Off-topic: Why does Lenin always seem to look like a villain from a James Bond film? Yeah, it's definitely the beard.
Or perhaps those Bond villains were modeled after Lenin? Some western anti-communist propaganda thing?
Leninthink
31–38 of 38 posts
Re: Leninthink
#32Attention conservation notice: Lengthy somewhat tendentious history of Soviet Leninism, followed by an assertion that the confusing twists of cancel culture is down to the woke masses being in thrall to a Hiddden Lenin, and a rapid exit.
Correct. The author would be screaming "cultural marxism"[1] if that anti-semitic conspiracy theory wasn't already discredited. The facts of this piece are pretty specious here as well. Boris Chicherin, for example, died in 1904, well before Lenin came to power. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_School#Cultural_Marx...
Whilst I'm sympathetic to the overarching point the author is trying to make (Lenin bad, more so than is generally appreciated), confusing Georgy Chicherin with Boris Chicherin does not build confidence he is the best person to make it (or in the editorial practices at New Criterion).
Re: Leninthink
#33Attention conservation notice: Lengthy somewhat tendentious history of Soviet Leninism, followed by an assertion that the confusing twists of cancel culture is down to the woke masses being in thrall to a Hiddden Lenin, and a rapid exit.
Correct. The author would be screaming "cultural marxism"[1] if that anti-semitic conspiracy theory wasn't already discredited. The facts of this piece are pretty specious here as well. Boris Chicherin, for example, died in 1904, well before Lenin came to power. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_School#Cultural_Marx...
There is some truth to the theory of "cultural Marxism" but it's usually presented in an unflattering and conspiratorial light.
Gramsci, a prisoner of Mussolini, questioned why Marxism had failed to foment revolution in the west. He came to the conclusion that the working class were indoctrinated, and that a "counter-hegemony" of thought based on progressive values was necessary to grow a more egalitarian society.
Herbert Marcuse, perhaps the defining philosopher of the 60s, continued this line of thought. There was no conspiracy or deception, however, since Marcuse was an open Marxist. He had a significant impact on the radical culture, and the sexual revolution of the 60s.
In this sense, if you are opposed to "cultural Marxism," then you are opposed to the cultural shift of the 60s. Personally, I think the cultural shift of the 60s is to be celebrated.
Re: Leninthink
#34The fuck is this doing on the front page of HN?
No clue, except that it is. Attempting to tar social justice movements as Leninist is sheer speculation. And maybe Leninist, so to speak. But damn, just ignore that part. It's always good to be reminded of just how insanely ruthless Lenin was. Also, recall that the Germans paid Lenin to destabilize Russia, and keep it out of WWI. So maybe the whole thing was basically a put-on.
>Attempting to tar social justice movements as Leninist is sheer speculation.
When a lot of them readily use Soviet symbols like hammer and sickle to represent themselves, it's not that far-fetched.
Re: Leninthink
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
No clue, except that it is. Attempting to tar social justice movements as Leninist is sheer speculation. And maybe Leninist, so to speak. But damn, just ignore that part. It's always good to be reminded of just how insanely ruthless Lenin was. Also, recall that the Germans paid Lenin to destabilize Russia, and keep it out of WWI. So maybe the whole thing was basically a put-on.
>Attempting to tar social justice movements as Leninist is sheer speculation. When a lot of them readily use Soviet symbols like hammer and sickle to represent themselves, it's not that far-fetched.
I have not heard of them doing so (though I admit that I have not followed them very closely). For those of us who haven't seen this, can you supply some reference(s)?
But if they're going to call the alt-right Nazis (with justification, at least for some of them), and they're going to fly the hammer and sickle... well, I guess they earn being called communist, Stalinist, and Leninist.
Re: Leninthink
#36What ever else you think of this piece, it's worthwhile to know what The New Criterion is and what it represents. Though I suppose "Avidly Pro-Trump Literary Journal" is a concept that easily clears HN's bar for "intellectually interesting".
I tweaked to it not being apolitical with the casual mention of Saul Alinsky, who is only a figure of any note in American right-wing circles (as a boogeyman).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Rodham_senior_thesis
In 1969, Hillary Rodham wrote a 92-page senior thesis for Wellesley College about community organizer Saul Alinsky entitled "There Is Only the Fight" . . . : An Analysis of the Alinsky Model.
Apparently he is more than a bogeyman to Hillary Clinton.
Re: Leninthink
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Control the terminology -> control the discourse -> control the narrative -> control politics -> control everything. That's how the Left operates. cf. Alinsky, "Rules for Radicals" In other words, Wikipedia is not an unbiased source. Rather than throw links at you, suffice it to say that there are other criteria by which political spectra may be defined. Let the reader understand.
Well it doesn’t really suffice it to say. You can’t expect the reader to take your word for it. Wikipedia at least has primary sources that anyone can examine. Sounds like conspiracy theory claptrap.
Well, why don't you review this source from Wikipedia, then, and decide whether it's claptrap: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Rodham_senior_thesis
Re: Leninthink
#38Attention conservation notice: Lengthy somewhat tendentious history of Soviet Leninism, followed by an assertion that the confusing twists of cancel culture is down to the woke masses being in thrall to a Hiddden Lenin, and a rapid exit.
Correct. The author would be screaming "cultural marxism"[1] if that anti-semitic conspiracy theory wasn't already discredited. The facts of this piece are pretty specious here as well. Boris Chicherin, for example, died in 1904, well before Lenin came to power. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt_School#Cultural_Marx...
Because it was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgy_Chicherin