the total transformation¶
Communism is the ideology that seeks the total transformation of every molecule of society, the abolition of every last vestige of oppression. It is revolutionary, intentional, rigorous, scientific, ruthless, uncompromising, bloody.
"Socialism" is a vibe. Malleable. Facile. https://t.co/cihlsdP3nR Before communism, "socialism" was the name for all the petty dreamers. The idealists, who wished upon a star for a society that was nicer to its downtrodden. To be a socialist requires little more than to personally adopt the values of kindness, fairness, and generosity. It was always easy for the elites to be socialists. They could afford to while away their days writing pamphlets and poems of an ideal world, free from the sins of greed and violence. They could imagine a world where they still lived in luxury, but no one suffered for it. When communism began to cohere as an ideology -- as the real movement to abolish the present state of things -- that utopianism started to fall out of fashion. This was no longer a philosophical exercise to explore what a "perfect society" would look like. It was now a war. "Socialist" then became the title adopted by those who did not believe in fighting a literal revolutionary war. They were the ones who wanted society to evolve, not to be destroyed and replaced. "Socialism" became even more vague -- it just meant "a good society." The "goodness" of that society was completely subjective, and could now be mapped onto ANY ideology. Hitler was now free to call his movement "socialist," because it worked toward the "common weal" -- that is, the weal of the Volksgemeinschaft, to the detriment of "lesser" folk. Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, even that vague promise of "working toward the common good" was demonized throughout the west as being too reminiscent of the real movement -- of communism. To even hold those ideals of peace and equality was treasonous. This allowed the anticommunist socialists to feel, without needing to actually present a material threat to the state, that they were repressed martyrs, stalwart heroes of the masses. To simply espouse socialist values became "radical."
Salvation through faith alone was back. And where are we today, in the 21st century? "Socialism" is no longer a dirty word. The banner is now once again held up proudly by those idealists who simply want a "just and equitable society," who want fair wages and generous social programs and an end to war. The rightmost factions still try to paint socialism as an existential threat to the social order, and the left flank is eager to play up how "radical" they are for "challenging the status quo," even as they march in lockstep with hegemony. To be socialist requires no sacrifice, no criticism of empire and oppression. It doesn't even require real opposition to genocide. A socialist is someone who wishes the world was a better place, but despises those who fight to end the status quo.
A communist fights.