cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/42229953

From Engels to Lenin to Mao, all have expressed their sheer repulsion towards dogmatism. Mao has even written one text after another and spoken in multiple meetings about battling this problem in the party. He, along with other materialists, has made it clear that the Markets are a historical category that have existed since before capitalism. Capitalism =/= Commerce.

Then how is it some Marxists who claim to have read theory call China capitalist and label its supporters as 'Dengists'? Socialists created the fastest growing economy ever observed in human history that lifted hundreds of millions of people out of absolute poverty. And now these dogmatists wanna give its credit to capitalism!?

Their entire prejudice is based on the misconception that Deng Xioping did not follow on Mao's thoughts. Deng literally heeded Maoist ideas such as "Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend" and "The masses are the real heroes, while we ourselves are often childish and ignorant". He built the productive forces for the Chinese people based on—not in spite of—the continuing influence of Mao Zedong’s ideology. Now Xi Jingping is continuing both of their legacies.

So people who make such non-materialist and often times liberal critique of the Chinese economy have either not read theory or did not develop any dialectical and historical materialism to understand the theory!

As Marxists and materialists, it is our responsibility to confront these reductionist elements in our movement and bring back the pendulum at its correct course when it swings too much to either sides; right-wing revisionism or left-wing dogmatism.

"No investigation, no right to speak." - Mao Zedong

Michael John Parenti (born 30 September 1933 - 24 January 2026 in Manhattan, New York City) was a political scientist, academic historian and cultural critic who wrote on scholarly and popular subjects. He taught at US and international universities and was a guest lecturer before campus and community audiences.

Parenti's writings covered a wide range of subjects: U.S. politics, culture, ideology, political economy, imperialism, fascism, communism, democratic socialism, free-market orthodoxies, conservative judicial activism, religion, ancient history, modern history, historiography, repression in academia, news and entertainment media, technology, environmentalism, sexism, racism, Venezuela, the wars in Iraq and Yugoslavia, ethnicity, and his own early life.

Here is a list of books written by Professor Parenti,

• The Anti-Communist Impulse (1969)
• Trends and Tragedies in American Foreign Policy (1971)
• Democracy for the Few (1974, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1995, 2001, 2007, 2011)
• Ethnic and Political Attitudes: A Depth Study of Italian Americans (1975)
• Power and the Powerless (1978)
• Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media (1986, 1993)
• The Sword and the Dollar: Imperialism, Revolution, and the Arms Race (1989)
• Make-Believe Media: The Politics of Entertainment (1992)
• Land of Idols: Political Mythology in America (1994)
• Against Empire (1995)
• Dirty Truths (1996)
• Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism (1997)
• America Besieged (1998)
• History as Mystery (1999)
• To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia (2001)
• The Terrorism Trap: September 11 and Beyond (2002)
• The Assassination of Julius Caesar: A People's History of Ancient Rome (2003)
• Superpatriotism (2004)
• The Culture Struggle (2006)
• Contrary Notions: The Michael Parenti Reader (2007)
• God and His Demons (2010)
• The Face of Imperialism (2011)
• Waiting for Yesterday: Pages from a Street Kid's Life (2013)
• Profit Pathology and Other Indecencies (2015)

Video recordings,

• 1986: Monopoly Culture and Academic Freedom at the University of Vermont, 9 April 1986
• 1986: US Interventionism, the Third World, and the USSR at the University of Colorado Boulder, 15 April 1986
• 1986: Michael Parenti at Loyola University at Loyola University New Orleans, 23 April 1986
• 1986: Anti-Sovietism in the Media at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, 20 November 1986
• 1987: The Political Uses of Religion in Denver, Colorado, 18 April 1987
• 1988: Superpatriotism and the Importance of Being Number One in Boulder, Colorado, 1 August 1988
• 1989: The Sword and the Dollar in Thunder Bay, Ontario, 27 October 1989
• 1990: Human Nature and Politics in Los Angeles, California, May 1990
• 1991: Corporatism and the U.S. Political Scene, 1991
• 1993: Conspiracy and State Power at the University of Vermont, 21 April 1993
• 1993: Inventing Reality, 17 October 1993
• 1997: The Hidden Ideology of the News Media at the University of Vermont, Burlington, 9 April 1997
• 1999: The U.S. Empire and the War against Yugoslavia at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, Berkeley, 1999
• 1999: Berkeley Mother's Day for Peace 1999 at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Civic Center Park, Berkeley, 9 May 1999
• 1999: The U.S. War on Yugoslavia in Seattle, Washington, 16 May 1999
• 2002: The Corporate War Against Democracy at Portland State University, 14 September 2002
• 2002: Terrorism, Globalism, and Conspiracyat St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church, Vancouver, 9 October 2002
• 2003: The Assassination of Julius Caesar in Venice, Colorado, 29 June 2003
• 2004: Creating a Sustainable Economy at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach, California, 24 June 2004
• 2005: Michael Parenti on Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, 23 May 2005
• 2005: Iraq and the Future of US Foreign Policy at Wesleyan University, Connecticut, 18 April 2005
• 2005: The Darker Myths of Empire: Heart of Darkness Series at the College of DuPage, 16 November 2005
• 2007: Lies, Wars, & Empire at Binghamton University, 9 October 2007
• 2010: Deep Ideology: How Reactionary Agendas Shape Political Awareness at the University Inn & Conference Center, Santa Cruz, 14–16 May 2010
• 2011: The Face of Imperialism and The 99% Solution at the University of Guelph, 2 November 2011
• 2012: Democracy and the Pathology of Wealth at the La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley, 6 January 2012
• 2013: Michael Parenti on the Threat of US Imperialism in Vancouver, British Columbia, November 2013
• 2015: Capitalism vs. Reality'' in Springfield, Illinois, 6 October 2015

Jorge Antonio Rodríguez (February 16, 1942 – July 25, 1976) was a Venezuelan student leader and politician. He was a leader of the Revolutionary Left Movement and, later, founder of the Socialist League.

Rodríguez was detained and interrogated by agents of the Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services (DISIP) on July 23, 1976. He was murdered, dying on July 25, 1976. His official cause of death was a heart attack, which was attributed to the torture he was subjected to during his detention. Autopsy found "seven broken ribs, a collapsed chest, and a detached liver". He died at the age of 34, when his children, Jorge and Delcy—who would hold important positions in the government of Nicolás Maduro almost fifty years later–were ten and seven.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/10450560