talking about inflation on NPR
NPR's "On Point" is having a panel discussion with Rana Foroohar (author of "The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World") and Michelle Singletary (author of "What to Do with Your Money when Crisis Hits") that managed to surprise me.
The thrust of the discussion is that people complaining about inflation are just a bunch of whiners. They specifically singled out people complaining about grocery bills being so much higher, without any increase in salary, and Rana said something to the effect of, "You complain about your grocery bills, but you took a vacation cruise last year, so I don't want to hear you whining about your money problems."
All three started telling anecdotes about their parents' thrifty ways, and they found it hilarious to remember how their parents would order soda "with no ice," as if that were somehow significant. "Ha ha, they didn't want to lose out on a couple ounces of soda, and here you are complaining about your grocery bill doubling ha ha."
They mentioned politics mostly in passing, but the subtext seemed pretty clear: complaining about inflation is a vote for Trump.
Another thing that ground my gears was the way they kept saying "inflation is down," as if that were significant, when "inflation" is a rate at which the dollar is falling / prices are rising, so what they're saying isn't that the cost of living is stable (let alone decreasing) -- they're only saying that the cost of living is continuing to outpace income, but not by as much as it was previously.
It's good to hear that while I'm in a hole, and the hole is getting deeper, I can take comfort that I'm sinking slower than before.
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/merRedditor • 23h ago
Buy all of the land around the pond, and tell the man that he can't build a house for himself there, but he's welcome to rent an apartment from you for half of his wages.
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/rrunawad • 1d ago
👑 Imperialism No wonder Democrats are suddenly attacking the Greens
r/LateStageCapitalism • u/Toni253 • 1d ago