I’m not even sure MLK ever explicitly considered himself a socialist.

Well then.

“I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

“Today, capitalism has out-lived its usefulness.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

“Call it democracy, or call it democratic socialism, but there must be a better distribution of wealth within this country.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

“We must see now that the evils of racism, economic exploitation and militarism are all tied together.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

“The evils of capitalism are as real as the evils of militarism and evils of racism.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

“If America does not use her vast resources of wealth to end poverty and make it possible for all of God’s children to have the basic necessities of life, she too will go to hell.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

(from https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/01/21/11-most-anti-capitalist-quotes-martin-luther-king-jr)

It says a lot about the education system wherever you come from that you never learned MLK was a socialist. He HATED capitalism! Hated it! Also, the scientist Albert Einstein was a prominent socialist who wrote a famous article, “Why socialism?” explaining in detail why he was a socialist. Einstein and MLK believed in the same anti-capitalist struggle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Socialism%3F

I was answering his question, not trying to be hostile. I did not insult him at all. Just voicing my opinion.

Where is this imperial core you keep mentioning?

Probably start with where all the giant battleships come from: https://www.businessinsider.com/magnitude-of-us-naval-dominance-2013-11

Why does the USA need all those battleships if they’re not doing imperialism? Are they just cosmetic battleships? Just for shits and giggles?

… Do you think workers in a car factory don’t get paid until someone actually buys the car they helped build? All the devs have already been paid!

A 2020 clash between Chinese and Indian troops fighting with sticks and clubs

Radio War Nerd talked about this. This specific border area is “demilitarized” and neither side is allowed to have guns. So when a fight broke out it was just a huge fucking brawl of basically nationalist football hooligans beating each other up with blunt objects at 8,000 feet.

The constant revamping of the production process, the uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, and the everlasting uncertainty and agitation of society distinguish the bourgeois era from all earlier ones. All fixed, fast-frozen relationships, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away. All new-formed relationships become outdated before they can solidify. All that is fixed melts into air, all that is sacred is profaned, and people are at last compelled to face with sober senses their real conditions of life, and thier relations with each other.

-Some guy, in some manifesto, in 1848

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Now do imperialism! I wonder how many people have died in Yemen this year, besieged by capitalist Saudi Arabia, with weapons they bought from the capitalist USA. We don’t actually know the number, because our capitalist media is not interested in making it a big story.

one of these states is an authoritarian piece of shit, and it’s definitely not Taiwan.

Tell that to the indigenous people of Taiwan. I bet they’d love to hear about how they genocide was “non-authoritarian”.

Lib - “Markets make everything cheaper, which is good.”

Leftist - “But if there is a labor market, won’t that make labor cheaper?”

Lib - “Yes, and that is good.”

Leftist - “How is that good?”

Lib - “It leads to more profits.”

Leftist - “But why is it good to have more profits?”

Lib - “Because a good country is when corporations make profits, and the more profits the corporations make, the gooder the country is.”

Tech-wise Russia has nothing to offer

Oh no, their Twitter and Facebook exports are too low. They’ll have to scrape by on checks notes one of the world’s largest supplies of oil, precious metals, and other natural resources. Surely, the Russian economy will collapse any second now!

“I am not debating you.”

“Here, now let me debate you.”

the genocide against ukranians

Which one? The one in the 1930s caused by capitalists or the one in the 2020s caused by capitalists? I take both seriously, and I want the current one to end.

Since socialist policies are in the interest of the people, they will want to vote for politicians who support socialist policies.

Yes, you are right. People voted for Obama in 2008 because he promised nationalized healthcare. Obama also promised to shut down Guantanamo Bay prison. And people voted for Biden in 2020 because he promised student loan debt relief. Both presidents failed to deliver on their promises. Why? Because democracy in America is and always has been “bread and circuses.” Voting every two/four years is a distraction. Capital controls America, because it controls the American economy. How many elections do you need to see before you realize that it’s always going to be the same shit?

And any actual socialist will be destroyed by the press. Jeremy Corbin -> anti-Semitic (he’s not). Bernie Sanders -> misogynistic racist (he’s not, and Biden and Trump both have dozens of sexual assault claims against them). Same shit, different year. Capital, the media, and special interest groups stop all progress from happening in American “democracy.” No one has ever voted their way to a revolution.

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I noticed a lot of hexbear users being in support of them, which to me, is as much an anathema to the left as the Kremlin is.

To be accurate, I don’t think anyone on Hexbear thinks modern-day Russia is a communist, socialist, or leftist state. Generally, we believe Russia is a capitalist state, led by profit-seeking oligarchs, and that Putin is just the leader of those oligarchs. No one on Hexbear actually thinks Putin is personally a good human being. The reason Hexbear appears “pro-Russia” is because we refute the claim that Putin launched the war against Ukraine because he is ontologically evil, a demon, a crazy man who has lost his mind, literally Hitler, etc. We recognize the complexity of the situation Putin was put in and see his launch of the war as a semi-logical response to decades of past history. Would it be better if the war never happened? Yes. But did the war just come out of nowhere? No. It’s complicated. It’s not a Hollywood movie. There are no action heroes.

Also, I don’t think anyone on Hexbear thinks modern-day China is a fully communist or socialist state right now. We are more hopeful that it will BECOME a fully socialist state in the next generation or two than most are. This is mainly because of the long list of actions that Xi has taken that are in line with orthodox Marxist philosophy. For fuck’s sake, Xi has a PhD in Marxism. That is not a joke - the president of China went back to school in his 30s and got a university degree in Marxist studies. Compare that to any US presidential candidate, who probably has never read a single page of Marx. It’s a stark difference. Hundreds of years of European propaganda about “Oriental Despotism” makes many in the west think that China is, by definition, evil. Heaxbear generally believes the situation to be more complex and nuanced. I mean, Obama literally ordered the extrajudicial killing of an American citizen (along with thousands of foreigners in the middle east) and yet most Americans think of the Chinese government as “more authoritarian” than America. Sure, okay. The numbers don’t add up.

But overall I think the discussion on foreign policy can be respectful and productive. Few will be convinced, but the debate can sharpen both sides. I appreciate any instance that has the patience to deal with Hexbear and our neurotic, overly-detailed diatribes!

This is “both sides are bad” bullshit, a destructive force from apathetic people. Don’t listen to this shit. Vote every year, twice a year!

Biden has been in office for almost four years. Abortion was banned under his watch. He could have prevented it by expanding the supreme court - he chose not to. He chose to let thousands of women suffer and die.

Student loan forgiveness was promised by Biden - a promise he failed to deliver. Again, expanding the supreme court could have prevented this.

Biden has done absolutely nothing to stand up to the military-industrial complex. He pulled out of Afghanistan, then almost immediately began sending billions in “lethal aid” to Ukraine.

Biden has upheld the deportation laws at the Mexican border that Trump put in place. He is actively choosing to do that!

I don’t understand how any rational person can look at Biden and say he’s doing anything even slightly left-wing. He is not. Objective reality shows is that both sides (Democrats and Republicans) ARE the same because they are DOING the same thing. Ideology says they are different. Reality says they are the same. If you believe they are different, you are valuing ideology over reality.