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Living in the west as an actual communist can feel so lonely and frustrating, just watching all around you as the people so close to you get programmed by capitalist propaganda, and you having absolutely nothing to do, especially when they are your parents. It feels like you’re isolated out on an island, even when living in western society.
P.S why does this post already have 4 downvotes?
As a Singaporean who is staying in Malaysia, I can relate despite the fact that I’m not even living in a western country. Conservatism is so popular for some reason.
Almost as if it's about living under capitalism, and not really "east vs west"
Also as a Malaysian, liberalism is everywhere, although I’d say the west is worse in that regard. At least there is some semblance of a left in Malaysia, with some factions of the DAP and the PSM, and also among the Chinese community in Malaysia. However, with the Perikatan Nasional and PAS in particular getting more power and popularity amongst the Malays, and especially the youth, Malaysia is spiraling down into more fascism, as if Malaysia wasn’t fascist enough. Chin Peng really should have won :(
That reason is fear and outrage. People have been convinced this is the best we can do, and they don't want to be looking at other solutions to their problems. But at the same time they realize that their situation is shitty and want to do something about it. Conservatives and fascists appeal emotionally to the past ("remember when things were better and our country was great") and offer it as a solution to our problems today, while promising minimal sacrifice required. Instead they throw the blame on easy targets (immigrants, weak politicians, social welfare, our economy is not competitive enough, inneficient bureaucracy, regulations/protections stopping progress, etc) and direct people's hate towards that.
Just wondering, what's stopping you from moving to a communist country? Is it perhaps your quality of life would take a nose dive?
That's why I'm so glad to have found everyone here. It's quickly become my little spot of sanity. The Ukraine war really did a number on me. Even the most reasonable people I knew were in full on genocide mode. You are far from alone, and I think we all feel the same way.
I love each and every one of you, and thank you so much for having me as your comrade!
Here in the US, we don't even have that bare minimum, and the propaganda is so insidious here, liberals who support the bare minimum are considered progressive. Our reactionaries would gladly stone people to death or burn them at the stake given half a chance. I feel your pain, but if I can find reasonable people and comrades here, you will too, I am sure of it. Stay strong and stay safe, comrade.
I've found that my friends are slightly open to my beliefs, and won't ridicule me since they think I'm just in it for the memes. It's a slow process feeding them theory, but I have hope. And yeah, it gets really stressful in the west sometimes. Just remember that the west is in decline, and that communism is inevitable.
Same here. At least younger people don’t have as many years of liberal programming.
Fellow european here, I can understand very well. The ideological loneliness is real and hits hard.
I don't think you can burden yourself with the responsibility of educating others. Liberal propaganda is spread everywhere since people is child, you can't pretend to change everyone perspectives so easily, even if you want and need it to be like that.
I have similar a similar feeling though a bit less because I've got some anti capitalist friends and I am more surrounded by syndicalists, radical reformists and a few "right wing populists" if I may use the liberal terminology. I get more frustrated with the non ML left than with the libs because I gave up on the libs.
Same. It took me three days after my holiday to be frustrated with society again lol.
Today I spent four hours queuing for my yearly car approval. It got denied because my garage fucked up and gave me a wrong set of tires a while ago. So now I have to change them to another set of tires, and I need to change my windshield. It won't make me bankrupt or anything, but life over here has me increasingly wondering what exactly I'm working for.
Groceries now cost like 40% more compared to last year, and 100+% more than before covid.
I went to view an appartment as my gf and I feel like moving after we think we can get more house for the money we're already paying. It was a viewing with like 30 other people, crammed into a two bedroom appartment. This is the norm now, there's that much demand (in the city at least). Buying a decent house almost seems impossible for the vast majority of people, and renting in the city will soon be impossible as well.
Energy prices I don't even want to start about lol.
I guide people with their energy bills as a volunteer for our party. I sometimes have unemployed people that get more benefits than working people. Which is great, don't get me wrong. Being unemployed is still shit. But working is getting more and more shit by the hour and I sometimes think about how some people might be better off unemployed, since they then at least get the benefits. They still won't have much money left at the end of the month, but they don't have to work 40+ hours a week for it either.
I'm still privileged living here. Life elsewhere is exponentially worse. But after decades of neoliberalism, with all our social and public facilities destroyed, I'm frustrated at living here. The poor are still poor. The middle class is getting poor. The rich are getting richer. Healthcare is unaffordable or unreachable for many. Public transport is falling apart. Social securities are getting threatened. Wages are stagnant. Costs are increasing at a unreasonable pace. Soon all you can do is work and pay bills as a middle class person or probably starve if you were already poor.
That's why I also think it will fall apart in the foreseeable future. What comes next might be even worse but it also offers perspective for actual marxist movements.
I don't really like the society we live in, but fuck me what a bad take. You'd rather be controlled by China or Russia? Name one successful communist country, they've all been shit holes and that's why so many vassal states have separated from countries like the USSR, they had a shit quality of life.
The West needs you MarlKarx. You are exposing the lies we’ve been fed all our lives. The people around us are experiencing cognitive dissonance right now because what they see is not what they’re been sold. So they are digging in to justify the lies. But hopefully soon, there will be a shift to a more hospitable discourse, and you will be one of the few that can give them insight into how to move forward. It’s good to vent. Just don’t dwell on it and always know there are people here who get you.