Great article and the self seeking narcissist you speak of has no understanding of socialism what so ever. And there lies our problem. Generations of Americans have been indoctrinated against socialism even post Cold War. They simply cannot understand the difference between Socialism and Communism, to them they are one and the same. Until people see the benefits to all with socialism (that still allows wealthy individuals) we are not going to get very far, especially with the system working against us.
You're right about the indoctrination against socialism. It's like we're not supposed to see the "forest for the trees" and anything "helpful" in Western societies (i.e., universal health care,social security, free education, guaranteed housing, etc.) isn't a product of socialist thought but is somehow credited to capitalists being "basically nice guys." But capitalists aren't "nice guys"--they're self-seeking ultimately. The funny thing is, I don't think most of them (at least not American capitalists) see themselves as self-seeking. They've fooled themselves really well!
Cornel was bought off. Given the plata or plomo option.
I would suggest refraining from labels that turn people off. Even though I agree with you a million percent re socialism.
But what is our goal? What must we do to make revolution possible? We, the workers, need to unite.
I don't think it's the best use of time to convince people that socialism is the way to go, because the word has been so tainted. Millions of people are misinformed as to its definition.
But if we unite against the rulers, and we force them to give up the loot, we are actually working towards a socialist society!
I think it's a good idea not to get heavy into convincing people of anything other than they need to trust their instincts and stop trusting those they've been told have their best interests at heart. (They inevitably all turn out to be capitalists.) They don't have to be labeled, but we do need to get the concept across to our fellow workers that we need to be turning to each other as workers to organize and lead each other and not to politicians who only serve their own interests (and those of their class). Easier said than done, but so many are still looking for the next "savior" or "Bernie" or whoever and it's just not going to play out that way if we want an actual socialist society, IMO. Power to the people--not the corporate whores!
Great article and the self seeking narcissist you speak of has no understanding of socialism what so ever. And there lies our problem. Generations of Americans have been indoctrinated against socialism even post Cold War. They simply cannot understand the difference between Socialism and Communism, to them they are one and the same. Until people see the benefits to all with socialism (that still allows wealthy individuals) we are not going to get very far, especially with the system working against us.
You're right about the indoctrination against socialism. It's like we're not supposed to see the "forest for the trees" and anything "helpful" in Western societies (i.e., universal health care,social security, free education, guaranteed housing, etc.) isn't a product of socialist thought but is somehow credited to capitalists being "basically nice guys." But capitalists aren't "nice guys"--they're self-seeking ultimately. The funny thing is, I don't think most of them (at least not American capitalists) see themselves as self-seeking. They've fooled themselves really well!
Cornel was bought off. Given the plata or plomo option.
I would suggest refraining from labels that turn people off. Even though I agree with you a million percent re socialism.
But what is our goal? What must we do to make revolution possible? We, the workers, need to unite.
I don't think it's the best use of time to convince people that socialism is the way to go, because the word has been so tainted. Millions of people are misinformed as to its definition.
But if we unite against the rulers, and we force them to give up the loot, we are actually working towards a socialist society!
I think it's a good idea not to get heavy into convincing people of anything other than they need to trust their instincts and stop trusting those they've been told have their best interests at heart. (They inevitably all turn out to be capitalists.) They don't have to be labeled, but we do need to get the concept across to our fellow workers that we need to be turning to each other as workers to organize and lead each other and not to politicians who only serve their own interests (and those of their class). Easier said than done, but so many are still looking for the next "savior" or "Bernie" or whoever and it's just not going to play out that way if we want an actual socialist society, IMO. Power to the people--not the corporate whores!
You're right. That's a good tactic!