this post was submitted on 12 May 2025
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Lefty Memes

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An international (English speaking) socialist Lemmy community free of the "ML" influence of instances like lemmy.ml and lemmygrad. This is a place for undogmatic shitposting and memes from a progressive, anti-capitalist and truly anti-imperialist perspective, regardless of specific ideology.

Serious posts, news, and discussion go in c/Socialism.

If you are new to socialism, you can ask questions and find resources over on c/Socialism101.

Please don't forget to help keep this community clean by reporting rule violations, updooting good contributions and downdooting those of low-quality!

Rules

Version without spoilers

0. Only post socialist memes


That refers to funny image macros and means that generally videos and screenshots are not allowed. Exceptions include explicitly humorous and short videos, as well as (social media) screenshots depicting a funny situation, joke, or joke picture relating to socialist movements, theory, societal issues, or political opponents. Examples would be the classic case of humorous Tumblr or Twitter posts/threads. (and no, agitprop text does not count as a meme)


0.5 [Provisional Rule] Use alt text or image descriptions to allow greater accessibility


We require alternative text (from now referred to as "alt text") to be added to all posts/comments containing media, such as images, animated GIFs, videos, audio files, and custom emojis.
EDIT: For files you share in the comments, a simple summary should be enough if they’re too complex.

We are committed to social equity and to reducing barriers of entry, including (digital) communication and culture. It takes each of us only a few moments to make a whole world of content (more) accessible to a bunch of folks.

When alt text is absent, a reminder will be issued. If you don't add the missing alt text within 48 hours, the post will be removed. No hard feelings.


1. Socialist Unity in the form of mutual respect and good faith interactions is enforced here


Try to keep an open mind, other schools of thought may offer points of view and analyses you haven't considered yet. Also: This is not a place for the Idealism vs. Materialism or rather Anarchism vs. Marxism debate(s), for that please visit c/AnarchismVsMarxism.


2. Anti-Imperialism means recognizing capitalist states like Russia and China as such


That means condemning (their) imperialism, even if it is of the "anti-USA" flavor.


3. No liberalism, (right-wing) revisionism or reactionaries.


That includes so called: Social Democracy, Democratic Socialism, Dengism, Market Socialism, Patriotic Socialism, National Bolshevism, Anarcho-Capitalism etc. . Anti-Socialist people and content have no place here, as well as the variety of "Marxist"-"Leninists" seen on lemmygrad and more specifically GenZedong (actual ML's are welcome as long as they agree to the rules and don't just copy paste/larp about stuff from a hundred years ago).


4. No Bigotry.


The only dangerous minority is the rich.


5. Don't demonize previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.


We must constructively learn from their mistakes, while acknowledging their achievements and recognizing when they have strayed away from socialist principles.

(if you are reading the rules to apply for modding this community, mention "Mantic Minotaur" when answering question 2)


6. Don't idolize/glorify previous and current socialist experiments or (leading) individuals.


Notable achievements in all spheres of society were made by various socialist/people's/democratic republics around the world. Mistakes, however, were made as well: bureaucratic castes of parasitic elites - as well as reactionary cults of personality - were established, many things were mismanaged and prejudice and bigotry sometimes replaced internationalism and progressiveness.



  1. Absolutely no posts or comments meant to relativize(/apologize for), advocate, promote or defend:

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 21 hours ago (5 children)

Leftists can pat themselves on the back for knowing this all they want... but the truth of the matter is that even leftists themselves have largely fallen for the propagandistic myth that liberalism is (somehow) "less" right-wing than it's fascist co-conspirators.

Just the introductory Wikipedia page on liberalism makes it perfectly clear that liberalism fetishises the very "ideals" that all but ensure the power and privilege of the already-wealthy at the expense of everyone and everything else (you know... the power and privilege that fascism exists to protect through the use of unbridled state violence) - yet I do not see leftists coming up with any bright ideas to fight liberalism in the same way that leftists oppose fascism.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Liberals are fascist apologists.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 19 hours ago

The do a LOT more than just apologise for fascists, I'm afraid.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

the truth of the matter is that even leftists themselves have largely fallen for the propagandistic myth that liberalism is (somehow) “less” right-wing than it’s fascist co-conspirators.

I believe the line is "fascism is imperialism returning to the core". But if you're living in the core, there's obviously a huge difference.

liberalism fetishises the very “ideals” that all but ensure the power and privilege of the already-wealthy at the expense of everyone and everything else

When aristocrats run your schools, you're going to get an academic view that's very friendly to their place in the world.

But that isn't strictly an issue of liberalism, it's the corrosive consequences of philanthropy. Powerful and privileged people fetishize themselves. The rest of us are left to rationalize what we see and hear from a privatized media.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

I believe the line is “fascism is imperialism returning to the core”.

I prefer mine - fascism is just colonialism coming home to roost.

But if you’re living in the core, there’s obviously a huge difference.

I don't really understand what you mean by this.

But that isn’t strictly an issue of liberalism, it’s the corrosive consequences of philanthropy.

I'd say that it is... so-called "philanthropy" is a perfectly liberal way of "humanising" the intended beneficiaries of liberal ideology - ie, capitalists. It's no different than the aristocracy "humanising" themselves by tossing alms to the peasantry.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 19 hours ago

I don’t really understand what you mean by this.

I mean there's a very big difference between living in the comfort of the core under a liberal regime and living during a reactionary pogrom.

I’d say that it is… so-called “philanthropy” is a perfectly liberal way of “humanising” the intended beneficiaries of liberal ideology - ie, capitalists. It’s no different than the aristocracy “humanising” themselves by tossing alms to the peasantry.

Sure. The only real difference is technology and scale. But the scale matters a lot, because its easy to see a straight line between a lord's lackey distributing alms. It is significantly more difficult for someone to understand why AEI shills and Ford Foundation hacks keep showing up on NPR to parrot right-wing economic talking points couched in progressive verbage. It is more difficult to understand the scale of Walton Family wealth or the degree to which cryptocurrency speculation has been used to hijack Congressional campaigns.

Larger and more complex systems are more difficult to resist, in no small part because they become difficult to recognize as a material problem rather than just a foundation of daily life.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Uhh, which leftists have you been talking to? Are you sure they weren't psyops?

Since the majority of the population is liberal in the US. To effectively fight fascism is to work with liberals against fascism. We don't have to agree with liberals. Once we have some room to breathe we can then start picking fights with liberals again.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

To effectively fight fascism is to work with liberals against fascism.

You CAN'T fight fascism in alliance with the very people who literally invented fascist institutions (such as the police, for instance) to protect the status quo from the people at the bottom of our society.

The fascists ARE their allies.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Well then, let me know when you're going to start the revolution with 5% of the population. I'll be rooting for you. Good luck!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 12 hours ago

I’ll be rooting for you.

No. You won't. You'll be too busy licking fascist boot.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Leftists come up with bright ideas to fight capitalist liberals since thousands of years.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Liberalism hasn't existed for a thousand years, smoothbrain.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, thousands of years is a big overexaggeration. But I don't understand why you would say, that you don't see leftists come up with ideas to fight liberalism. People who call themselves left and people who call themselves liberal have been fighting long before the fascist party was founded.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

that you don’t see leftists come up with ideas to fight liberalism

Where are these ideas?

People who call themselves left and people who call themselves liberal have been fighting long before the fascist party was founded.

Where do you see this?