planning on a better tomorrow
2017-05-11
I managed to kick a small hornet’s nest the other day when I mentioned that marxists (and their ilk) need to have actual, concrete plans for ensuring that medical care (inclusive of all aspects, including pharmaceutical) isn’t disrupted during their revolution. Apparently, this is Too Much. It reminds me of how I literally wrote just a while ago why I prefer ‘decolonization’ over ‘revolutionary’…
Except, of course, there are a bunch of white radicals who think that their insistance that everyone fall in line with their pet ideology is somehow novel. So much so that I can get into a discussion ridiculous enough that some white br0cialist calls me an imperialist for critiquing Mao Zedong’s economic policies. Or the thrilling discussion with some white abled person calling me an ableist for using ‘disabled people’.
All of this, in the end, just ends up underscoring my point that decolonization not ‘revolution’ (as conceived by any white radical ideology) is what we need. In a very real way, only decolonization ensures that power gets redistributed to the people it ought to belong (the Indigenous ppls of the land I wrongfully occupy). Anything else, be it communism, anarchism, socialism, etc. really just leaves us with white ppl telling the rest of us what to do.
Better yet, it leaves us with long dead white men getting to structure an allegedly more just, fair, and good society. I’m not sure about anyone else, but after four hundred years, I’m pretty much over what any given dead white man has to say about good governance and economy. Look. These ppl had their chance. Both in terms of communism and capitalism and a lot of things between. They had their chance and they’ve all been dismal failures.
So yeah, as some pointed out, I don’t really have any idea of what would be better, but this doesn’t imply that we should pick something that we already know is garbage. I mean, if pressed, and I had to pick something as an alternative, I’d probably go with Confucianism. If I have to bet on a dead guy, I’m going with him.
But. Notice. Notice. Have you ever really heard any white radical ground their notion of revolution in the writings of anyone not a white man? I can’t think of a single one.
Why Confucianism? Well. As a structuring social and political philosophy, it has some definite problems. Still patriarchal. Sets up a monarchy as the head of state. So, yeah, really not ideal. However, it probably has the record for creating the longest lived and most stable society. We’re talking from 221 BC to 1911 AD.
So, yeah, in the absence of a good option, this is the bad option I’ll get behind. Maybe Confucianism with a socialist economy (since Confucianism doesn’t offer much in the way of economics so we have wiggle room there). At least with this political system, we’d have the right to revolt whenever the emperor loses the mandate of heaven.
(Anyway. I hope ppl realize this is kind of a joke. But I am doing it to highlight a point. Me throwing my lot in with Confucius is no more or less sensible than going with Marx. Both are dead men who have zero fucking clue as to the current state of affairs. The main difference – and its an important one – is that at least I’m an actual human being re: Confucianism. A barbarian to be sure, but human still. Can’t say the same for marx.)