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] 13 points 4 hours ago

The problem is they have all been extremely successful at demonizing the alternatives. People are hesitant to even think about left ideas because they have been told their entire lives that they are evil.

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

Well well well.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 6 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

Most Democrats don't realize that capitalism relies on actual slavery... presently. They don't know that the products they consume revolve around supply chains that even include child slavery. They don't know the actual effects of US imperialism, regime change, and third-world exploitation. They don't know that an estimated 40% of US agricultural workers are undocumented immigrants — modern slaves, with no human rights. I'm not being hyperbolic at all, but I suggest everybody do their own research.

Democrats are propagandized to not want to come to terms with the fact that even first-world workers are slaves. They may not be "owned", but damn near — everybody is getting a raw deal under capitalism besides those that extract the vast majority of value, wealth, power, influence, and control.

Democrats are subjected to intense campaigns that include gaslighting, propaganda, and coercion, while critical facts and the actual reality is veiled to them.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Even US military policy and the reserve currency is designed to exploit emerging markets. The reason the US can print so much money every year to fund all its programs is because other countries are required to trade in USD so will buy it even though its being inflated so much, and if they decide to trade in something like gold dinars they get overthrown.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 hours ago

What values are you talking about? You must have limited them to something like you shouldn't eat cockroaches.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (3 children)

They are the same as early-2000s Republicans.

They are not the same as 2025 Republicans, who are literally thieving, murderous Mussolini-emulating fascists.

To be fair, still Republicans… just two decades apart.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 hours ago

I'll admit Trump is a lot clumsier about saying it out loud, but 2000s Republicans were absolutely on the same wave. Being virulently anti-anyone-dark-than-an-italitan, actively eroding free speech, and hating anyone who worked for a living has been standard conservative shit since at least the 1800s. If anything, the 2000s Republicans had more of a war-boner to boot. Trump did in fact bring the facism home a fair bit more openly, but let's not mistake a new hairdo for a new political movement.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 hours ago

Their complacency makes me feel like they're just making people feel like they have a choice

[–] [email protected] 20 points 9 hours ago (4 children)

The early 2000s Republicans are the same people as 2025 Republicans.

Some of them changed their beliefs. They moved right - or were moved right by an incredibly effective decades-long propaganda campaign.

And some of them didn't change their beliefs at all - they're simply more emboldened to express beliefs that weren't acceptable twenty years ago.

Give it twenty more years and Democrats will be where Republicans are now.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

The current Democratic party is basically the Reagan Republicans with more emphasis on civil rights.

US politics have skewed further and further rightward for the last 50 years. On a global scale, Democrats are firmly center-right.

Bernie Sanders and AOC are barely left of center for the rest of the world, but in US politics they're "off the deep end."

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago

They're center right afaict but ok

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 hours ago

dick Cheney endorsed kamala

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 hours ago

They are not all the same. Notably absent are John McCain, and Mitt Romney. Even Mitch McConnell is kind of gone, with at least one foot out the door and much reduced influence. Meanwhile, thereva lot of newcomers that were brought in by the tee party and Trump, most notably Trump himself.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 hours ago

Yeah, but 2000 Republicans blamed Russia for all their problems. And 2025 Democrats blame Russia for... Oh.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 hours ago

Someone go get that guy complaining about 'bothsiders' on lw last week.

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