People who claim to have gone from a “Marxist”(which I doubt they ever had a real understanding of) to anarchist don’t make any sense. Do these people think ignoring the national and global level of the problem will better address it? Do they think the oligarchy won’t equally quell your pitiful attempt at anarchism with tanks and artillery the same as any other attempt to break free of the system?
How could anyone think anarchism could address climate change more effectively when it’s incapable of removing the capitalist system from power as we see throughout history?
At least for me, accepting that its impossible to address these issues is partially why I’m an ML. Way I see it, its definitely never gonna happen through reforms and legal means, so the .0001% chance we actually succeed is worth betting on as if I fail, I die, if I do nothing, I still die, but slower and more painfully. On the off chance I succeed I get to live so I might as well roll the dice. Nothing to lose and a world to gain at this point for me.
At least to me this more realistic outlook is far more appealing than being optimistic as optimism in my experience runs counter to the facts and generally causes poor decision making. If you just believe things will work out because capitalism will inevitably kill itself or something you’re just giving yourself an excuse to not actually try to do something.
Then again, maybe my thinking is a bit tainted as my experience with those who are optimistic is blind optimism combining with the toxic positivity culture here in the US to create the least empathetic, least self aware, least outwardly aware, least effective, and least honest forms of thinking imaginable.