A New Strategy For The American Left, by Yanis Iqbal

Socialism

Image by Jacob Anikulapo via Flickr

by Yanis Iqbal
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Aligarh, India
November 18, 2020

Joe Biden won the 2020 US Presidential Election after narrowly defeating the sitting president Donald Trump. This victory comes at a tremendous cost: the defeat of an incipient counter-hegemonic movement which embryonically expressed demands for an alternative future to capitalism. Even after the collective utterance of anger against police brutality and the nascent realization of the structural violence of capitalism, the electoral mechanisms of the American bourgeoisie state have been successful in thwarting the full-blown development of a distinctively socialist campaign. Following the ideological mutilation of massive protests against an inherently exploitative system, Americans have been rewarded with Biden – a dyed-in-the-wool bourgeoisie politician who once opposed de-segregation, called on police to shoot Black Lives Matter demonstrators in the leg, rejected the smallest of concessions to the working class, vehemently supported imperialist wars and refused to commit to even the minimal reforms of the Green New Deal.

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Alex Vitale: Defunding The Police Is The Future + Anya Parampil and Frank Chapman: What Does Community Control Of Police Look Like?

Graffiti, George Floyd protest, Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 2020

Image by Renoir Gaither via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

TheRealNews on Jul 8, 2020

Police and police unions have proven incapable of ensuring public safety, argues Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing.

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Aspects of Russian Communism and Why Communism in the West Would Be Different, by Gaither Stewart

CCCP USSR in Moscow

Image by J Duval via Flickr

by Gaither Stewart
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Rome, Italy
June 17, 2020

“A civilization reveals itself as fruitful by its ability to incite others to imitate it: when it no longer dazzles them it is reduced to a mere collection of odds and ends and vestiges of former worldly greatness. The successive attempts of Napoleon and Hitler to create a world empire failed, as the United States of North America has failed in our time because any initial attraction they might have exerted on the conquered transformed into resistance and hate as a result of their genocidal policies or military occupation and/or exploitation of the resources of the conquered lands instead of gradual absorption and acceptance of different peoples and the furthering of local cultures.” (Paraphrased from Cioran’s Histoire et Utopie)

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Caleb Maupin: What is the Lumpenproletariat? + Will Griffin: What Are The Principles of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism?

by Caleb Maupin
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Caleb Maupin (website)
Caleb Maupin (Facebook Page)
May 10, 2020

“Well also within the working-class, Marx talked about you have the lumpenproletariat and what the lumpenproletariat is, is people that are part of the working class but they’re never really allowed to be part of the working class. Their income comes from criminal activities mostly. They’re barely employed, they’re barely surviving, they’re desperately poor and they’re just completely locked out.” — Caleb Maupin

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Chris Hedges, Kali Akuno and Richard Wolff: Lenin: His Works’ Pertinence Here and Now, Left Forum 2019

Leningrad

Image by rdesign812 via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges, Kali Akuno and Richard D. Wolff

Left Forum 2019

A century ago, Lenin led the world’s first revolution against capitalism that successfully established a new and different government and society, the USSR. Lenin’s work before, during and shortly after that revolution left a legacy of insights, strategies, and programs. This panel aims to highlight and discuss some of the most pertinent aspects for today of Lenin’s life and work. We intend to include time for audience participation and discussion.

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