Perhaps the most illogical idea ever sold to a wide populace is that communism causes famine.
a thread
1/x The simplistic logic is that communism, by stealing all the grain, weakens incentives so farmers produce less. Hmm, does it really?

Have you noticed that what is thought of as ‘being realistic about politics’ is often nothing more than a refusal to relentlessly follow through with the logic of your argument? Most people start with the same premise: we should create a political and economic system that gives all people a decent life and is environmentally sustainable

The US has waged a multifaceted smear campaign against the Peoples Republic of China for over 70 years, making copious use of racist lies Yet it is clear that the PRC has done more to bring genuine progress to this vast country than any government in its long history as a nation

Fascism finds an easy time taking root because its underlying philosophy is both simple and supported by thousands of years of western thought: might makes right. The strong can and should dominate the weak 1/x From this grows the fear and hate of weakness, and the worship of violent domination which is seen as strength

So I get done with a very intense 2.5 days and I need to blow off some steam. I want to go to the gym, but I also want to spend time with my 11 yo boy. “Boyo,” I tell him “we’re going to the gym to practice our judo.” 1/x He’s had a sore throat and congestion for a couple days, so I don’t know how much he’s going to do, but if I don’t bring him, he’ll spend the whole day gaming, sitting in his chair. Better to move a little, I figure

do you believe that infants should have to work to earn their keep? or do you take a more human position that we must all take care of each other? perhaps you might consider extending that logic to the entire human species of all ages. survival of the fittest is a cruel joke not a single one of us is making it alone, comrades. we pull together or we get torn apart. socialism or barbarism

So I saw my buddy Eddie at the gym to other day. He said he was at the gym at a machine, having already placed the pin in the weights, and this teenager runs up to him and says, 'I was about to use this'. So Eddie (who is about my age btw, gen x) is like...

https://twitter.com/asatarbair/status/1481819070517301250

'ok well you can use it when I'm done'. and the kid says, 'oh so you think you're hard'. Now eddie is a jacked 6-ft tall dude. he boxes and does jiu jitsu. (idk how good he is because we haven't yet sparred -- btw i am coming for you, buddy)

The USSR, medical care, medical personnel, and the role of women doctors: a thread 1/x
Soviet socialism achieved remarkable advances in the overall health of the population, including history’s most rapid doubling in life expectancy, huge decreases in infant mortality, increases in caloric intake and even average height (usually a sign of increases in caloric intake for children)

What is fascism?
Definitions of fascism are almost always framed in liberal terms: as being about culture, politics, the press, free speech, dissent – anything but class struggle. This is odd, because fascism is first and foremost about class struggle
1/x Fascism is the marshaling of powerful tribalist forces behind the capitalist class. It is using nationalism, white supremacy, misogyny, and religion, but only when it has made itself thoroughly subservient to capitalism,

My latest article for @TheIntlMagz is a year in review piece looking at the US and China. This thread will give you the whole article, but if you can, please subscribe and support this excellent Marxist-Leninist magazine internationalmagz.com/magazine 1/x As 2021 comes to a close, it seems timely to review the economic and human development in two countries that are positioned at opposite poles politically, socially, and economically: the United States and China. Let us begin with the US

Comrades, I've been invited to this podcast today to talk about some of my favorite topics: Stalin, communism, and meditation. I was asked to come up with 5 talking points on this, and I thought I'd share them with y'all, so here we go... 1/x

https://twitter.com/shaunattwood/status/1471114259618832391

First point: the USSR achieved one of the most rapid transformations ever seen in a modern society, and the results were undeniably and hugely positive for the average person. Stalin led this, and thus should rightly be regarded as one of history’s greatest humanitarian leaders

We have been so steeped in the lie that socialism leads to starvation that people are floored to learn that Cuba is not starving, and in fact has a very low prevalence of hunger and zero starvation. Source: globalhungerindex.org/cuba.html

https://twitter.com/asatarbair/status/1427054675778412545

When you ‘family’ is ‘starving’ in Cuba, it makes me think you also claim to have a gf that no one knows about who lives up in Niagara Falls somewhere lol

Happy Halloween, comrades! Most popular US holiday is one involving sharing with strangers #CommunismHellYeah My boy went as Rick Astley and he was telling people about this weird trick he learned about online and he’d play this obscure video… I was able to get the link for y’all

Fave line “I’m not going to contest your silly points”. A line that could be in a textbook called “Introduction to Losing An Argument Online” I have written on this topic extensively, but of course that requires reading to decipher

https://twitter.com/asatarbair/status/1367632236007202819

The human-centered economic successes of socialist Cuba: a thread
based on my article in The International, 8/15/21 issue internationalmagz.com/magazine In 1959, Cuba’s Batista regime was overthrown by a coalition of working class people who were sick of making a few yankees rich with their blood, sweat, and tears. Though the revolution began as a response to imperialism (Cuba was a colony of the US in all but name at the time),

Marx literally discusses each and every one of these topics at multiple points in his work, providing excellent insights in every case. Too bad that requires reading to decode, eh?

https://twitter.com/HarrisonKrank/status/1425838851004772354

Differing values of labor is covered in the very beginning of Capital, Ch 1-4, as well as Ch 6, where this quote is from

My new friends, I defend Stalin because of the results achieved by Soviet socialism for the masses of ordinary working people, including a massive increase in life expectancy (one of history's most rapid in fact), dramatic decreases in infant mortality, and improved health outcomes across the board, due to massive investments in public health at all levels. Soviet socialism brought universal literacy to a county in which only a small fraction had been literate, and invested huge sums in colleges and universities in which students were paid to study