this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2026
39 points (64.4% liked)

Memes

57172 readers
608 users here now

Rules:

  1. Be civil and nice.
  2. Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.

founded 7 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] davel@lemmy.ml 42 points 1 day ago (1 children)

On the one hand, Western Marxists and Marxist-Leninists are not the same, but on the other hand, both of them—and even anarchists sometimes—get called tankie by liberals anyway.

[–] alsaaas@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

"Western Marxists" like Sartre or Parenti?

[–] gary_host_laptop@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 day ago (3 children)

no, more like chomsky. it's not nationality that matter but who you're aligned with.

[–] alsaaas@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Who would consider Chomsky a Marxist? 😭💀

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 6 points 20 hours ago

I think Epstein called him that in one of the emails

[–] Ariselas@piefed.ca 10 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Chomsky's Epstein ties kinda lead me to dismiss anything he has ever wrote.

[–] MaxLemminist@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 day ago

You're a few decades late to the party

[–] gary_host_laptop@lemmy.ml 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

parenti wrote a book which is kind of like manufacturing consent but better which is called inventing reality, i think you'll learn something reading chomsky beyond him being a piece of shit, but you'll learn more if you read parenti, lol.

https://www.michael-parenti.org/book-inventing-reality

[–] Krinkil2705@lemmygrad.ml 9 points 1 day ago

Based Parenti still kicking ass from the grave!

[–] ClathrateG@hexbear.net 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Parenti sure but Sartre wasn't a Marxist-Leninist he was a 'libertarian marxist' and not in the Rossa Luxemburg Council Communism, or Anarcho-Communism's use of that term, he's extremely heterodox given a favourable view on his attempts to critique classic Marxism with his own phenomenology, and anti-marxist giving a less favourable reading

[–] alsaaas@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Marxism-Leninism strongly rejects classic/orthodox Marxism, no?

[–] ClathrateG@hexbear.net 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's subjective view, personally I would call Marxism-Leninism an extension of Marx's Marxism rather than a rejection, their main difference being that Marx predicted that Socialist revolution would begin at the in the most advanced capitalist nations(such as Britain and France and the time both were writing) Leninism emphasizes the particular role imperialism plays alongside global capitalism, and thus that revolution may begin in a society such as the Tsarist Russia Empire which while capitalist in many respects still retained many feudal characteristics, which according to your own views on the socialist character of the October revolution, August Revolution etc has been proven correct

[–] alsaaas@lemmy.dbzer0.com 0 points 1 day ago

yes, you can individually choose to redefine widely agreed/used on terms when talking about the history of Marxism. It just makes conversation with others so much harder, as with all subjective definitions

[–] gary_host_laptop@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

no, marxism leninism is considered the "orthodox" reading by many. the orthodox being not abandoning class struggle as the main moving force of history. which is essentially what eurocomunnism introduced in the west. rejection of class struggle. introduction of communist parties into electoralism. abandoning armed struggle. supporting liberal policies and the liberalization of the party.

[–] alsaaas@lemmy.dbzer0.com -5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

It seems you do not know the history of Marxism very well or we are using differing definitions.

The Mensheviks were largely orthodox Marxists e.g.

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 day ago

Regardless of which tendency is “orthodox”—a fruitless conversation given that each tendency claims orthodoxy—the great majority of Marxists in the world are Marxist-Leninists, and the only successful communist projects to date have been Marxist-Leninist ones.

[–] gary_host_laptop@lemmy.ml 16 points 1 day ago

that's because "orthodox" in the case of marxism is largely a matter of optics. the mensheviks could be considered orthodox simply because of their ties to russia, the bolsheviks, and so on, but when we analyze their policies we realize they were simply opportunistic and reactionary. today the term is widely used in the sense i describe. essentially to differentiate between actual revolutionary movements that did not abandon class struggle, and eurocommunism which is essentially red liberalism in circlejerk academia groups.