FIRST SET
1. Where did you find ProleWiki from? How familiar are you with it? Comment what made you want to join ProleWiki and what areas you are interested in contributing to.
I found it from Lemmygrad. I've been reading and watching it grow since Oct 11 2023, so almost a month. I also have a Wikipedia account (under a different name) where I'm on the Typo Team and fix minor grammatical errors. I've seen Wikipedia's impartial attitudes pretty much evaporate for anything vaguely anti-capitalist over the years, so reading political articles there has become pretty unbearable. (Or maybe my eyes have just started to open?) For now I just want to fix minor typos I see, although I hope to understand enough in the future to contribute an article or more of my own.
2. What current of Marxist thought do you uphold? Describe as thoroughly as needed your path towards your current political perspective.
Marxism-Leninism. I used to be a liberal (until my late teens) who thought the UN was a wonderful thing and that various international governmental organizations which helped the poor African children with the genius of capitalism were the future. My research was pretty shallow at the time, but to be fair it was Wikipedia research. Imagine such a thing like conflict of interest? Then an election was about to happen, and after some more lazy research I became a social democrat for a few years. Second Thought was my pipeline into socialism, and Lemmygrad completed my communist RADICALIZATION!!! I became a democratic socialist, then Marxist-Leninist in the span of a few months and a few weeks, respectively. My own theory of the world had fell apart quickly after seeing various statistics. In no particular order: "Authoritarianism" was obliterated by seeing stats on prisoners per capita of various nations, with the US on top. "Capitalism solves world hunger" was obliterated after realizing China accounted for most of these improvements. "Capitalism rewards personal genius" was obliterated after realizing that stories of boostrap-pulling uber bajillionaires had started off as only the moderately wealthy. There were many more watershed moments like these, but I think some of the biggest factors were: - Dialectical materialism as a far more objective and scientific study of societies themselves. It not only cuts through all the noise but creates a framework for which progress can be made. It's jarring how this is painted in the same light as fascism in some countries. *coughs in bald eagle* - Restoration of my faith in humanity that there was an existing ideology diametrically opposed to capitalism, which was constructed primarily to justify what was essentially just glorified selfishness. I was particularly influenced from this essay: https://redsails.org/aroma-and-shadow/ I'm still very new to this, and have a lot more to learn.
3. Have you read our principles? Comment your agreements or objections to their points.
For political line, I agree with the need to align with the various socialist and anti-imperialist states, though I will admit to still having a knee-jerk reaction to seeing the DPRK there, but I suppose that's because of how little research I've done on it (and how much anti-DPRK propaganda is out there). As someone who uses Free and Open Source Software, understands the paradox of tolerance, and is literally an ML, all the stated goals align pretty much directly with my own.
4. What is your understanding of gender? Should Marxists support the LGBT community?
Gender is an artificial construct imposed on us by society and biology, both of which we have no control over at birth. Various associated elements such as romanticity, identity, sexuality, etc. should be free for the individual to express. Gender minorities (and the LGBT community by extension) are not intrinsically related to being a capitalist, and should therefore be supported by Marxists.
5. What is your position on Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong? How would you describe their historical role? Share any comments or critiques you have regarding them.
Both of them were incredibly notable for fighting off fascist empires, but I would say that I admire their ability to keep their parties united, with Stalin denouncing Trotskyism and Mao denouncing liberalism. (Mao's speech in particular kind of exposed my own liberal tendencies...)
6. What are your thoughts on China, Vietnam, Cuba, DPRK and Laos? Do you believe any of these countries is socialist? Why or why not?
China - admire its vanguardism, transformation and its ability to stomp on billionaires lol Cuba - admire its very high rate of doctors DPRK - Kim Jong Un's texts constantly re-emphasize the glory of its leaders in a way that seems to support the Big Man Theory (which I feel vaguely uncomfortable with). Since there is not as much information out there about it it's harder for me to confidently create an opinion about it. However its high literacy and low poverty rates seem to align with the goals of socialism. Laos, Vietnam - I am mostly uninformed about these, but still confident these are socialist
7. What is settler-colonialism, are there any countries that still fit that description and what should be done regarding them? Further, what is to be done about the decolonization and liberation of indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities, and immigrant groups in your country?
As I understand it, settler-colonialism is when an imperial state violates another state's self-determinism by injecting them with settlers, who extract value for their primary backer as well as displace the natives in the region. This allows their backer to project influence and power throughout the region, as well as fuel their military industrial complex. The topical example would be Israel. Indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities, and immigrant groups should be allowed the political representation and privileges of any other citizen instead of the current situation where they are under a set of arbitrary and oppressive rules in a system to diminish their political power.
8. What is your analysis of the situation in Palestine? What do you think of the 2023 October 7 events and the groups involved from both sides of the conflict?
Hamas has taken the mantle of Palestine's armed forces, as they had been essentially stateless (and unfanged) for decades. Palestine demands are legitimate as they are grounded in reality and do not endorse the eradication of the jews, as so often portrayed in Western media; hence their plan for a two-state solution. The moral difference they have compared to their Zionist oppressors in control of the Israeli government is honestly quite staggering in favor of Palestine. The October 7 events were not that surprising in retrospect.
SECOND SET
1. In your own words, how would you describe dialectical materialism?
Dialectical materialism describes the world as the product of a complex set of interactions. The dialectical part describes the current present as what I like to imagine as the balance between two (or more) forces, with the most relevant ones being in direct or near-direct opposition to each other. Dialectics aim to find a more fundamental truth to a complex question with a multitude of variables. For example, although the arrangement of an atom's nucleus from its protons and neutrons can be described in many different combinations relating to many different isotopes, it fails to recognize that those are emergent properties. The dialectical analysis would cut through that noise and realize that these configurations are simply the optimal arrangements that result when you pit the strong force and electrostatic force against each other. The materialistic part describes the world as being completely self-consistent according to the laws of physics. This includes thought, which is seen as an emergent property of life, an emergent property of replicating chemical reactions, which is an emergent property of physics itself. In essence it grounds science as the ultimate guidance as how the world operates and is thus a scientific philosophy. Therefore, dialectical materialism is a type of science with the philosophical outlook that certain simpler truths exist underneath more complex appearances, which is particularly useful in studying the evolution of societies.
4. Do you think abolishing the nuclear family should be a goal of the communist movement? If so, how would it be abolished?
Yes, as the nuclear family is not a universal family model. In addition, the nuclear family imposes a type of hierarchy which mirror and support the patriarchy. One way it could be abolished is by allowing children free reign to be parented by anyone who capable of parenting. Of course, this is an untested idea and should follow experimentation to optimize for the most good.
5. What do you think is the most pressing issue for communists in your country? What is your opinion of communist parties there?
Communist persecution. This is the US, of course the ruling class and heart of modern imperialism isn't going to peacefully dispose of themselves. If this was too obvious of an answer, then maybe liberal media and liberalism in general. It should be common knowledge that liberalism was an ideology created expressly for creating false equivalences and excuses for oppressors and exploiters. I feel sad when I see how great various communist parties used to be here before all the Red Scares. Simultaneously I feel hope and joy as communism and socialism is starting to gain traction, especially with the younger generation.
6. What do you believe is the main difference between Marxism and other anti-capitalist movements?
Marxism is scientific rather than utopic; it respects those who sacrifice for the greater good via a realistic and grounded plan of self-preservation after revolution; it has strength in unity from a shared vision; it understands the benefits and utility of superstructure; it is able to self-reflect and improve; it is utilitarian and progressive; its community has made consistently based decisions :)
8. Have you read works from Marxists, pertaining but not limited to those from historical or existing socialist states? Please note some that stood out to you and what contributions to Marxist thought that they added and why you liked them.
Mao's Combat Liberalism is what stood out to me as what it meant to be principled or unprincipled. It kind of dunked on my behavior as a liberal apologist and hypocrite over pretty much entire lifetime, even up to now. Vigorously investigating faults in my own way of thinking in particular was something I was very unprincipled in, as I usually chalked it up to laziness. However, this was what had led me to be a capitalist for the majority of my life, doing the bare minimum on research and gulping down propaganda. I had always accepted that the world was filled with good and bad guys and that I had to make compromise to survive. It was the Pascal's Wager of liberalism; I never fully comprehended the availability or responsibility of the third option: to turn the bad guy into a good guy via sincere inquiry and education.
OPTIONAL SET
1. Do you have any comments or feedback about this application process? We will use it to improve the process.
this was the only application i've ever filled out which forced me to learn more... and vastly more than i'd like to admit xD. honestly very humbling for me (also a pretty good example of how people can unite when they agree on the highest ideals)
2. Do you have familiarity or skill with any programming languages or MediaWiki?
Programming languages: Java, C#, Python. Haven't used Java or C# in years though; very rusty.