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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'm ddde/DeeDeeDee on the discord
I've been reading the wiki for a few years now, I very much appreciate the collaborative nature but with a firm stance of it's principals to prevent revisionism introductions. I don't know if I have much information to actual contribute as a pretty ignorant person to Marxism as a whole (I'm an American and still reading through the essential list, and going slow at that). I just find spelling/grammar corrections, and want to update links (anna's archive no longer is .org) and I just want the points/credit for my edits. I have edited a few pages before for these typographical corrections.
2. What current of Marxist thought do you uphold? Describe as thoroughly as needed your path towards your current political perspective.
I'd like to say I am an ML, but as I previously said I'm not educated enough to confidently say that. My political progression is as follows: - As an "edgy teen" I completely believed in pro imperialist thought, such as "well if Palestine didn't want hospitals bombed they shouldn't put missles in it" - As an older teen I was a smug democrat who simply couldn't believe how at all republicans could exist at all, very pro Obama - In college I became a "Democratic Socialist"/Bernie Bro, but still voted for Hillary because of that liberal unity BS - Later in College I read the Communist Manifesto and became a "leftist" that was very skeptical of the PRC and DPRK but liked the Republic Of Cuba and former USSR - In my past 3-5 years I found the Prole Wiki and begun my journey of actually studying Marxism, and now better understand material conditions of my previously skeptical views of the PRC and DPRK, and now fully support them and have a strong interest in reading works by the Kims, Mao, Xi, and others (I just downloaded a bunch of collected works by them today, with the help of the Prole Wiki, and others from Anna's Archive)
This journey is completely influenced by actually looking deeper into global issues, and rejecting bourgeois news and propaganda outlets
3. Have you read our principles? Comment your agreements or objections to their points. - I just read them and completely agree with every point - I agree that the AES countries are led by Dictatorship of the Proletariat - I agree in critical support of non AES countries that resist western/NATO/globalist imperialism - I agree that Prole Wiki is guided by ML and should continue to be - I reject revisionist ideologies, both right wing and "ultra left" - I agree that (much like socialist society and governance) the wiki must reflect, self criticize, and evolve - I agree the goal of Prole Wiki is to advance class consciousness
4. Should Marxists in your country support transgender people, if so then how? Explain gender identity and sexual orientation using dialectical materialism. YES, how? Honestly not so sure, I believe that healthcare should support gender affirmation procedures, that not only should persecution of transgender people be discouraged, but they must be protected that same way that ethnic minorities, otherly abled, and other oppressed groups of people should be protected.
I'm a CIS person, and now well learned on gender identity and sexual orientation. What I do know is that gender roles and sexual orientation are influenced by the material conditions of society, which are influenced by the class structure and antagonisms, notably to me being monogamy and the isolation of women to be home makers first, then optionally laborers as seen fit by the ruling class
All that said please correct me, as I seek to improve my knowledge and solidarity to trans people and other oppressed groups
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.
I look up to both of them as amazing thinkers, doers, and leaders. Both came under the knife of imperialists (Germany and Japan) and heroically made difficult decisions in order to uphold the sovereignty of these Dictatorships of the Proletariat. I admire that even though Stalin came from poverty and Mao's family/father owned a farm with works, they both were able to become revered and successful revolutionaries.
My criticism of Stalin was letting the west have any part of Germany's reconstruction, letting them into Berlin at all For Mao, that he let the ROC exist
I also want to say they didn't do enough to resist capitalism more globally, but I recognize that as an American that we seek to intervene if someone wears the wrong color shirt, so I reject that fantasy desire.
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?
Yes they're socialist. I recognize that a socialist country isn't an on and off switch, it's about who is the ruling class, and continuing their struggle to advance socialism
I recognize the need to advance productive forces, so while opening up seems like China is advancing towards capitalism, it really isn't because the CPC is still the vanguard party of the PRC, and is steadily advancing socialism
I recognize that the DPRK isn't a monarchy, that Kim Jong Un isn't some heavenly god ruler, that the president is Choe Ryong-hae, and that it is (like the other AES states) a Dictatorship of the Proletariat
I recognize Cuba, Vietnam, and Laos as actually socialist as well, I'm just not firey enough to say more about them
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? Settler-colonialism is the process of settlers from elsewhere taking land, then over time genocide the indigenous people, by displacing them, outright killing them, or otherwise making living conditions miserable/not sustainable, taking the children and assimilating them, or sterilizing them.
The two most obvious countries that fit this are the US and Israel, as they both are taking every measure afforded to them to accomplish these eradications.
What is to be done? I think most realistically is the unity of the settler and colonialists by class and carrying out that struggle of the ruling class. I think if early enough, the colonials should be expelled, but I don't see that as possible for the 300~ million americans and however may israelis
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?
The situation in Palestine is obviously a genocide carried out by the US (and other western nations) backed Israel. It is completely abhorrent that the ruling class and even seemingly proletariat go and harass, beat, and kill the native Palestinians. We need to critically support Hamas and the united resistance effort against the Israeli settlers. I believe there is evidence that Israel killed their own citizens on Oct 7, 2023, and possibly the perpetrators of it entirely. Of course I condemn acts of violence of Hamas against captured Israelis, but evidence suggests that's not happening often. For every atrocity Hamas has committed, it seems there are 1000 that Israel has committed first. I condemn Israels acts much more than Hamas because they're the ones leveling the Palestians land, they're the ones killing, dismembering, imprisoning, and raping countless lives.
Islamic extremism is bad, but of course the Christian extremism and Zionist extremism is far worse, and I recognize the cooperation of different Palestinian groups aligned to fight off the invaders
Please don't read any of that to mean I condemn both sides equally, I fully support the liberation of Palestine from Israel, and even reject a two state solution, as Israel cannot continue to exist, it's ruthless violence against Palestine and West Asia as a whole must be stopped
Second set (hey about that optional feedback, please number the second set starting after the first set, because when I went to answer question 5 from the first set, I was accidentally scrolled to 5 on the second set, which in the end is fine, but confused me as I tried to review these answers)
4. Do you think abolishing the nuclear family should be a goal of the communist movement? If so, how would it be abolished? Yes, I think this should be a goal of the communist movement, it's clear the nuclear family was designed/formed in order to isolate collaboration (keep woman sequestered as home and baby makers), and for profit (every family needs a lawn mower, every family needs 100 cars).
How to abolish it? I think it would naturally occur as part of the democratization of the work place. As factories and other places become democratic, more communal thinking will occur. Housing will be built with communities in mind (shared tools, communal day care, communal eating, etc)
5. What do you think is the most pressing issue for communists in your country? What is your opinion of communist parties there?
In the USA, I see 2 intertwined pressing issues:
1. Correcting what Communism actually is. It's a shit flinging contest by the ruling class to demonize the other party as "Communist" (see Kamala is a communist, or Trump is Kim Jong Un)
2. Correcting national/patriotic attitudes of Statsians. Seeing the empire in decline you see more people who are in disagreement with the state, but then will either stay liberal in order to still be "American" with unobtainable progressive aims, or become Pat Socs. It seems only very few will take up Revolutionary Parties. In my state, there were only 1000 or so write in votes for president, with no further breakdown
I most support (though still critically) the PSL.
I know I described a bunch of problems, so I think in summary it's the identity of Communism to Americans
6. What do you believe to be the main difference between Marxism and other anti-capitalist movements? Marxism understands that politics are not in a vacuum, that ideology, economy, and politics are actually all related and can be explained by historical materialism, namely the class antagonisms, and how the modes of productions throughout history created those classes. I haven't seen such explainations elsewhere. Marxism correctly identifies these classes, and does not call for the blame on ethnic groups, religions, or other "villians"
7. What is Imperialism and how do institutions and programs like the IMF, Belt and Road Initiative, and the World Bank relate to it? Imperialism is the exportation of exploitation of working classes, even to places that before did not have a proletariat class. They (being the capitalists, the monopolies, banks, and militaries) work together to destroy the ways of life of victim places (which may not even be nations at that time, such the borders drawn up by Britain and other western countries in West Asia) in order to export surplus value back to the capitalists. It is/was inevitable as capitalists must gain ever increasing profits (even in spite of the tendency of profits to fall) in a finite system such as their own nations.
IMF and World Bank use loans in order to build up productive forces in developing places to then not only benefit from the loans themselves, but by having the empires capitalists either own the means of production, or somehow still profit from the bourgeois in those developing places
As for the Belt and Road INitiative, I don't believe that to be exploitative in the same way, while on the surface looks predatory (and western media will certainly lead you to believe it is), it seems to be in complete defense against imperialism entirely
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. I've read: The manifesto How marxism works - Chris Harman Principles of communism - Engels And I'm very slowly reading through Elementary principles of philosophy - Georges Politzer I have listened via audio book Imperialism The Highest Stage, and What Is To Be Done by Lenin, but those haven't sank in at all and I will need to actually read and digest them
Elementary principles of philosophy stood out the most, because I have for many years come to the understanding that the current moment are caused by the things before it, and I related that to determinism. While I still believe in free will functionally, I do believe that thoughts are primed by everything around you, including your own thoughts which are primed by everything around you, repeat and repeat. But reading this book gives a much deeper understanding of this on a much more macro scale, and that has grounded me much more in reality as I weep while people die at the hands of capital
1. Do you have any comments or feedback about this application process? We will use it to improve the process. (pasted from above) hey about that optional feedback, please number the second set starting after the first set, because when I went to answer question 5 from the first set, I was accidentally scrolled to 5 on the second set, which in the end is fine, but confused me as I tried to review these answers
2. Do you have familiarity or skill with any programming languages or MediaWiki? I am an enterprise software developer, I know SQL Server, C#, Python, and Angular (and HTML /CSS if you're being generous with what a programming language is), but not MediaWiki I've said before I'd be happy to help, and I know that conversation kinda died, but I still would be willing to help with programming in any capacity I can