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FIRST SET (please answer all 8 questions):
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 first learned about ProleWiki through Lemmygrad comments and posts. I haven't spent much time interacting with ProleWiki until I saw a Lemmygrad comment recommending the book "History of the USSR" which is in the ProleWiki library. The book is a scan of the original, and so the OCR'ed version which is on ProleWiki has a fair number of digitalization errors.
I'm only interested in an account so I can edit that book in the Library and fix the errors while I read. It's turning out to be an even more time-consuming task than I anticipated, so I'm hoping to get through "Part 1" and take a break. I'm trying to stay as faithful to the original as possible, so I intend to do very minimal editing. I'm not very familiar with MediaWiki, but I'm generally familiar with other formats like Markdown and LaTeX.
I hope to contribute more edits like this if the first task goes well. I don't think I'm theoretically or historically strong enough to write articles, but I can proofread!
2. What current of Marxist thought do you uphold? Describe as thoroughly as needed your path towards your current political perspective.
Ideologically I think I agree with Marxism-Leninism the most, but I haven't read enough theory to describe with more specific labels. I followed a really typical path for a US liberal, with my first politically conscious stance as an adult supporting Bernie Sanders and the social-democratic values he claimed to hold. While the campaign failed, it did make me realize that there is a whole world of socialism out there which I wasn't really aware of. So I dove head-first into Marx, first reading the Manifesto and then going through Capital 1-3 via David Harvey's lecture series.
After that "initiation", I tried focusing on less analytic and more historical works, so I've been slowly re-learning the history of the long 20th century from a communist perspective, with the help of the comrades on Hexbear and Lemmygrad. Lately I've been into reading some Lenin (State and Rev, parts of What is to be done, etc), Parenti, Rodney, Vijay Prashad, Ruy Mauro Marini, Domenico Losurdo, Carlos Martinez, Vincent Bevins. I notice though that this list is very male and I'd like to incorporate more non-male comrades if I can, such as Leslie Feinberg and Angela Davis.
3. Have you read our principles? Comment your agreements or objections to their points.
Is it boring if I generally agree with the principles of ProleWiki? I am on board with the concept of critical support for national bourgeois states when the primary contradiction is against imperialism. Support only in the ways those states take progressive actions, and not support for chauvinism (national chauvinists, homophobia, religious persecution, etc). But I also detest the way that imperialist countries fake support for LGBT rights as an excuse to destroy other countries through warfare and sanctions.
4. What is your understanding of gender? Should Marxists support the LGBT community?
Gender is not binary, and not something that people are "born as". Historically gender roles have been attributed based on sex, but gender itself is more of a performance of one's identity in relation to society. Being cis, I'm generally aware of concepts of gender from e.g. Judith Butler, but I haven't really studied this since becoming a communist. So I need to review what I've learned to filter out the radlib stuff I've picked up over the years.
Marxists should absolutely support the LGBT community. There is a lot to learn from these comrades since they have a lot of experience to share about resistance to oppression that can be useful in other movements.
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'm still learning the historical role of both Stalin and Mao. I have a positive view of Stalin (particularly in his interviews with westerners e.g. HG Wells) for his contributions to the national question in the USSR, and for his excellent foresight to kick-start war communism ahead of the Nazi advance. I understand it was also his decision to move steel and munitions factories safely behind the Ural mountains. Wish he hadn't stopped at Berlin tho.
Unfortunately I don't know enough about Mao or the Chinese revolution yet (sorry) to give a clear answer on Mao. I understand basic things from On Contradiction and how the Chinese communists made strategic alliances with the bourgeoisie. Generally I understand Mao to be an excellent dialectical thinker.
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?
I believe all of these countries are socialist. China follows a socialist model of dictatorship of the proletariat which allows for a capitalist class to exist in the society, but the capitalist class is not given the reigns to society. History has shown this to have worked very well for China. Cuba is also socialist but has been under an incredibly long economic blockade by the Great Satan for decades, which impedes its ability to grow. Despite this, Cuba still has incredible achievements in the medical field and in the democratic process. The DPRK follow a socialist ideology which makes a lot of sense for their situation, making a primary focus toward self-sufficiency. I'm not so familiar with modern day Vietnam or Lao, but the communists of Vietnam and Laos are heroes for fighting and winning against the US imperialists.
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?
The two countries I think of first as settler-colonial are the USA and "Israel". I think control of the land should be given back to the indigenous population in both cases, which is not to say that all the settlers should be removed from the land. Instead, I think realistically this means that the leadership is taken away from the settlers (and shit will immediately improve). In the current moment, every encroachment by the settlers should be resisted where possible, whether in Gaza, the USA, or Canada.
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?
"Israel" is a settler-colonial state occupying Palestine. The western imperialists use the existence of "Israel" as a wedge to divide the region and prevent a unified political entity from arising which could control oil and critical trade routes. The events of October 7th can be compared to a slave rebellion; the events cannot be understood without the context of Gazans being forced into concentration camp conditions.
SECOND SET (choose 5 questions to answer):
1. In your own words, how would you describe dialectical materialism?
Dialectical materialism is the method of analyzing human society with the understanding that mental conceptions derive from the material conditions. People have ideal/mental conceptions of the world, but these conceptions come from their material interests. In this way, the actions of history can be seen as certain real material conflicts of interest being worked out through idealogical struggle. Kind of like how a fish may not know it's wet, a bourgeois may not realize that their entire framework of concepts is conditioned by their class interest. Dialectical materialism systematizes this study to help inform the proletariat how to advance their position.
2. What are your thoughts on national liberation or the concept of land back (either one)?
I kind of referenced land back in an earlier question, so I'll touch on national liberation. I think national liberation is an important step for colonized nations. Getting out of the yoke of imperialist domination is the first step a nation should take before it can even think about going down the path of proletarian revolution.
3. Have you read anything on Marxist feminism? What are your perspectives on it? 4. Do you think abolishing the nuclear family should be a goal of the communist movement? If so, how would it be abolished?
(Haven't read Engels' On the Origin of the Family yet...) I think abolishing the nuclear family should be a strategic goal of the communist movement, but it shouldn't be the first thing which a communist party does upon taking power. I think instead, the communist party should aim to make the nuclear family obsolete. I think socialized childcare should be a priority. This is not to say that we rip children away from parents, but that there should be an understanding that a child is not the property of parents. Society as a whole is responsible for raising a child correctly, and I think this should be reflected the social structure of parenting.
5. What do you think is the most pressing issue for communists in your country? What is your opinion of communist parties there? 6. What do you believe is the main difference between Marxism and other anti-capitalist movements?
Marxism to me is the anti-capitalist movement which takes a few things as guiding principles: scientific socialism, i.e. testing theories through practice; anti-moralist socialism, meaning that the justification for anti-capitalism doesn't simply come from begging for a more moral bourgeoisie; and dialectical materialist, meaning Marxism has a robust method for studying the world situation effectively.
The relationship between anarchism and Marxism has been debated to death, and I don't have much to add. I think the way anarchists and Marxists do praxis lines up often enough that it doesn't always matter.
7. What is Imperialism and how do institutions and programs like the IMF, Belt and Road Initiative, and the World Bank relate to it? 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'll take some from my earlier answer:
Lenin: To me Lenin was a superb example of praxis, he was heavily involved in movements and theorized alongside the movement. He used Marxism to clearly understand various class interests, when it was important to act, and analying trends in the socialist movement. This is mostly in relation State and Revolution.
Vijay Prashad: I'm getting through his book "The Darker Nations" at the moment. I'm finding it very helpful in plotting out the various national movements in the third world in the 20th century. Vincent Bevin's "The Jakarta Method" is like seeing this from the other side, how US covert and not-so-covert operations tried to sabotage third world sovereignty. I hope to read a lot more Prashad.
Ruy Mauro Marini: His book "Dialectics of Dependency" was a great introduction for me to the concept of super-exploitation of labor. While dependency theory had its own problems, I think it stands out as one important attempt of trying to understand and integrate Marxist thought from a peripheral country perspective in the world system.
Carlos Martinez: While I haven't read "The East Is Still Red", I've watched various videos and interviews about this book. It's going to be really useful to me as a resource for arguments for supporting China, especially in conversation with people who aren't already on board.
OPTIONAL QUESTIONS (not necessary, but it could give you an advantage):
1. Do you have any comments or feedback about this application process? We will use it to improve the process. 2. Do you have familiarity or skill with any programming languages or MediaWiki?
I am pretty familiar with programming (C, C#, Java, SQL, VB, JS, a little Haskell, etc). No experience with front-end development. No experience with MediaWiki.