Basically dress up the economics as futurism instead of tankie shit with its associations.

Marx said we should hold the means of production in common, and follow a socially beneficial plan. But a lot of audiences would roll their eyes and close their ears as soon as I said Marx.

If instead I say, “Artificial intelligence and computerised logistics are becoming so sophisticated we can think about phasing out the human element of management. We can choose democratically what we want the robots to do and they will produce it for us.”

This might sound like subterfuge to some of you, but it’s not actually dishonest. It’s a correct way to describe a Marxian economy. I replaced the phrase “the means of production” with “the robots”.

The real win here is you get around “It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” People don’t expect a Marxist world revolution. People don’t expect the fall of capitalism. But people totally do expect robots and AI in the coming decades.

  • qwename@lemmygrad.ml
    3·
    6 months ago

    Indeed, there are plenty of issues that can not be solved by technology alone (land reform, nationalization, etc), and there are conditions that prevent technology from being widely available to the proletariat (copyright, patent, etc.).

    As we are in an era where it is much easier for anyone to sell their own ideas, I think it is better to have an organized party that is doing things like pooling resources into starting a worker’s cooperative, and build up that means of production into a position where it could help the local community beyond simple volunteer programs.

    It’s not just about convincing others to join the socialist cause, but also about persisting through the highs and lows of a process that will take years and decades. Leaders of the party will make mistakes, comrades may not be with you all the way through. There will be arguments, there will be betrayal, there will be sacrifices.

    There is nothing easy about achieving a socialist state, our Marxist teachers have shown us the light, it is up to all of us to build the road through hard work and unity.