this post was submitted on 30 Nov 2025
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He's right in that the hatred and oppression of the outgroups has been exported to the third world. But this is not quite the same purpose that the outgroup served under Nazi Germany. The outgroup served some material benefit in work camps during the war but this was not it's main purpose.
The main purpose was to direct the failures of capitalism to a scapegoat. To unite the nation under fascism and nationalism so that as the material conditions of the working class continued to decline the hatred would further be directed at that group.
And, while the US is definitely directing it's xenophobia in a way similar to this, it is not being done by the same group that wants healthcare and high speed rail. The group that wants healthcare and high speed rail barely has any influence in American politics.
I think BE has this take because he spends far too much time arguing with liberals that have no understanding of Imperialism but do want "better things and not worse things" and so attracted to DSA candidates and that movement.
There is no class consciousness in the US. And BE keeps arguing for a new political party while at the same time criticizing an organization who's main material benefit is not in electoral politics. DSA is a stepping stone for education. It is not that movement. If you're reading this and at all think you are a leftist, then chances are, you started that journey with Bernie in 2016. Bernie is a SocDem Zionist. He's not what we want. But he was a stepping stone for many people that grew up in their politics to realize that "the left" is not the Democratic party at all.
It's why he doesn't talk about PSL at all but spends all day critizing DSA. If he promoted PSL instead of DSA I would take his criticism more seriously. If he was offering an alternative I would take his criticism more seriously. He has good criticism that a lot of leftist will nod their head and agree with. BUT, he is serving the purpose of inaction. He is giving leftist a place to reasonably decide to just not do anything and maintain their doomerism. Whether this is his intention or not really doesn't matter. Whether he sometimes mentions vaguely what should be done instead does not matter. His viewers are consuming his content to serve the rational of their own inaction.
PSL is essentially exactly what he wants people to be doing. They focus on material support and improvement at the community level and run political candidates as a means of exposure. But I don't think he actually cares. I think he enjoys being critical more than he enjoys being helpful. If he wanted to be helpful he'd offer analysis on why DSA is able to get mass political exposure by running political candidates and why PSL fails to do so. That would be a good video and would better serve to introduce his viewers to an alternative.
PSL needs more leftist. But we're not getting any more of you showing up because you watched a BE video criticizing DSA. You know you just sit at home instead.
He does though. It's because the DSA is part of the DNC and they work with the same DNC consultants. The DSA poses no threat to the duopoly because it's part of it.
If you want a hillarious 1:30 hour debate with a DSA member I recommend this https://youtu.be/tQJqyrb7vFk. Watch a few minutes of the start of the debate and then skip to the middle for the content
He does not and has not actually talked about PSL or anything outside of the electoral politics of DSA. He literally only mentions them in the context of the electoral politics. Nothing else.
I think the fact that people think the debate was "hilarious" is more telling of the people that enjoy BEs content for that type of slop. The DSA guy was literally just a normal guy talking to someone that spends their life critizing people online. No normal person is going to moved to the left if every leftist they meet acted like BE. I'm sorry, that's just the world we live in.
It's the same reason why when BE talked with Hasan on Noah's Livestream he spent the whole time agreeing with Hasan and backpedaling on a lot of his criticism. He has some good criticisms of DSA. But even in that debate when the DSA member brings up PSL BE does not even recognize it. Like, I don't think he actually has a good idea of what these organizations like PSL and DSA are actually doing outside of their electoral politics. And he either completely avoided talking about PSL or literally didn't even know what the DSA guy was talking about. Either way, he's not someone to get a good takes from for leftist organizations in the US. He's great on other things. Especially his old content. His video on the American genocide of natives as a blueprint for Hitler. That video was absolutely top tier.
But he just does not care to talk about organizing outside of criticism of electoral politics. He will gesture to it as a "do more" statement. But that's not at all the purpose of his content or what people get out of it.
Every time the DSA guy tried to point to anything outside of electoral politics BE would literally just redirect it back to it; and mock any local organizing as "book clubs". He understands Imperialism, he understands history, he is great at many things. But as far as useful criticism of leftist organizations; he's essentially acting as a doomer with very little constructive advice.
I partially agree. Orgs like PSL or Greens do indeed offer alternatives and he doesn't talk about those much. Even indepedents like Kshama Sawant don't get any mention. In that you're completely right.
But his criticism of DSA remains completely valid. It serves as a limited hangout to prevent people from joining other organizations and is designed to not get anything done. When he calls the DSA a book club he's not exaggerating and he gives plenty of good examples.
Local organizing is irrelevant when the organisation refuses to use power when it has it.
What example of the DSA having power and refusing to use it are you referring to? I would not say any single candidate that came from the DSA being elected and captured by the Democratic party is an example of the organization.
The idea that a candidate like Mamdani will not "play ball" once elected to do everything they can to get the bare minimum of their policy implemented is silly. No one with a brain isn't expecting this. His goal is some form of positive material changes for those he represents. The point is to associate the left with material changes that improve people's lives. That's all electoral politics under a bourgeoise dictatorship will ever be.
For someone that should understand the limitations of electoral politics under a "liberal democracy" (something BE should know) he is absolutely obsessed with only looking at American leftist through that lense.
And it's just the result of him being a content creator. He is focused, ironically, on the liberal idea of activism because that's the view that most Americans (even so called leftist) view the lense of change from. Which is just not Marxist in its analysis in the slightest. Which is not something I think BE has ever claimed to be. But he seems to have captured a group of leftist that seem to think he is.
The DSA is probably at its most powerful moment ever right now... So they have decided to endorse DNC establishment ghoul Hakeem Jeffries instead of his DSA challenger Chi Osse.
BE also doesn't tell Americans everything should be solved through electoralism