Advocating for people from traditionally marginalized communities - who historically have had little to no access to represent their *own* identity in their *own* voices - to be allowed the means & space to do so is NOT 'identity politics.' 1/5
Using your power & privilege to cherry-pick people from traditionally marginalized communities to parrot *your* views (or views you find palatable) is. 2/5
One of the many ways Capitalism reinforces racism is that groups who historically have had access to capital have access to the biggest megaphones, while groups who historically have been denied (or robbed of) access to capital do not. 3/5
This historical denial/robbing of access to means of representing one's own identity is an affront to our self-identity & consciousness leading to 'double-consciousness,' as W.E.B. Du Bois astutely put it 'always looking at one's self through the eyes of others.' 4/5
Righting this wrong by allowing space for voices that have historically been muffled or silenced - allowing the healing & self-love that comes with it - is a good thing.
Using power to manipulate which voices get heard or have access to the largest megaphones is a bad thing. 5/5
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Leftists want a fair, democratic & sustainable economy.
Capitalism inherently & systematically delivers the opposite.
If your long-term vision doesn’t include replacing capitalism with something better, either you’re not a leftist or you don’t understand capitalism. 1/9
Wages are our claim to our share of our collective economic efforts.
A good economy would provide equitable wages rewarding us for effort, sacrifice or duration of work.
I’m super excited to announce some HUGE professional news:
I have joined the Biden/Harris administration as Director of the Radical Left Agenda and will be leading the transition to a Radical Left Economy.
Let’s get to work! 1/33
I’m kidding, of course, because the Biden/Harris administration is not remotely radical left.
But since so many seem confused on what a Radical Left economic agenda might actually look like here’s exactly what I would do if I were to lead such an effort 2/33
The first flaw of capitalism is that it is inherently anti-democratic.
Workplaces make decisions that affect workers, communities & even the entire planet. But capitalist workplaces are top-down enterprises where only a tiny handful have all the say. 3/33
How might the Left overcome self-defeating infighting & endless strategy disputes and instead start building the type of solidarity necessary to win a radically better world?
Left Solidarity in a Hostile World 1/30
There is little disagreement on both the importance & urgency of the systemic changes we desperately need.
Pervasive institutional racism systematically under-develops & under-nurtures communities of color. From systemic underfunding of schools to environmental racism, from economic injustice to the racist criminal “justice” system. 3/30
The current split we’re seeing in the Republican Party is not a sudden split of ‘consciousness’ or ‘doing what’s right’, but rather a split between two factions of their billionaire donors: Langone et al. vs. Mercers et al. 1/14
Policy-wise, these two groups agree on nearly everything, but there is a rift in strategy. One group funds & supports conspiracy theories, right-wing & white-supremacist extremist groups, etc.
They do so for two primary reasons: 2/14
First, people’s lives are in turmoil. Millions are food and housing insecure. Capitalist alienation & atomization is rampant. Our political system represents corporate interests & the 1% - leaving crumbs for everyone else. People are hurting. 3/14
After 4 years of a belligerent racist, sexist, authoritarian President - supported by millions, what lessons can we on the Left draw?
And how do we continue to organize for the radical transformations we seek within a society so deeply entrenched in racism & sexism? 1/18
First, it’s incredible how so many people’s entire narrative of this country completely changes based on if enough voter suppression or ballot purging changes the result of an election between two people who are both ‘widely disliked.’
It's worth examining.. 2/18
Trump would never have been elected president in 2016 if the GOP had not gotten away with purging so many Black & Brown voters. 3/18