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Being a communist in a right-wing/centrist family means they will eventually cut you off (hexbear.net)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I guess it's one of the ways in which capital maintains its own checks and balances, but it's very hard how, as contradictions heighten, your family that at some point might have ignored what you say, now will ostracize you for your views.

My parents have called me saying that me supporting Petro (a socdem at best) is akin to supporting murderers and thieves and they won't support me with that (which ofc I think the same about the people they support, but I won't antagonize them over it cause I know they won't change their views).

Now it's a sister of mine, married to an american, that considers that my criticisms of gringos also applies to her husband (which, to a point but not really).

I'm now understanding that there is a non zero chance that I will end up shunned out of my family altogether at some point.

Some friends and acquaintances have also cut contact from their end and some from my end.

Basically, being a communist means you will very likely lose a good percentage of your initial social network. It's probably one of the ways that capital maintains its control on society, forcing you to choose between community or your ideals, while you build a new leftist community (which is likely to be ostracized from their families as well).

And I'm not alone, my comrades in the area in which I organize are basically in the same position. In most of their families they don't know they are in the communist party for fear of their reactions. Or in the case of one of them, they consider it will be a phase they grow out of.

It's exhausting but enlightening to see how the left continues to be attacked through so many mechanisms.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I don’t disagree with you. In my mass org, it’s understood that immigration is in essence, a national struggle since in Aztlàn it’s Chicanos and Mexicanos who make up the majority of the deportations going on.

But I also need to stress that while the class struggle and the national struggle profoundly influence each other they are still distinct processes. It’s technically incorrect to say that the national struggle is the class struggle.

The goals of national liberation and the class struggle are non-antagonistic but distinct. The goal of the national liberation is to ultimately upend national oppression. The goal of the class struggle is to gradually abolish private property and the class system.

Since nationalism is considered progressive in oppressed nations, proletarian nationalism is partaken with the ultimate goal of superseding all nationalism, all borders and all states. Proletarian nationalism is a nationalism which is interested in rendering obsolete itself.

In true dialectical fashion, the national struggle and the class struggle are both the same and also not.

Edit: I also want to stress that actually, many issues we deal with in our everyday life is a particular manifestation of class struggle. The struggle against climate change is a pretty good example since in terms of technical know how and resources, we know how to decarbonize but it’s capitals supremacy above all else with it’s avaricious greed for profit which stalls such collective action.

Edit2: Homelessness is another particular manifestation of class struggle. Firstly in that it maintains a reserve army of labor and secondly in that the logic of commodity form compels construction companies to build too much luxury housing to take advantage of larger profit margins. This comes at the expense of shortage of cheap and affordable housing for the working class.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I would recommend reading Losurdo on this! His book is my favorite ever on political philosophy. I would like to make his argument in favor of understanding class struggle as larger than economic classes, and including national liberation and national struggles, But I couldn't make the argument to a comrade as well as Losurdo can.

The broadening of the term only reinforces the importance of national struggles, it doesn't demean that struggle to lesser in any way. There ultimate goals and current struggles, and the current struggles must take precedence to the ultimate goals while not coming into conflict with them. As Losurdo once said 'every revolution begins IN a nation.'