Me: If this electoral strategy is going to have any value, it’s going to require challenging the American perception of socialist states.
Libs: No! Americans have to have direct material improvement first. Then they’ll be more open-minded about socialist states. So let socdems say they want to be like the UK or Norway.
Me: So are people in the UK or Norway particularly open-minded about socialist states?
Yeah and that all starts by telling a former CIA spook Vanderbilt descendant in an interview on a corporate news channel that the Soviet Union was good, actually.
It’d be better if she never sat down with clowns like this, but I genuinely don’t know what you think the strategy should be when talking to a dumb dumb mainstream virulently anti-communist organization like CNN.
Edit: lmao downbears don’t mean I’m wrong, clowns.
Changing perceptions about socialist states has to come from the bottom up, not the top down.
Look at how Bernie’s entirely truthful, extremely moderate statements on Cuba’s healthcare and education programs was wielded against him. That’s what happens when political leaders try to change the tune about socialist states in a country that’s been strongly anti-communist for most of the last century. We have to have those conversations on the ground first.
Telling your buddies that Cuba is great helps. So does a prominent politician saying the same thing. Running away from the history of socialist projects doesn’t help because:
Enemies won’t believe you anyway. People will think you’re basically Castro even if you drape yourself in the NHS.
It alienates socialist international allies.
There’s no clear point at which you can flip the switch and say “actually we meant Cuba this whole time. We were just lying.” This alienates the base that you’ve been building.
It serves as an antagonist to the formation of class consciousness.
Me: If this electoral strategy is going to have any value, it’s going to require challenging the American perception of socialist states.
Libs: No! Americans have to have direct material improvement first. Then they’ll be more open-minded about socialist states. So let socdems say they want to be like the UK or Norway.
Me: So are people in the UK or Norway particularly open-minded about socialist states?
Libs: 🤨
Yeah and that all starts by telling a former CIA spook Vanderbilt descendant in an interview on a corporate news channel that the Soviet Union was good, actually.
It’d be better if she never sat down with clowns like this, but I genuinely don’t know what you think the strategy should be when talking to a dumb dumb mainstream virulently anti-communist organization like CNN.
Edit: lmao downbears don’t mean I’m wrong, clowns.
Changing perceptions about socialist states has to come from the bottom up, not the top down.
Look at how Bernie’s entirely truthful, extremely moderate statements on Cuba’s healthcare and education programs was wielded against him. That’s what happens when political leaders try to change the tune about socialist states in a country that’s been strongly anti-communist for most of the last century. We have to have those conversations on the ground first.
Telling your buddies that Cuba is great helps. So does a prominent politician saying the same thing. Running away from the history of socialist projects doesn’t help because: