Socialist Publication Current Affairs Fires Staff for Doing Socialism

ALittleLight 2021-08-19 04:30:20 +0000 UTC [ - ]

For context here is a pastebin of a comment on the situation from the Current Affairs editor in chief who fired these people. He disputes the motives behind the firings.

This was originally posted on his Facebook. I'm posting the plain text because I think Facebook requires an account to see it, but you can see the post by searching for his Facebook account "Nathan J. Robinson" and finding his most recent post there.

https://pastebin.com/LnpVPCma

jeegsy 2021-08-19 12:48:21 +0000 UTC [ - ]

If I was inclined to be charitable to our socialist friend, I would say that he has perhaps accidentally developed a greater fluency, a more intimate understanding of the inherent drawbacks of socialism than most of its critics today.

8bitsrule 2021-08-19 04:48:34 +0000 UTC [ - ]

If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal. <= Emma Goldman

DamnYuppie 2021-08-19 02:01:47 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Isn't one of the key tenants of socialism that almost all power is consolidated into the hands of the few and they make decisions for everyone else? Seems like this guy nailed it lol!

smt88 2021-08-19 02:33:49 +0000 UTC [ - ]

> Isn't one of the key tenants of socialism that almost all power is consolidated into the hands of the few

No, oligarchy is not a key tenet of socialism. You may be thinking of Stalinism.

Pure socialism would tend toward extreme democracy, where the government controls all things, but all workers have equal say in what the government does.

The editor[1] of Current Affairs describes himself as a libertarian socialist[2] -- someone who strongly opposes centralized rule by a small number of people (or single person).

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_J._Robinson

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_socialism

JeremyBanks 2021-08-19 02:27:13 +0000 UTC [ - ]

No

amscanne 2021-08-19 02:38:05 +0000 UTC [ - ]

You might be saying no because the comment is facetious, but the transition state being capitalism and communist bliss (communal ownership and no state) is in fact the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, which is fully centralized authority. The real trouble with communism (and arguably socialism generally) is that reducing centralized control has proven difficult in practice… similar to what happened here.

personasdfghjkl 2021-08-19 04:22:05 +0000 UTC [ - ]

The DoTP isn't necessarily supposed to be centralized state authority. Marx based his DoTP off the Paris Commune, which was the furthest thing from authoritarian.

mcv 2021-08-19 03:56:18 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Only according to Marx. Tons of socialists strongly disagree with Marx.

But even if they agree, the proletariat is not a few people.

2021-08-19 06:34:21 +0000 UTC [ - ]

akomtu 2021-08-19 02:33:20 +0000 UTC [ - ]

Not on paper, at least. But socialism is very attractive for hypocrites who want to tell others how to live. In pretty much every country descended into socialism, the founding members were comically frugal on public, but lived a lavish capitalist lifestyles in private. This includes the icon of socialism Lenin.

SixDouble5321 2021-08-19 07:50:06 +0000 UTC [ - ]

If it's socialism in name only, then it isn't socialism. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining.