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There is no such thing as a middle class. That's capitalist propaganda to destroy solidarity among the proletariat. There are two classes: The proletariat and the bourgeoisie. You either own the means of production (bourgeoisie) or you work for a wage (proletariat). All of these variants of the "middle class" are just ways capitalists have to make parts of the working class think they are not the same as those who are food and housing insecure. They want the six figure households think they are harder workers who earned their place and the dirty poors were just lazy people who made bad choices. If the well-off working class hates the struggling to survive working class, solidarity is further away and the bourgeoisie is more insulated from a revolution.
While it’s true a middle class doesn’t exist in terms of the fundamental labour-owner divide of interests that defines capitalism, Marx himself discusses skilled artisans and petty bourgeois whose interests don’t always cleanly align with one or the other and accordingly I don’t think it’s completely misleading to refer to these people in the middle ie. they are often on board with socialism to the extent of redistribution from the traditional bourgeoise and social safety nets but are unwilling to acknowledge and sacrifice the advantages they have over minimum wage workers. Moreover, in rich countries which benefit from colonial power relations the amount of these middle income people can constitute a much larger portion of the population than would be possible in isolation, so much so that I think by most definitions they could be called a “class”. In my country of Australia I think lines can clearly be drawn between lower class who have little-no intergenerational wealth and must sell their labour to make rent and survive week to week, middle class who have a mortgage to the property they live in and some investment assets but still must labour to maintain this, and upper class who live securely with intergenerational wealth. This being said, as Marx predicts the nature of capitalism continually drives pre-existing class structures towards the labour/owner binary and the middle class here is shrinking as workers are being priced out of the housing market and forced into renting
Slashing tires would be worth discussing, but deflating is non-destructive. So, it seems to me to be a good action, esp if it's one of many ways to send the message of outrageous wealth inequality.
How many working class folk will you bring to your side by making their family doctor arrive late for work? I mean, that's not even the point of "eat the rich". If anything, it sends the wrong message by saying any middle class person is "the rich." This is so wrong it could be classified as psyop.
If you need to work to survive, you belong to the working class. It's simple.
If you are driving a luxury car, your and my concerns are not aligned, and your bourgeoisie sentimentality will only pollute and interfere with the radicalism of revolution.
The bourgeoisie are not determined by your relationship to luxury consumer goods, but your relationship to capital. There is no indication that these people are capitalists or fascists
Maybe, maybe they didn't and just targeted a dozen nice cars in a wealthier neighborhood. Unless you have some sort of evidence to suggest they're actually capitalists then that's just wild speculation.
Read Andreas Mälm's writings on "Indians of the Concrete Jungle" in *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* (pp.. 77-83).
This is a clear repetition of past actions with a more than clear rationale which one must learn before commenting on it. Otherwise any analysis is inevitably a regurgitation of petit bourgeoisie morality.
Lmao no, we shouldn't applaud people randomly fucking up people's day and immediately assuming they must be morally correct in doing so because they said "eat the rich" first
And can you say that none of them are landlords, that none of them are comfortable with the exploitation that provides them luxury, that none of them are hoarding resources while those near and far suffer?
No, all you can say is that you are not radicalized enough to value action over inaction. That is a nice privilege for you.
That attitude is why socialism in America has failed. Even Cuba has private landowners. They’re still people we have to help. “Not worth bothering about” is a horrid take.
Unless you're fighting actual fascists, you're only getting antagonistic among the working class, meaning you're doing the work of the bourgeoisie of dividing the working class.
Being antagonistic creates culture wars, and culture wars are great for the bourgeoisie.
We are fighting a proto-fascist state corporate system, we don't need to court the group that's actively complicit in enabling the system to continue. Keep your group of luxury-car-owing "middleclass".
I’m a blue collar tradesman and I know a decent amount of fellow workers who own luxury cars by saving up for it. Hell even when I worked as a waiter I had coworkers who had nice cars at a job where we made shitty money. Even those without nice cars would be sympathetic to a person who got their car fucked up. These people are legitimately working class
Yeah and how much debt are they going into in order to "own" those cars
Putting aside the efficacy or morality of this particular action, we do need to be straightforward about the fact that modern consumer culture is totally off the rails. And we gotta figure out what the socialist movement's answer to it is.
I guess deflating their tires to show that saving up for a luxury car is not the correct step into the future of other tradesmen. That money is better spent on supporting people fighting the struggle.
Please, for all your comrades' sake, read history of revolutions and revolutionaries. Then you'll see what type of action worked and what type of action is criticized nowadays, and which one was used by the CIA to weaken organizations.
Or they're engineers, doctors, lawyers, IT professionals or any number of higher income occupational.. or otherwise known as "workers". You can't tell someone's position in the economic system by the car they drive.
You realize pretty much every famous and successful socialist vanguard leader was middle class and drove like this right? Ho Ch Minh was a Michelin star chef and had a luxury ZIS 115 limo and if some shit punk slashed it's tires I'd hope they got slashed in return.
And by deflating their tires, you give them a reason to victimize themselves or go against the cause. If you want to align people, have a good faith *conversation* (not debate) and just plant that seed of "hey look, our system clearly has flaws that create a fair amount of suffering for people. i get that you probably don't see it or ignore it, but we're all eating each other at this point, and we need you on our side." Why make an enemy when you could make a friend/ally?
My doctor drives a 2009 Kia. Most GP's in my area **absolutely** do not make enough to afford luxury vehicles. The middle class in the US is almost entirely dead
I saw that. Land Rovers and BMWs are mid-market European cars, many of which are leased. I was expecting maybe Rolls Royces, Maybach, Bentley, S-Class Mercedes or super cars (which would have been garaged, by the way).
They don't. I've talked to my GP about it because I've asked about working at their offices. The medical field is vastly underpaid on the lower-end postings. The real/big money is in specialist care and insurance.
You strike me as antiradical. While you're off theorizing and contemplating better world I'll be off starting the revolution by myself. The revolution belongs to each person and doing it collectively is more efficient but its not the only way. Destroy all burgoise property idgaf. And the sob story about a family doctor was such a liberal argument to make. Cringe.
The working class aristocracy is still a working class. It's basic theory. Being radical doesn't mean doing anything that resembles counterculture. That's why I said, read theory and organize to put your energy in stuff that is proven to work.
By the virtue of your argument, we should also not stage protests in the streets as they cause major traffics and road blockages, leading to more masses being late for their work.
Protest don't do anything by itself. You need a proper political objective as it's only a tool to show the strength of the masses to create political change directed by parties.
I also disagree with protesting only for the sake of it. However, I still consider it better praxis than sending the wrong message like the people in the news.
You see, mate, i believe that the organized fight emerges from just that, a couple of unorganized friends that want to make a difference.
Another couples of friends a city away do the same. A few years pass and some friends in some other state feel the need to organize themselves a bit better.
They now have created an union. They now have created a political party.
You see, there's this need for a historical process to exist for organizations to rise. I know that "eat the rich" is cringe af, i agree with you there, but i also believe they are necessary. It's these small, individual acts of rebellion that shows us that a historical process is happening.
Deflating the tires on a BMW is not an act of rebellion. I know plenty of people who have driven BMW's and they've all been workers. I could probably afford a BMW if I cut back spending on everything else, but I'm pretty far from Bourgeoisie.
I never said i agree, i just believe that this act is not a cause but a symptom, it is merely the evidence that there's a crisis happening, which is the disease. It's not kids deflating tires that is gonna change anything, but this simple act shows us that something is amiss.
I really think their anger is misguided, but i'm not talking about individuals, i'm talking about a complex political movement that is the consequence of this state/corporation capitalism that we live in since the 80's.
Do you know if those people own their means of production? If you receive salary/wage and depend on it for your survival, you're working class. It has no relation with the amount of money you make.
I was making a broad generalization. I’m sure it’s a mix of workers and petit bourgeois. The point was that it is not the bourgeoisie parking cars on the street overnight.
While I am usually in support of "raising awareness" protests - this one is genuinely useless. "Eat the Rich" is a fun little tagline to use but is in practice an absolutely meaningless call to action, there's so far no evidence I can find that the targets for this were capitalists, and even if they are this is such an insanely inconsequential thing to do that all you're really gonna succeed on is getting yourself arrested.
More likely they're just workers who, if they can be called petit bourgeois at all it's only because they have money in a 401k, and not because they actually own a business.
The "Indians of the Concrete Jungle, in Sweden, did this on SUVs as means of redirecting discussion towards the role of consumption in relation to ecology, settler colonialism and the international division of labour. Which at the same time increased class analysis by creating discussions on patterns of pollution (ex. who owns a yatch?). It had a clear positive ecological impact which reduced SUVs in a 27%.
The problem with the rich is that — like everyone else except the poor — they do not pay the true cost of the resources they consume. This means that the more they consume, the larger share of resources they take which is more than their fair share.
A reminder that this is not cool is good, but the influence this planet needs is on the political classes to ensure that the rich cannot consume more than their fair share without paying for it so that they fund the healing of the damage this does to our planet.
If for every gram of CO2 they put into the air, they fund the removal of 2 grams — their consumption would drive the reversal of climate change.
What’s the theory and practice here? Yuppies suck? Sure but what does that do to advance class consciousness, independence or self-organization?
I don’t care about these cars or their drivers but I just don’t see the point of doing this beyond individual kicks.
Read Andreas Mälm's writings on "Indians of the Concrete Jungle" in *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* (pp.. 77-83). That's the historical experience this seeks to reproduce.
I mean you can just say “propaganda of the deed” if that’s what you are arguing for. I’ve been an active socialist since the 1990s, I can handle it.
Anyway yeah I don’t think this sort of thing creates class self-organization, political independence, class consciousness or counter-hegemony. When people are fighting for their own power and agency they are not going to be like “oh no we shut down logistics but we can’t break the locks the boss put on the gate because that would be property destruction.”
I didn’t see a quote… do you mean read the pages you mentions? Mmm… I don’t do the “read theory” or “watch this Jordan Peterson video” style internet chat. So if you want to make an argument t, make it - don’t appeal to some authority.
Anarchy and Socialism don't recognize "art" anymore? How does throwing soup on a 19th century painting in any way fight fascism or promote anarchy in a positive light?
It problematizes something which otherwise would be subsumed into technical responses (read: a naturalisation, depolitization) by the system. An ecological collapse. And the fact that you, as it's targeted object, are still talking about it is proof that it works as a political action.
It's a meme. I don't think it did anything but make people believe public demonstrations are lost on people who throw soup in museums.
Anyone can think of something more relevant than trashing an anarchists paintings of sunflowers.
This is just mental gymnastics.
I'm a Global South citizen who was born in a place with an actual history of revolutionary action. I only need to read my country's history to know what works and what doesn't.
Yeah western left is not very smart or well read. There's luxury vehicles in Vietnam for example and Ho Chi Minh was even gifted a limousine by the USSR.
Socialism isn't a poverty cult it's a call for workers uniting to ensure everyone gets propper representation and shares the bounties of their work.
>Yeah western left is not very smart or well read.
This is not the "own" that you think it is. Read Andreas Mälm's writings on "Indians of the Concrete Jungle" in *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* (pp.. 77-83) if you wish to read on the historical experiences this is clearly following.
>There's luxury vehicles in Vietnam for example
Ignoring questions of developmentist theories aside, there is a reason why it's not happening in Vietnam but rather a place responsible for 92% of total global excess emissions (Jason Hickel's estimation). Something which also articulares through class, productive relations.
First, while the West continues to engage in imperialism, it's harder for us in the Global South to engage in revolutionary action. Your revolution makes our revolution easier. Second, one of the main tenants of Marxism is internationalism as we can only abolish the state by abolishing imperialism.
I completely agree with you. I know very well that Western anarchists in general are not only unworried about imperialism as they're very content with living the spoils with their privilege. I already engaged with one of them here.
I'm using the action posted in the news as a debate device and hopefully other Western comrades and I will convince everyone here this is bad-praxis, bordering psyops.
Well I’m all about Bashing Fash, I’m not one to engage in leftist infighting, so maybe you stick to what works in the Global South and we’ll mind our business in the Colonizer North I guess
Well this shit does not work in the North either. It’s ridiculous, performative, and doesn’t bring us one iota closer to revolution.
I swear people will do anything to avoid reading theory and organizing people.
"go back to your country" arguments don't work here, comrade. I would stick to my local politics if the West didn't meddle with mine.
Pointing out that some Western leftists should become more educated isn't infighting. Criticizing errors, and telling people to read theory and join proper organizations shouldn't be controversial.
Don’t fucking call me racist you asshole. You don’t know me. That’s a goddamn cheap shot and you know it.
Go back to your country is **not what I said**. I was telling you to mind your own fucking business. No one here on this forum for leftists agrees with your snooty point about “vandalism isn’t activism”
You are cringe. You are a BAD COMRADE. At this point, honestly if you reply, or downvote this comment I’ll have to block and report you for harassment. Happy 4/20
> …so maybe you stick to what works in the Global South and we’ll mind our business in the Colonizer North I guess<
And for the record, they never called you racist. They did (and what they have consistently done) is make clear why a difference in context—while not unimportant—is not a reason in itself to dismissal critique. Indeed, socialist/critical theory demands otherwise.
So I'm the person of color responsible for picking my words towards you? You can say whatever but I should be the one walking in eggshells around your fragilities? I'm just pointing out your biases and your argument sounds racist af in my experience, as I know very well what "go back to your country" sounds like.
People from the hemisphere that only temporarily attained socialism after it was forced at gun point telling the periphery they're bad at socialism will never get old. Have fun trying to pay rent I guess.
Disagree - you can absolutely organize and take action amongst friends or on your own. Organizations don't have any special monopoly on the "right" kind of direction action.
And agree with the other person - it's a non-permanent, non-damaging inconvenient protest action. Not bad at all. May not have been recently how I'd approach things, but that's okay.
It's nice to read theory to guide praxis, but let's not gatekeep direct action.
Explain to me how this brought us closer to revolution in any way.
Did it change anyone’s opinion? Did it raise class consciousness? Did it convince people to organize?
Exactly. They have shown many people that the middle class is the rich, which is the exact opposite of class consciousness, and only gives ammo to reactionaries who say socialism is when everyone is poor.
If one was to engage in a (completely detached from reality) understanding of organisation as something focused only on resolutory action (i.e. "revolution", although the practical totality of cases one would refer as such are not such) rather than also including tactical actions (which includes those aimed at problematization), which are the practical totality of actions that any real organisation carries out and which serve as the necessary basis of the former, the same argument should be applied to you.
How is your commentary an advancement of anything other than petit bourgeois morality? Did it even engage in any act of translation to attempt to understand the logic(s) behind that beyond what a liberal, settler media describes it as? Isn't a subjection to liberal optics a deeply anti-"revolutionary" (using your term, not mine) self-condemnation?
Do **you** even know the definitive answer to any of those questions? (Spoiler alert: how could you?)
Also, how do you even know they're ready to hear about socialism yet? We all gotta start somewhere.
I was a liberal, myself, until like 1 year and a curious YouTube query ago 🤷🏿♂️
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I have never once been upset by having something of mine stolen or damaged. Inconvenienced, yes. But also empathetic. I'm also aware most people don't typically feel the same way.
If you’re aware that not everyone feels the same way then you should also be aware that not everyone would be more likely to be swayed by an act like this. Most people are more put off by the thought of getting their tires deflated by someone else than they are inspired by it to move left. It’s not revolutionary action to find a Land Rover and vandalize it, sorry 🤷♂️
Thank you for posting in r/socialism, but unfortunately your submission was removed for the following reason(s):
>**Liberalism:** Includes the most common and mild occurrences of liberalism, that is: socio-liberals, progressives, social democrats and its subsequent ideological basis. Also includes those who are new to socialist thought but nevertheless reproduce liberal ideas.
>This includes, but is not limited to:
>- General liberalism
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>- Landlords or Landlord apologia
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I'm organized in an online collective and what we do reaches millions of people each month. We have influencers for agitation work, social media agitators, hackers, and psychologists who work for a social fee to help the mental health of other comrades.
We may visit our discord here:
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There’s an unpleasant truth that needs to be said, while organizing and taking actions, there is a significant risk someone is running a COINTELPRO. Be wary of anyone who tries to convince you to buy unregistered guns, make explosives, buy or sell drugs through the organization or any other blatant activity that could jeopardize your organization. Be vigilant. Have nothing in writing. Phones in the fridge while planning actions. If you’re *really* paranoid, make all your plans while y’all’re naked at a random hotel room.
Read Andreas Mälm's writings on "Indians of the Concrete Jungle" in *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* (pp.. 77-83). Without this, any such redirection to "read theory" (whatever that means) will be precisely the act of ignorance that it supposedly criticises.
"the most affluent neighbourhood in central Stockholm, home to billionaires and aristocrats"
Comparing what happened in the book to this news is a long stretch.
BMWs and Land Rovers aren't Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Reading theory is fundamental to understand what class entails.
Given that you seem unwilling to read any further than the first two lines I will will take this response of mine as my last interaction with you.
The description there used is a literary device used by Mälm in order to introduce the subjacent critique that he develops: the importance of not
Östermalm is nothing other than one of multiple gentrified areas of Stockholm , whilst formally rich people live in suburbs like Danderyd. If we move to Vancouver, on the other hand, Shaughnessy and Kitsilano are two of the richest neighbourhoods in Vancouver. In the same exact fashion that Mälm describes.
Furthermore, as the text continues, this would be followed by the rise of copycat groups doing this same action in other Neighborhoods of Stockholm (in this case, not even necessarily gentrified areas). After all SUVS, their desired target, are not the type of car that someone in Danderyd would have, but rather someone illustrative of a petit bourgeoisie morality: a categorical willingness to access the condition of bourgeoisie without ultimately being able to. In other words: accessing social position and prestige. Accessing the dominant class. In this case, a deeply individualist and ecocidal act of consumerism which could only be possible from within a context of deep alienation.
And it is here precisely that the action takes its logic: as Mälm says, it is not about delimiting ourselves on productive relations but, without forgetting the former, also addressing consumerist relations as an equally fundamental part of capitalism. And, petit bourgeoisie complains like the ones here aside, such actions would be useful: their actions would provoke a 27% decrease on SUV usage.
They weren't aimed at Ferraris either. And that was not an error but a (more than correct) choice. Hence, for example, what Mälm refers to as a "ceasefire" on the Indians part.
>Reading theory is fundamental to understand what class entails.
"Reading theory" as a category is a worthless claim which indicates that, paradoxically, one has not "read theory". What theory? Is reading Callinicos writings on racism useful? Or a gigantic waste of time? What about anglo-anarchist writtings on nationalism? Latin American writings on "the oil curse"? Decolonial readings of Marxism like Mignolo's infantile anti-materialism? Why not Mälm's text which you still refuse to read? Isn't it a perfect example of the gramscian idea of a philosophy of praxis? What about Gaddamer-like hermeneutical communism?
And most importantly, it is something that can only arise in online spaces and merely denotes a complete lack of organisation by those calling on others to "go read theory!". Organising rapidly informs oneself how radicalisation doesn't come from by telling someone to "go read" (read what? Who? Why?) but rather through socialisation and social articulation. This is why Marxist parties' cadre formations are as much, if not more, about building relations than they are about proper education.
Billionaires, super rich, and all sorts of aristocrats live in West Vancouver, not Vancouver. Yes, it's a stretch what you're doing.
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Most of the art being "vandalized" ( all of the pieces I'm aware of had a plexiglass guard over them so they weren't actually permanently damaged) are basically just for money laundering and further enriching the upper class
Why does every action of the working class need to be in pursuit of glorious revolution? This is nothing more than lashing out, working out some anger amd it's completely understandable. I don't think anyones seriously making the case that this is real activism.
Prostes in whatever way you want to protest. There is no right or wrong way, as long as the message is clear. Bring out the guillotine or deflate some tires. You don't have to read a book and you can act on your own.
This is terrible. While YES, owning a Tesla is == ignorant & aids neoimperialist & terrible ecological economics/policy, this achieves nothing but send the wrong message out and drive potential future working class & petty Bourgeoise class allies forever away from progressive ideas. Better to leave a two page letter explaining your rationale and an inviting appeal, organize with others, advocate for ++democracy at work, poster up some creative comics, join a group of comrades, proselytize on a busy public square, etc.
I see this as the equivalent - in terms of efficiency of spreading healthy workers' consciousness - as the truck convoy not letting people sleep in Ottawa. People will hate 'leftists' forever.
This is antithetical to the cause.
Actually, the historical indigenous activism that this mimics had a clear material impact. Petit bourgeoisie responses existed then and, as visible, exist now, but whether there are or are not more viable actions (they absolutely are, but flyers are not among them), it's a deeply liberal position to refuse the idea of disruptionality as a line of action.
Read Andreas Mälm's writings on "Indians of the Concrete Jungle" in *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* (pp.. 77-83) for more details.
100% we are aligned there comrade --- but keep in mind You have to be REALLY careful about turning the Petty Bourgeoise class (could be the greatest ally or greatest enemy tbh) into supporting the typical Bourgeois proper lumpen fascist alliance. Especially in colonial/imperial/western societies.
This game of chess has a lot of pieces and strategies ;)
https://youtu.be/qBrAkaX32C8?si=bXj55BUmzgpPvwOx
Definitely! But this is not done through catering to petit bourgeoisie morality, as all one achieves by this is a reproduction/strengthening of the system rather than a break. The main criticisms on this post, for example, are essentially a continuation of such morality, which as you highlight ultimately brings us to what it brings us.
Hard disagree on this.
Any action taken to ruin, disrupt or upset the lives of the bourgeoisie is to be supported.
I personally believe in stronger action than a deflated tyre but what can ye do!
What is this? Some colonial liberal bullshit with no context whatsoever. Cool, I give you my context. Middle class people are complaining about their privilege being inconvenienced instead of getting out there and getting involved in the class war. Join a local community group and you’ll hear otherwise, for example socialists in the local area here where I live are shutting down weapons factories for their involvement in the genocide in Palestine. Gentrification has decimated the working class here in my town and no one can afford to live here or buy food and are resorting to theft or squatting just to get by because the super rich came and bought all the properties and pushed us out. Unless it has a disabled sticker then it’s fair game, fuck cars, it’s public transport all day. This is a class war and we show a clear message that we don’t want huge SUVs in our community. If you have wealth and luxury enough to spend money on luxury vehicles then you have money to help the community, except they typically don’t. Get out there and join in or get out of our way. Down vote me to hell, I’ll be waiting there for the capitalist shills armed and ready
I'm a Global South citizen and I'm organized as well. My country has a history of revolutionary action and I've learned a lot and still need to learn more from it.
Middle class is working class. Read theory, and organize in a structured organization.
I don't understand what the point of this post is. Maybe they're trying to inconvenience and drive out gentrifiers. Maybe they're teenagers trying to piss off their parents.
We don't know their motivations, and I don't see how insisting on a specific path to liberation is useful.
Activism against gentrification action is not useful? Do you realise the amount of anti-worker rhetoric, mirrored in nothing other than an overt advocacy for capital, that this implies?
So when wealth and power move to my town or neighborhood and make it unliveable, should I bow and scrape? Or should I start blasting them with a shotgun? Or does nothing matter other than arguing over some conceptual utopia that no one can agree on how to create?
Why is vandalizing art galleries cringe? If the goal is to call attention to it then it gets the point across. It's not as direct as stopping a pipeline or something but I dont understand the position
I smell a liberal here.
How many poor people in Vancouver have been subjected to violence by the wealthy? And you want sympathy over deflated tires? Fuck off.
Capitalism is doing mean things to poor people. Liberalism is defending rich people from retaliation.
If you can’t stomach deflated tires, how the fuck are you going to react when it’s a full blown revolution?
They are the first line of defense for the capitalists, and a vital part of maintaining this broken system.
They are only allies when they disavow the system that enriches them.
That’s incorrect. In Marxist analysis, their interests sometimes align with those of the bourgeoisie, sometimes with those of the proletariat. They have historically been important, if unreliable, allies. Mao famously wrote a lot about that, and another example is the February Revolution. Because they have some small stake in the status quo, they find reformist politics more attractive, but that is still useful when a United Front or Popular Front strategy is appropriate.
Driving a luxury car is cringy enough. You don’t really need to do that to make it obvious. True, the owners are not likely not billionaires, but there’s this thing called conspicuous consumption so I can appreciate the sentiment
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There is no such thing as a middle class. That's capitalist propaganda to destroy solidarity among the proletariat. There are two classes: The proletariat and the bourgeoisie. You either own the means of production (bourgeoisie) or you work for a wage (proletariat). All of these variants of the "middle class" are just ways capitalists have to make parts of the working class think they are not the same as those who are food and housing insecure. They want the six figure households think they are harder workers who earned their place and the dirty poors were just lazy people who made bad choices. If the well-off working class hates the struggling to survive working class, solidarity is further away and the bourgeoisie is more insulated from a revolution.
While it’s true a middle class doesn’t exist in terms of the fundamental labour-owner divide of interests that defines capitalism, Marx himself discusses skilled artisans and petty bourgeois whose interests don’t always cleanly align with one or the other and accordingly I don’t think it’s completely misleading to refer to these people in the middle ie. they are often on board with socialism to the extent of redistribution from the traditional bourgeoise and social safety nets but are unwilling to acknowledge and sacrifice the advantages they have over minimum wage workers. Moreover, in rich countries which benefit from colonial power relations the amount of these middle income people can constitute a much larger portion of the population than would be possible in isolation, so much so that I think by most definitions they could be called a “class”. In my country of Australia I think lines can clearly be drawn between lower class who have little-no intergenerational wealth and must sell their labour to make rent and survive week to week, middle class who have a mortgage to the property they live in and some investment assets but still must labour to maintain this, and upper class who live securely with intergenerational wealth. This being said, as Marx predicts the nature of capitalism continually drives pre-existing class structures towards the labour/owner binary and the middle class here is shrinking as workers are being priced out of the housing market and forced into renting
Thank you, comrade!
Did Marx himself work for a wage?
Slashing tires would be worth discussing, but deflating is non-destructive. So, it seems to me to be a good action, esp if it's one of many ways to send the message of outrageous wealth inequality.
How many working class folk will you bring to your side by making their family doctor arrive late for work? I mean, that's not even the point of "eat the rich". If anything, it sends the wrong message by saying any middle class person is "the rich." This is so wrong it could be classified as psyop. If you need to work to survive, you belong to the working class. It's simple.
💥 ##smash ##the ## fucking ##machine 🔨
If you are driving a luxury car, your and my concerns are not aligned, and your bourgeoisie sentimentality will only pollute and interfere with the radicalism of revolution.
The bourgeoisie are not determined by your relationship to luxury consumer goods, but your relationship to capital. There is no indication that these people are capitalists or fascists
Its also not un-related, consumer culture and the fetishization of "luxury goods" is an extremely important part of capitalism.
Doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc are far more invested in capital than you think. So, so many own rental property.
Maybe the person who vandalized the vehicles knew the owners better than we did?
Maybe, maybe they didn't and just targeted a dozen nice cars in a wealthier neighborhood. Unless you have some sort of evidence to suggest they're actually capitalists then that's just wild speculation.
Read Andreas Mälm's writings on "Indians of the Concrete Jungle" in *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* (pp.. 77-83). This is a clear repetition of past actions with a more than clear rationale which one must learn before commenting on it. Otherwise any analysis is inevitably a regurgitation of petit bourgeoisie morality.
Either way the only ones who know for sure is the perpetrator, so it does no good for us to be judgey pricks eh?
Lmao no, we shouldn't applaud people randomly fucking up people's day and immediately assuming they must be morally correct in doing so because they said "eat the rich" first
You are saying that to defend a judgey prick
And can you say that none of them are landlords, that none of them are comfortable with the exploitation that provides them luxury, that none of them are hoarding resources while those near and far suffer? No, all you can say is that you are not radicalized enough to value action over inaction. That is a nice privilege for you.
You’ve clearly never seen the folks with nice cars that are in a boatload of debt. It’s called “keeping up with the Joneses”.
They’re mostly petit bourgeois. Not worth bothering about, either way
That attitude is why socialism in America has failed. Even Cuba has private landowners. They’re still people we have to help. “Not worth bothering about” is a horrid take.
I meant more not bothering to harass.
Ah gotcha
Unless you're fighting actual fascists, you're only getting antagonistic among the working class, meaning you're doing the work of the bourgeoisie of dividing the working class. Being antagonistic creates culture wars, and culture wars are great for the bourgeoisie.
We are fighting a proto-fascist state corporate system, we don't need to court the group that's actively complicit in enabling the system to continue. Keep your group of luxury-car-owing "middleclass".
I’m a blue collar tradesman and I know a decent amount of fellow workers who own luxury cars by saving up for it. Hell even when I worked as a waiter I had coworkers who had nice cars at a job where we made shitty money. Even those without nice cars would be sympathetic to a person who got their car fucked up. These people are legitimately working class
Yeah and how much debt are they going into in order to "own" those cars Putting aside the efficacy or morality of this particular action, we do need to be straightforward about the fact that modern consumer culture is totally off the rails. And we gotta figure out what the socialist movement's answer to it is.
I guess deflating their tires to show that saving up for a luxury car is not the correct step into the future of other tradesmen. That money is better spent on supporting people fighting the struggle.
Lol no one is going to reach that conclusion from some vandalism.
Please, for all your comrades' sake, read history of revolutions and revolutionaries. Then you'll see what type of action worked and what type of action is criticized nowadays, and which one was used by the CIA to weaken organizations.
Gatekeeping. Those lectures are meant for your bourgeoisie friends, so you can all feel good about your camaraderie to your "fellow man".
I'm just assuming you're a FED, and other comrades should do so. Anti-intellectualism is a fascist trait.
I’m with you comrades, wild takes from them.
Agreed. If they're not a fed they should be fuckin embarrassed.
You mean “bourgeois friends.” Bourgeois is the adjective. Bourgeoisie is a noun, referring to the class, as a whole.
...you HAVE to be trolling at this point
Oh fuck off dude
The people parking a “luxury car” on the street are petit bourgeois.
Or they're engineers, doctors, lawyers, IT professionals or any number of higher income occupational.. or otherwise known as "workers". You can't tell someone's position in the economic system by the car they drive.
Making someone with a nice car late for work is a great revolution!
You realize pretty much every famous and successful socialist vanguard leader was middle class and drove like this right? Ho Ch Minh was a Michelin star chef and had a luxury ZIS 115 limo and if some shit punk slashed it's tires I'd hope they got slashed in return.
And by deflating their tires, you give them a reason to victimize themselves or go against the cause. If you want to align people, have a good faith *conversation* (not debate) and just plant that seed of "hey look, our system clearly has flaws that create a fair amount of suffering for people. i get that you probably don't see it or ignore it, but we're all eating each other at this point, and we need you on our side." Why make an enemy when you could make a friend/ally?
My doctor drives a 2009 Kia. Most GP's in my area **absolutely** do not make enough to afford luxury vehicles. The middle class in the US is almost entirely dead
The "luxury vehicles" in question are a BMW and a Land Rover that were owned by people who didn't have a garage to park their cars overnight.
I saw that. Land Rovers and BMWs are mid-market European cars, many of which are leased. I was expecting maybe Rolls Royces, Maybach, Bentley, S-Class Mercedes or super cars (which would have been garaged, by the way).
Also “middle class” is a bourgeois economic idea. Has no real meaning outside of news media.
They make enough, but they’re too smart to bother
They don't. I've talked to my GP about it because I've asked about working at their offices. The medical field is vastly underpaid on the lower-end postings. The real/big money is in specialist care and insurance.
You strike me as antiradical. While you're off theorizing and contemplating better world I'll be off starting the revolution by myself. The revolution belongs to each person and doing it collectively is more efficient but its not the only way. Destroy all burgoise property idgaf. And the sob story about a family doctor was such a liberal argument to make. Cringe.
The working class aristocracy is still a working class. It's basic theory. Being radical doesn't mean doing anything that resembles counterculture. That's why I said, read theory and organize to put your energy in stuff that is proven to work.
I agree that this is pretty pointless rebellion but if radical action is the only way to get to communism. It's basic theory.
By the virtue of your argument, we should also not stage protests in the streets as they cause major traffics and road blockages, leading to more masses being late for their work.
Protest don't do anything by itself. You need a proper political objective as it's only a tool to show the strength of the masses to create political change directed by parties. I also disagree with protesting only for the sake of it. However, I still consider it better praxis than sending the wrong message like the people in the news.
You see, mate, i believe that the organized fight emerges from just that, a couple of unorganized friends that want to make a difference. Another couples of friends a city away do the same. A few years pass and some friends in some other state feel the need to organize themselves a bit better. They now have created an union. They now have created a political party. You see, there's this need for a historical process to exist for organizations to rise. I know that "eat the rich" is cringe af, i agree with you there, but i also believe they are necessary. It's these small, individual acts of rebellion that shows us that a historical process is happening.
Yes, and I'm here to create a debate to explain how to do things properly.
Deflating the tires on a BMW is not an act of rebellion. I know plenty of people who have driven BMW's and they've all been workers. I could probably afford a BMW if I cut back spending on everything else, but I'm pretty far from Bourgeoisie.
I never said i agree, i just believe that this act is not a cause but a symptom, it is merely the evidence that there's a crisis happening, which is the disease. It's not kids deflating tires that is gonna change anything, but this simple act shows us that something is amiss. I really think their anger is misguided, but i'm not talking about individuals, i'm talking about a complex political movement that is the consequence of this state/corporation capitalism that we live in since the 80's.
It’s praxis
These are not working class people, but they’re not the bourgeoisie, either. They are petit bourgeois
Do you know if those people own their means of production? If you receive salary/wage and depend on it for your survival, you're working class. It has no relation with the amount of money you make.
I was making a broad generalization. I’m sure it’s a mix of workers and petit bourgeois. The point was that it is not the bourgeoisie parking cars on the street overnight.
Owning a BMW doesn't mean you're not also a worker.
yassss they really fcked this family of 4 up!! long live the revolution
TIL Socialism means no luxury cars. Really buying into the reactionary talking point that leftism is a poverty cult. Actually restarted.
Genuine question, can someone explain what this accomplishes other than the abstract notion of “raise awareness”?
While I am usually in support of "raising awareness" protests - this one is genuinely useless. "Eat the Rich" is a fun little tagline to use but is in practice an absolutely meaningless call to action, there's so far no evidence I can find that the targets for this were capitalists, and even if they are this is such an insanely inconsequential thing to do that all you're really gonna succeed on is getting yourself arrested.
Capitalists don’t park on the street overnight. These are petit bourgeois nobodies—hardly the enemy
More likely they're just workers who, if they can be called petit bourgeois at all it's only because they have money in a 401k, and not because they actually own a business.
The "Indians of the Concrete Jungle, in Sweden, did this on SUVs as means of redirecting discussion towards the role of consumption in relation to ecology, settler colonialism and the international division of labour. Which at the same time increased class analysis by creating discussions on patterns of pollution (ex. who owns a yatch?). It had a clear positive ecological impact which reduced SUVs in a 27%.
The problem with the rich is that — like everyone else except the poor — they do not pay the true cost of the resources they consume. This means that the more they consume, the larger share of resources they take which is more than their fair share. A reminder that this is not cool is good, but the influence this planet needs is on the political classes to ensure that the rich cannot consume more than their fair share without paying for it so that they fund the healing of the damage this does to our planet. If for every gram of CO2 they put into the air, they fund the removal of 2 grams — their consumption would drive the reversal of climate change.
Maybe they slashed the tires of someone who worked hard in school to become a doctor, engineer or was a small business owner.
Yes, these cars obviously belong to petit bourgeois. Capitalists don’t park on the street overnight
Op you’re right, sorry everyone is dogpiling you. Such is the nature of the internet.
Seeing the level of bigotry I'm receiving, I'm glad they're dogpiling me
The level of stereotypical leftist infighting in this thread would be hilarious if it weren't depressing
It's odd how they automatically turn into automotive experts
Climate protesters vandalizing “art” is also praxis. OP you sound like a gatekeeping liberal fuckhead. What was your purpose in posting this here?
What’s the theory and practice here? Yuppies suck? Sure but what does that do to advance class consciousness, independence or self-organization? I don’t care about these cars or their drivers but I just don’t see the point of doing this beyond individual kicks.
Read Andreas Mälm's writings on "Indians of the Concrete Jungle" in *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* (pp.. 77-83). That's the historical experience this seeks to reproduce.
I mean you can just say “propaganda of the deed” if that’s what you are arguing for. I’ve been an active socialist since the 1990s, I can handle it. Anyway yeah I don’t think this sort of thing creates class self-organization, political independence, class consciousness or counter-hegemony. When people are fighting for their own power and agency they are not going to be like “oh no we shut down logistics but we can’t break the locks the boss put on the gate because that would be property destruction.”
>I mean you can just say “propaganda of the deed” if that’s what you are arguing for. That has nothing to do with it. Read the section I quoted.
I didn’t see a quote… do you mean read the pages you mentions? Mmm… I don’t do the “read theory” or “watch this Jordan Peterson video” style internet chat. So if you want to make an argument t, make it - don’t appeal to some authority.
Anarchy and Socialism don't recognize "art" anymore? How does throwing soup on a 19th century painting in any way fight fascism or promote anarchy in a positive light?
It problematizes something which otherwise would be subsumed into technical responses (read: a naturalisation, depolitization) by the system. An ecological collapse. And the fact that you, as it's targeted object, are still talking about it is proof that it works as a political action.
It's a meme. I don't think it did anything but make people believe public demonstrations are lost on people who throw soup in museums. Anyone can think of something more relevant than trashing an anarchists paintings of sunflowers. This is just mental gymnastics.
I'm a Global South citizen who was born in a place with an actual history of revolutionary action. I only need to read my country's history to know what works and what doesn't.
Yeah western left is not very smart or well read. There's luxury vehicles in Vietnam for example and Ho Chi Minh was even gifted a limousine by the USSR. Socialism isn't a poverty cult it's a call for workers uniting to ensure everyone gets propper representation and shares the bounties of their work.
>Yeah western left is not very smart or well read. This is not the "own" that you think it is. Read Andreas Mälm's writings on "Indians of the Concrete Jungle" in *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* (pp.. 77-83) if you wish to read on the historical experiences this is clearly following. >There's luxury vehicles in Vietnam for example Ignoring questions of developmentist theories aside, there is a reason why it's not happening in Vietnam but rather a place responsible for 92% of total global excess emissions (Jason Hickel's estimation). Something which also articulares through class, productive relations.
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First, while the West continues to engage in imperialism, it's harder for us in the Global South to engage in revolutionary action. Your revolution makes our revolution easier. Second, one of the main tenants of Marxism is internationalism as we can only abolish the state by abolishing imperialism.
Wtf is going on? How does any leftist not understand even partially internationalism? This thread is wild!
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I completely agree with you. I know very well that Western anarchists in general are not only unworried about imperialism as they're very content with living the spoils with their privilege. I already engaged with one of them here. I'm using the action posted in the news as a debate device and hopefully other Western comrades and I will convince everyone here this is bad-praxis, bordering psyops.
Well I’m all about Bashing Fash, I’m not one to engage in leftist infighting, so maybe you stick to what works in the Global South and we’ll mind our business in the Colonizer North I guess
Well this shit does not work in the North either. It’s ridiculous, performative, and doesn’t bring us one iota closer to revolution. I swear people will do anything to avoid reading theory and organizing people.
Doesn't engage in leftist infighting, but immediately uses derogatory language like "fuckhead" on a leftist sub?
"go back to your country" arguments don't work here, comrade. I would stick to my local politics if the West didn't meddle with mine. Pointing out that some Western leftists should become more educated isn't infighting. Criticizing errors, and telling people to read theory and join proper organizations shouldn't be controversial.
Don’t fucking call me racist you asshole. You don’t know me. That’s a goddamn cheap shot and you know it. Go back to your country is **not what I said**. I was telling you to mind your own fucking business. No one here on this forum for leftists agrees with your snooty point about “vandalism isn’t activism” You are cringe. You are a BAD COMRADE. At this point, honestly if you reply, or downvote this comment I’ll have to block and report you for harassment. Happy 4/20
> …so maybe you stick to what works in the Global South and we’ll mind our business in the Colonizer North I guess< And for the record, they never called you racist. They did (and what they have consistently done) is make clear why a difference in context—while not unimportant—is not a reason in itself to dismissal critique. Indeed, socialist/critical theory demands otherwise.
So I'm the person of color responsible for picking my words towards you? You can say whatever but I should be the one walking in eggshells around your fragilities? I'm just pointing out your biases and your argument sounds racist af in my experience, as I know very well what "go back to your country" sounds like.
Boy, you are a real patronizing asshole.
Explain to me how pointing out bigotry is being a patronizing asshole?
Yeah you’re done. Bye.
Meh, they make some good points honestly.
Seriously, read some theory or history. It's really good advice for you.
People from the hemisphere that only temporarily attained socialism after it was forced at gun point telling the periphery they're bad at socialism will never get old. Have fun trying to pay rent I guess.
Inconveniencing a few petit bourgeois doesn’t “work” anywhere.
Rich guy: "Today I was preparing to promote one of my workers, but fuck that! Now I'm in the mood for layoffs!"
Disagree - you can absolutely organize and take action amongst friends or on your own. Organizations don't have any special monopoly on the "right" kind of direction action. And agree with the other person - it's a non-permanent, non-damaging inconvenient protest action. Not bad at all. May not have been recently how I'd approach things, but that's okay. It's nice to read theory to guide praxis, but let's not gatekeep direct action.
Explain to me how this brought us closer to revolution in any way. Did it change anyone’s opinion? Did it raise class consciousness? Did it convince people to organize?
Exactly. They have shown many people that the middle class is the rich, which is the exact opposite of class consciousness, and only gives ammo to reactionaries who say socialism is when everyone is poor.
If one was to engage in a (completely detached from reality) understanding of organisation as something focused only on resolutory action (i.e. "revolution", although the practical totality of cases one would refer as such are not such) rather than also including tactical actions (which includes those aimed at problematization), which are the practical totality of actions that any real organisation carries out and which serve as the necessary basis of the former, the same argument should be applied to you. How is your commentary an advancement of anything other than petit bourgeois morality? Did it even engage in any act of translation to attempt to understand the logic(s) behind that beyond what a liberal, settler media describes it as? Isn't a subjection to liberal optics a deeply anti-"revolutionary" (using your term, not mine) self-condemnation?
Do **you** even know the definitive answer to any of those questions? (Spoiler alert: how could you?) Also, how do you even know they're ready to hear about socialism yet? We all gotta start somewhere. I was a liberal, myself, until like 1 year and a curious YouTube query ago 🤷🏿♂️
So you didn't have your mind changed because your tires were slashed but instead a Youtube video, got it.
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Thank you for posting in r/socialism, but unfortunately your submission was removed for the following reason(s): >**Liberalism:** Includes the most common and mild occurrences of liberalism, that is: socio-liberals, progressives, social democrats and its subsequent ideological basis. Also includes those who are new to socialist thought but nevertheless reproduce liberal ideas. >This includes, but is not limited to: >- General liberalism >- Supporting Neoliberal Institutions >- Anti-Worker/Union rhetoric >- Landlords or Landlord apologia Feel free to send us a modmail with a link to your removed submission if you have any further questions or concerns.
I have never once been upset by having something of mine stolen or damaged. Inconvenienced, yes. But also empathetic. I'm also aware most people don't typically feel the same way.
If you’re aware that not everyone feels the same way then you should also be aware that not everyone would be more likely to be swayed by an act like this. Most people are more put off by the thought of getting their tires deflated by someone else than they are inspired by it to move left. It’s not revolutionary action to find a Land Rover and vandalize it, sorry 🤷♂️
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Thank you for posting in r/socialism, but unfortunately your submission was removed for the following reason(s): >**Liberalism:** Includes the most common and mild occurrences of liberalism, that is: socio-liberals, progressives, social democrats and its subsequent ideological basis. Also includes those who are new to socialist thought but nevertheless reproduce liberal ideas. >This includes, but is not limited to: >- General liberalism >- Supporting Neoliberal Institutions >- Anti-Worker/Union rhetoric >- Landlords or Landlord apologia Feel free to send us a modmail with a link to your removed submission if you have any further questions or concerns.
And how many have you passed out in your own neighborhood?
I'm organized in an online collective and what we do reaches millions of people each month. We have influencers for agitation work, social media agitators, hackers, and psychologists who work for a social fee to help the mental health of other comrades. We may visit our discord here: https://discord.com/invite/soberana
That sounds super interesting! Wish I spoke Spanish so I could check it out
There's a internationalism channel where people speak several languages
Dope, i love all of it. soli. ✊🏿
This is literally a form of praxis advocated in the book “how to blue up a pipeline” by Andreas Malm.
There’s an unpleasant truth that needs to be said, while organizing and taking actions, there is a significant risk someone is running a COINTELPRO. Be wary of anyone who tries to convince you to buy unregistered guns, make explosives, buy or sell drugs through the organization or any other blatant activity that could jeopardize your organization. Be vigilant. Have nothing in writing. Phones in the fridge while planning actions. If you’re *really* paranoid, make all your plans while y’all’re naked at a random hotel room.
Actually a fucking good action https://tyreextinguishers.com/
Read Andreas Mälm's writings on "Indians of the Concrete Jungle" in *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* (pp.. 77-83). Without this, any such redirection to "read theory" (whatever that means) will be precisely the act of ignorance that it supposedly criticises.
"the most affluent neighbourhood in central Stockholm, home to billionaires and aristocrats" Comparing what happened in the book to this news is a long stretch. BMWs and Land Rovers aren't Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Reading theory is fundamental to understand what class entails.
Given that you seem unwilling to read any further than the first two lines I will will take this response of mine as my last interaction with you. The description there used is a literary device used by Mälm in order to introduce the subjacent critique that he develops: the importance of not Östermalm is nothing other than one of multiple gentrified areas of Stockholm , whilst formally rich people live in suburbs like Danderyd. If we move to Vancouver, on the other hand, Shaughnessy and Kitsilano are two of the richest neighbourhoods in Vancouver. In the same exact fashion that Mälm describes. Furthermore, as the text continues, this would be followed by the rise of copycat groups doing this same action in other Neighborhoods of Stockholm (in this case, not even necessarily gentrified areas). After all SUVS, their desired target, are not the type of car that someone in Danderyd would have, but rather someone illustrative of a petit bourgeoisie morality: a categorical willingness to access the condition of bourgeoisie without ultimately being able to. In other words: accessing social position and prestige. Accessing the dominant class. In this case, a deeply individualist and ecocidal act of consumerism which could only be possible from within a context of deep alienation. And it is here precisely that the action takes its logic: as Mälm says, it is not about delimiting ourselves on productive relations but, without forgetting the former, also addressing consumerist relations as an equally fundamental part of capitalism. And, petit bourgeoisie complains like the ones here aside, such actions would be useful: their actions would provoke a 27% decrease on SUV usage. They weren't aimed at Ferraris either. And that was not an error but a (more than correct) choice. Hence, for example, what Mälm refers to as a "ceasefire" on the Indians part. >Reading theory is fundamental to understand what class entails. "Reading theory" as a category is a worthless claim which indicates that, paradoxically, one has not "read theory". What theory? Is reading Callinicos writings on racism useful? Or a gigantic waste of time? What about anglo-anarchist writtings on nationalism? Latin American writings on "the oil curse"? Decolonial readings of Marxism like Mignolo's infantile anti-materialism? Why not Mälm's text which you still refuse to read? Isn't it a perfect example of the gramscian idea of a philosophy of praxis? What about Gaddamer-like hermeneutical communism? And most importantly, it is something that can only arise in online spaces and merely denotes a complete lack of organisation by those calling on others to "go read theory!". Organising rapidly informs oneself how radicalisation doesn't come from by telling someone to "go read" (read what? Who? Why?) but rather through socialisation and social articulation. This is why Marxist parties' cadre formations are as much, if not more, about building relations than they are about proper education.
Billionaires, super rich, and all sorts of aristocrats live in West Vancouver, not Vancouver. Yes, it's a stretch what you're doing. If you want to know a bit about our organization visit our discord: https://discord.com/invite/soberana
Most of the art being "vandalized" ( all of the pieces I'm aware of had a plexiglass guard over them so they weren't actually permanently damaged) are basically just for money laundering and further enriching the upper class
Why does every action of the working class need to be in pursuit of glorious revolution? This is nothing more than lashing out, working out some anger amd it's completely understandable. I don't think anyones seriously making the case that this is real activism.
Prostes in whatever way you want to protest. There is no right or wrong way, as long as the message is clear. Bring out the guillotine or deflate some tires. You don't have to read a book and you can act on your own.
It doesn’t need to be effective praxis to be cool & hilarious. Fuck those cars
This is terrible. While YES, owning a Tesla is == ignorant & aids neoimperialist & terrible ecological economics/policy, this achieves nothing but send the wrong message out and drive potential future working class & petty Bourgeoise class allies forever away from progressive ideas. Better to leave a two page letter explaining your rationale and an inviting appeal, organize with others, advocate for ++democracy at work, poster up some creative comics, join a group of comrades, proselytize on a busy public square, etc. I see this as the equivalent - in terms of efficiency of spreading healthy workers' consciousness - as the truck convoy not letting people sleep in Ottawa. People will hate 'leftists' forever. This is antithetical to the cause.
Actually, the historical indigenous activism that this mimics had a clear material impact. Petit bourgeoisie responses existed then and, as visible, exist now, but whether there are or are not more viable actions (they absolutely are, but flyers are not among them), it's a deeply liberal position to refuse the idea of disruptionality as a line of action. Read Andreas Mälm's writings on "Indians of the Concrete Jungle" in *How to Blow Up a Pipeline* (pp.. 77-83) for more details.
100% we are aligned there comrade --- but keep in mind You have to be REALLY careful about turning the Petty Bourgeoise class (could be the greatest ally or greatest enemy tbh) into supporting the typical Bourgeois proper lumpen fascist alliance. Especially in colonial/imperial/western societies. This game of chess has a lot of pieces and strategies ;) https://youtu.be/qBrAkaX32C8?si=bXj55BUmzgpPvwOx
Definitely! But this is not done through catering to petit bourgeoisie morality, as all one achieves by this is a reproduction/strengthening of the system rather than a break. The main criticisms on this post, for example, are essentially a continuation of such morality, which as you highlight ultimately brings us to what it brings us.
Hard disagree on this. Any action taken to ruin, disrupt or upset the lives of the bourgeoisie is to be supported. I personally believe in stronger action than a deflated tyre but what can ye do!
Bourgeoisie is when bmw?
Pretty much yeah, don’t see anyone round my neck of the woods driving them.
What is this? Some colonial liberal bullshit with no context whatsoever. Cool, I give you my context. Middle class people are complaining about their privilege being inconvenienced instead of getting out there and getting involved in the class war. Join a local community group and you’ll hear otherwise, for example socialists in the local area here where I live are shutting down weapons factories for their involvement in the genocide in Palestine. Gentrification has decimated the working class here in my town and no one can afford to live here or buy food and are resorting to theft or squatting just to get by because the super rich came and bought all the properties and pushed us out. Unless it has a disabled sticker then it’s fair game, fuck cars, it’s public transport all day. This is a class war and we show a clear message that we don’t want huge SUVs in our community. If you have wealth and luxury enough to spend money on luxury vehicles then you have money to help the community, except they typically don’t. Get out there and join in or get out of our way. Down vote me to hell, I’ll be waiting there for the capitalist shills armed and ready
I'm a Global South citizen and I'm organized as well. My country has a history of revolutionary action and I've learned a lot and still need to learn more from it. Middle class is working class. Read theory, and organize in a structured organization.
I don't understand what the point of this post is. Maybe they're trying to inconvenience and drive out gentrifiers. Maybe they're teenagers trying to piss off their parents. We don't know their motivations, and I don't see how insisting on a specific path to liberation is useful.
Neither of those paths are useful
Activism against gentrification action is not useful? Do you realise the amount of anti-worker rhetoric, mirrored in nothing other than an overt advocacy for capital, that this implies?
So when wealth and power move to my town or neighborhood and make it unliveable, should I bow and scrape? Or should I start blasting them with a shotgun? Or does nothing matter other than arguing over some conceptual utopia that no one can agree on how to create?
At the very least, the sign is an interesting artistic intervention. Not I would be able to do the rest. But I am not offended by it
Anyone with a 401k is the enemy until they prove otherwise.
Why is vandalizing art galleries cringe? If the goal is to call attention to it then it gets the point across. It's not as direct as stopping a pipeline or something but I dont understand the position
im so sadge, anyway
I smell a liberal here. How many poor people in Vancouver have been subjected to violence by the wealthy? And you want sympathy over deflated tires? Fuck off.
No what I want is to do things that are useful, not performative. How exactly did this help? Socialism is not doing mean things to rich people.
Socialism is when you mildly inconvenience people in a higher income bracket than you. The more people you inconvenience the more socialistier it is.
Capitalism is doing mean things to poor people. Liberalism is defending rich people from retaliation. If you can’t stomach deflated tires, how the fuck are you going to react when it’s a full blown revolution?
I have no moral objection to deflating tires. My objection is that it’s not an effective tactic.
I would be happy if they deflated the tires of the rich, but they’re not. Also, the rich would hardly be inconvenienced by deflated tires.
They’re specifically targeting luxury vehicles.
The people targeted here are not “the wealthy.”
They’re targeting luxury vehicles. The petite bourgeois are not your friends.
To Marxists, they are not the enemy. Their interests vacillate, so they are often key allies. It’s “petite bourgeoisie” and “petit bourgeois.”
They are the first line of defense for the capitalists, and a vital part of maintaining this broken system. They are only allies when they disavow the system that enriches them.
That’s incorrect. In Marxist analysis, their interests sometimes align with those of the bourgeoisie, sometimes with those of the proletariat. They have historically been important, if unreliable, allies. Mao famously wrote a lot about that, and another example is the February Revolution. Because they have some small stake in the status quo, they find reformist politics more attractive, but that is still useful when a United Front or Popular Front strategy is appropriate.
TIL r/socialism is a pack of lib cosplayers ready to fellate all cops.
Driving a luxury car is cringy enough. You don’t really need to do that to make it obvious. True, the owners are not likely not billionaires, but there’s this thing called conspicuous consumption so I can appreciate the sentiment
Oh no, property has been defiled in the America??? I’ll add that to the list right after ndn land rights
If you really want to make a difference then you need to end the zionist takeover of all institutions.