Base and Superstructure

Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Page 53 of 116

faq

FAQ #8: What’s your ideology?

October 18, 2021 /

OK, so one weird thing about leftist blogging? People often ask some version of the old question, ‘what’s your ideology?’

With liberals, this means asking whether you’re a Democrat or [insulting term for the sectarian leftist group liberals are upset about today]. But I’m not going to spend much time on that.

I want to talk about the version leftists ask. Leftists might ask whether you’re an anarchist. Or a communist and/or Marxist-Leninist, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist, or Trotskyist. Or anarcho communist. And so on.

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October reading list 2021 balzac

October Reading List (2021)

October 14, 2021 /

Welcome to the October 2021 edition of the reading (and watching) list! Here are some things I’m reading (and watching) lately, as we move fully into the fall. Hopefully this gives readers some ideas for what to pick up as they lose fall leaves and prepare for colder weather.

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About That October 15 Fake Strike

October 11, 2021 /

fake strike general strike picard

I’m sure some readers know about the planned ‘general strike’ on October 15. Or is it a fake strike? At least, many know that a group claims it’s planning one. Is it really planning one? Maybe. Probably not. Will there be a general strike on October 15?

No.

And that’s my topic for today. In fact, the October 15 event looks like a fake strike. I want to talk for a bit about the ‘fake strike‘: why it keeps happening, what it means, and what it says about the left.

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slacktivists

Social Media and Slacktivists

October 7, 2021 /

It’s an older term, but it checks out. ‘Slacktivists.’ Those of us who used the Internet in the 1990s know it as a term for the kids who signed online petitions and then…did nothing. That’s it. They didn’t follow up or take part in any other political actions.

And then along came social media. Maybe slacktivists still sign online petitions. I can’t tell. At least we know they went all-in on the Facebook likes and shares.

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iowa city politics

A Quick Primer on Iowa City Politics

October 4, 2021 /

I live in Iowa City. Among other things, it’s (by far) the most liberal part of a purple state. Look, Iowa’s a lot more red than it used to be. But I grew up in Indiana. We’re still doing better here in Iowa than over there. And we’re doing better in Iowa City than anywhere else in Iowa.

Living in a liberal oasis of sorts affects our local politics. For one, the GOP is basically a non-entity. All serious politics at the city level takes place within a political space we might describe as ‘to the left of Joe Manchin.’ Within that broad space, we have all flavors of Democratic, leftist, independent, and even libertarian factions.

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