Tag: Social Democrats

The Different Ways That US And Chinese Governments Use Their Power

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Russia’s war on Ukraine both reflects and deepens a global split that should remind us of Karl Marx’s famous remark: “No social order ever disappears before all the productive forces, for which there is room in it, have been developed; and new higher relations of production never appear before the material conditions of their existence have matured in the womb of the old society.” The United Kingdom already lost its particular social order—its empire—while the United States is now losing its.

The Different Ways That US And Chinese Governments Use Their Power

For International Women’s Day March 8: Words of Clara Zetkin

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement by Elsa Rassbach

For the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, here’s a clip from my 1972 film, “His/story” (which I made as a student in Germany) about the legendary German socialist and feminist, Clara Zetkin, and her visit to the Soviet Union in 1920.

For International Women’s Day March 8: Words of Clara Zetkin

Related:

Lenin on the Women’s Question

Writings of Clara Zetkin

Political situation in Sweden: Corona, migration, fascism and anti-fascism

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Political situation in Sweden: Corona, migration, fascism and anti-fascism (YouTube)

In comparison to other countries, there was never a lockdown in Sweden, but rather recommendations to follow. While many of us started working from home, we could still have a social life. For example, when going to the pub, we could go out and have fun with friends, but according to restrictions, you’d have to keep 1.5 meter away from other companies.

Social Democrats are Fooling Themselves: We Can’t Vote our way out of Neoliberalism

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Social Democrats are Fooling Themselves: We Can’t Vote our way out of Neoliberalism

The social democrats may argue that the people’s interests have been represented under capitalism in the past through the New Deal, but this argument is based in multiple layers of deception. Firstly, the interests of the proletariat and the poor will never truly be represented under a capitalist state; the New Deal (which didn’t even advance the wellbeing of those outside of the favored white settler population) was easily undone the moment the capitalist class decided that neoliberalism was necessary. Scandinavia’s descent into neoliberal austerity in recent decades is another example of how under capitalism the capitalists, not the people, have the final say. Secondly, social democracy within an imperialist country still means a perpetuation of imperialist violence and exploitation against colonialism’s victims; even the Scandanavia model, which is idealized by social democrats, has been built upon the profiting off of Western imperialism. And thirdly, capitalism’s crises have made it so that it’s no longer viable to establish social democracy.

Social democrats helped usher in fascism in Germany. They’re doing it again in America.

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

There are a lot of parallels between modern America and Germany during the leadup to the Nazi era: growing racism and xenophobia, economic decline, deteriorating democratic institutions, an obsession with militarism, violent political polarization. But the defining factor that the two countries share in their descent into fascism is a decision by each country’s liberals to participate in the campaign to repress the revolutionaries.

Social democrats helped usher in fascism in Germany. They’re doing it again in America.

Social democrats helped usher in fascism in Germany. They’re doing it again in America.

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

There are a lot of parallels between modern America and Germany during the leadup to the Nazi era: growing racism and xenophobia, economic decline, deteriorating democratic institutions, an obsession with militarism, violent political polarization. But the defining factor that the two countries share in their descent into fascism is a decision by each country’s liberals to participate in the campaign to repress the revolutionaries.

The operation by Weimar Germany’s majority Social Democratic government to crush the communist-led revolt of 1919 showed just how far social democrats can go when the bourgeois system they align with is threatened; they sent in paramilitary forces to assassinate the leaders of the Spartacus League, including the communist Rosa Luxemburg. This prevented Germany from becoming socialist (which would have stopped it from becoming fascist), and kept the opposition to the fascists incurably divided throughout the decade leading up to when Hitler came to power.

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Social democrats helped usher in fascism in Germany. They’re doing it again in America.