CW:
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-031-25399-7_82-2
Brainbroken by October 7th, Zak Cope has done a 180 on his prior work, which focused on the unequal development of nations under the global capitalist economy, to writing propaganda pieces on how the liberal global US-led economic order must be maintained to ensure “free trade”.
Having been committed to the toxic Marxist perspective for more than half my life, it ultimately proved impossible for me not to perceive the consistent and century-old pattern of far-left apologetics for every conceivable atrocity committed by avowed enemies of the West (including war crimes and genocide), these typically starting with denial, moving to excuse, and ending in justification. This was starkly highlighted in the leftist response to the bestial violence unleashed by Hamas terrorists in Israel on October 7, 2023. Laboring under Marxian fantasies for so long, following the shock of recognition in witnessing such moral and intellectual decrepitude its dissolution in my mind was precipitate.
He proceeds to argue that, “following free trade principles of comparative advantage can benefit all countries” and that US military supremacy is necessary due to Russia threatening, “the liberal international order upon which free trade is grounded.”
The link he offers to explain October 7 and why it desensitized him from the left is this one:
https://k-larevue.com/en/the-october-7th-pogrom-as-a-non-event-on-the-western-left/
This is what he cited as a good explanation of October 7 and the reason he left the left™
The structurally equivalent totalitarian ideology with communism on the left today – the contemporary opium of the intellectuals – is antizionism.
A number of times, the Palestinian leadership notoriously refused any peace agreement that would have resulted in a free Palestinian state living alongside Israel, insisting on conditions that could only be conceded at the cost of Israel itself. This was particularly true of their insistence on the absolute right of “return” for Palestinian “refugees” who left, or who were expelled, in 1948. This seems to be good evidence that their political leadership actually focuses on extinguishing the existence of a Jewish state more than on the founding of their own country. This is the most unfortunate for Israel, which has to maintain the partial occupation of the West Bank, with devastating consequences also for its own society.
Religious fundamentalism is only the most recent and extreme outgrowth of this basic moral fundamentalist appeal for “justice”. In fact, “Justice for Palestine!” is the slogan that anchors its derivative ones we are seeing today: “From the river to the sea”, “(Globalize the) Intifada!”, “Apartheid Israel”, etc. This deeply immoral moral fundamentalism has been widely accepted in the West as a “liberation movement” by wide parts of public opinion, while its religious fundamentalism and Nazi-like messianic antisemitism is still not being acknowledged.
In contrast, this thinking automatically absolves even its most inhumane and barbarian enemies who in any other context would be considered as the enemy of humanity as a whole. This is worse than Holocaust denial: this is the outright justification of all potential Holocausts.
You stay sane by grilling
Seriously. There’s a very good chance that the global north fights to the bitter end, and no amount of internal class struggle will turn northerners against their imperial interests at the scale necessary to avoid the fascist turn. If you can’t leave, sometimes the only thing left to do is chill out, grill out, and contribute as little to the machine as possible. Simply resisting the urge to Cope, resisting the peer pressure to embrace fascism, lying flat and waiting for the inevitable victory of the international proletariat. Keep your mind sharp, organize with comrades when you can find them, and never stop posting. Other than that, just find innocent things you enjoy doing in life outside of politics and just try to keep your mind busy. An idle mind is Hitler’s plaything.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk