@@plsegott Any God that will condemn someone to eternal torture for the mere "crime" of not believing in him or her is a petty, narcissist tyrant, undeserving of any worship of praise. I would prefer to suffer in Hell, than to abandon my sense of right and wrong and betray all of mankind by serving such a moral monster, should such a deity exist, which is highly unlikely.
A lot of us have had silly beliefs in the past. I think it is very important for leftists to acknowledge the fact that nobody is perfect and that all of us have had to go through some kind of learning process to get to where we are today. Especially considering how we interact with other people because you don't want to give off the vibe that you think your shit doesn't stink.
heldvers There’s nothing wrong with supporting Social Justice, but not agreeing with the way that many SJW’s go about trying to achieve it these days. That’s where I’m at. Political Correctness is a good thing for people to consider, but has gone way overboard when it starts to be pushed in an authoritarian manner.
@@solearesoul THIS! It's so crazy that "political correctness," became a way of saying politeness, but the fact that transgressions of political incorrectness are SO militantly opposed, it becomes almost...conservative. Like Evangelicals from the 50s.
Hey Zoe, hope you're doing well- I don't know if you'll see this, but recently I've become very depressed because of Transphobes like the famous Social-Liberal Vaush who calls himself an _"Anarchist"_ when he's not. He dogwhistles constantly in his Videos and VODs, he's such a terrible LARP but because his Audience is largely uneducated on what words like _"Liberalism"_ and _"Anarchism"_ means, he gets away with Role-Playing as one by calling himself an _"Anarchist"_ . Extremely Terrible- he also strawmans Anarcho-Communism in his latest VOD and in the Past he's Platformed many _"Anarcho"_ Capitalists as if they have any Legitimate claim to the term Anarchism. It's a sad time to see the Left being Pacified by people like him.
Not going to lie, I always assumed anarchism is exactly how you incorrectly described it: death, destruction, pandemonium. After a combination of these videos and some lurking on r/LateStageCapitalism, I realize how terribly, terribly wrong I was.
I can relate. I just had the wakeup call when I found your channel, and it made things make sense. I now try to do what I can to spread ideas about the left, anarchism, and well being
anactualjoke Hi, Im considering that you are part of the LGBTQ and feminist anarchist "wing" for a lack of better word. I always wanted to ask a question someone like you. So, the question is: do you think that gays, lesbians and trans people should have a right to adopting kids?And second, do you think that kids should be exposed to so called sexual education in the primary school. Oh, and third, do you really believe that there are more than two genders?Can you explain to me these things in plain english without trying to mock me in a way that I can clearly understand your position?With clean argumentation?Thank you in advance
golemkonty - A lot of these are pretty obvious. Obviously, LGBT people should be able to adopt children just as anyone else. The way you framed it is very loaded, calling it sexual education when usually these elementary/primary school courses are about these people existing, diff sexualities and genders, and not about their sexual exploits or intercourse. If you want fair engagement, don't load questions. Gender is a spectrum and the way people's gender is placed between to, currently binary positions, at the binary positions, or not having a gender at all. This is all confirmed by modern psychology and the DSM V btw. At no point here have I mocked you. Please don't load your questions next time.
Good to see my favorite leftist UA-camr back with more content. ❤️ My radicalization happened at uni and at the first two workplaces (I'm an Indian). My philosophy transitioned from hardcore Leninist vanguardism to Rosa Luxemburg fairly quickly (she's still my favorite political theorist). The people to point me towards anarchism were you and former UA-camr Rebel Absurdity.
Totally Not A Cylon Things haven’t felt right since I gave up on life before I arrived I knew this place wasn’t safe for anyone But fascists and republicans and their apologists
Just googled this and the apolitical lyrics " I always wanted to die young; now I feel younger every day and I just hope I die younger than I am!" really got to me. Love it. I think I'm slowly coming round to anarchism.
You'd probably really like the album Burn the Earth! Leave it Behind! by Wingnut Dishwasher's Union. It's the same lead artist as the song we referenced here, and it's an essential folk punk album. Also, that's great that you're interested in anarchism! I think anarchism tells us a lot, not just about what a better world could look like, but also about the one we currently live in.
I think it's a good idea to recount how we became radicalised so we can nudge others along a similar path, I had the help of falling down the rabbit hole of anarchist youtube, thanks for your videos, you do good work!
Reading so many comments about how positive of an impact you've had on viewers is very heartening. I hope you continue to produce content as frequently as possible because you have a very positive voice and platform.
As a STEM major (computer science), I 100% agree with you. I feel that people in tech jobs, who are supposedly supposed to push us into the future, are extremely submissive to authoritarian and Machiavellian thought. And growing up in the US, I never truly felt like a person. I felt that I was on an assembly line, and at the end of the line I would come out as a well oiled machine to be used up by authority. I completely relate to your transition.
I don't know if part of it is to do with the fact that STEM subjects seem to mesh better with the system, as they are seen as masculine jobs, therefore worthy and important and are generally higher paid which means people in those fields benefit from the system. There seems to a lot of superiority complexes in people in those fields due the higher pay = higher worth mentality. I've seen way too many STEM lords making arrogant, paternalistic comments about how people should pull themselves out of poverty by learning to code. They have a very individualistic outlook all while conforming totally to the capitalism system. If everyone learned the same skills, those skills wouldn't be worth very much anymore in the capitalist market.
I was once a more right wing libertarian. Now I'm basically a left wing libertarian. The funny thing is, I haven't actually changed my mind, but everyone else took a massive step to the right. My only real change is that I used to think capitalism was fixable, where now I don't. But I came to that realization from history, not politics.
No it isn't. You buy a Harry Potter book because it's worth more to you (in sentimental value) than it costs. The book is worth less to JK Rowling than she sells it for, because she makes a profit but already has the knowledge in the book. It's a win-win game based on _voluntary_ exchanges. There are other issues with capitalism, but being a zero-sum game isn't one of them.
selfreferentialhumor This only works so well in the example you gave. What about real necessities? And what about the geopolitical context? It tends to look like a zero sum game to me.
Same. Was a traditional right wing constitutional libertarian, briefly flirted with anarcho-capitalism and finally transitioned into what now could be described as a left libertarian or libertarian socialist.
selfreferentialhumor It doesn't matter whether or not it's a zero sum game. What matters is the positive feedback loop. The richer you are, the richer you get. The poorer you are, the poorer you get. It's just built in. The wealthy have the luxury of choosing their transactions, and the poor don't. Take an example less trivial than Harry Potter books, like rent or food, or increasingly, clean water. One side can take it or leave it, and the other has little or no choice. If you have a ton of money stashed away, you can be very picky about what job you are willing to take, or you can start a business of your own. If you are like most people, you have to take whatever you can get. This is the power of positive feedback loops. It plays out over and over throughout history.
Ming Mongo if I understand correctly, advertisers on UA-cam don't choose the individual video's on which their adverts air. Instead, they choose for their ad's to show up on a particular category of videos, in this case, "news and politics"
Words cannot possibly describe how grateful I am for finding your channel my dude. Back before I was a communist I was quite literally flirting with the alt right and considering unironic Nazism. God only knows what dark path I would’ve gone down had I not found you. And even though I’m a Leninist now I’m still grateful for you introducing me to leftism in general.
Have you considered that you might be less interested in politics than addicted to extreems? I don't mean this as an attack. It's fairly common, and if it's true, it would be an important thing to know about yourself. I have learned to keep an eye on that kind of thing in my own life.
Marvin: Nazism and communism is quite similar. You shouldn't have left, there's a reason nazism was evolved out of marxist thought. Like how Mussolini,a former socialist, became the first fascist. But no matter what you are, remember, we are brothers, and my shirt is brown. You may hate it, but it's the truth.
Well that's one less alt right/nazi. Hopefully we'll be rid of them completely one day. Although I am not a complete communist, due to the way it can deter people from becoming doctors, scientists or some other job like that. I think we just need to create a smaller class divide, with greater opportunity and more encouragement to follow more ambitious careers. I think that there is a functioning middle ground between capitalism and communism that favours workers that make the most positive difference in society
Star Trek pushed me left. Captain Picard saying "we don't have money in the 24th century" was enough to push me, an impovrished 8 y/o at the time to supporting a gift economy. What pushed me down was realizing parties are merely monopolies on ideas and use ideas and proposals to gain public support for them. Parties are simply organizations built to cull support from the masses and uplift a new minority into power. I flirted around with non-partisan Confederalism and limited parliament for a while. I came up with numerous proposals and alternatives, each moving further left and down with time. I also incorporated a confusing but mostly original take on Revolutionary theory. Today I'm an Anarchist with some Libertarian Marxist takes
I also wouldn't cite Revolutionary Catalonia, it was hardly Anarchist. Catalonia was a clusterfuck of parties and unions, as well as the Republicans themselves, trying to seize power. The Free Territory is honestly a better example. I don't care how much people hate it, it had less hierarchy than Catalonia.
Star Trek pushed you left? Then anarchism really isn't for you since the Star Trek high tech. society sounds more like a fit for what the Zeitgeist movement and Venus Project proposes. All human managed governments and societies eventually end up as giant burning trash fires anyway. Neither a few handful of people in government nor some human staffed bureaucracies could realistically and competently manage high tech. societies numbering in the hundreds of millions anyway. It's a complete joke to think humans alone could manage large complex modern societies such as what we have today. The collapse of civilization and the near extinction of humanity will take almost everyone in the world by surprise.
@@metanostalgia To be fair to Revolutionary Catalonia(And I`m biased because I am descended from there,I`ll freely admit it),it`s difficult to be a doctrinaire anarchist during wartime against literal fucking fascists and AuthSocs!
Thank you for reflecting on why you were anti-feminism as a teen and that it was based in personal comfort. I have always known that about guys but it’s good to know people evolve out of that mindset. Much love
I had a similar transition myself, mostly helped by your content over the years. It was interesting to see you start churning out anarchist content, and I found it easily digestible and aligned with many beliefs i already held. Watching your videos helped me grow both politically and as a person.
I've always enjoyed watching your well thought out video essays. I met you once a few years ago in Edinburgh, I just came over to say keep up the good videos and I'd just like to say it again. No matter the subject or your opinion - the videos are always great with a compelling argument. Thanks for making them!
I find that when I speak to people, that challenging authority of others often gets people thinking (if even slightly) about the nature of hierarchy. Once one questions the nature of hierarchy, they are one step towards becoming an anarchist. I absolutely share your predicament about whether or not supporting violence against the state and the capitalist class is a viable way to help with the transition. I am still torn on this. I think there are very often people on both the Right and Left that are not educated or experienced with the ideology they endorse. They then lash out emotionally, rather than politically. A lot of young people, such as myself, are not thinking enough about the end goal and also, how to get there sufficiently. I'm never sure if we're "ready" as a society, but working in the technology sector, I am becoming more and more convinced by the non-violent revolution that automation could bring. Bookchin's stuff on post-scarcity makes for an interesting read on this. I like to imagine the marketplace providing a cheaper and cheaper solution to self-sufficiency technologies and eventually surcumbing to removal by disassociation. Power to the people!
This is such an amazing video!!! Should be amplified. I think many people (myself included) have very similar stories of political realization (and many more coming from more deeply conservative roots too). But all it takes is one well spoken recognition of these truths to help begin changing the world!
Anarchism is more pragmmatic as well. Communicating and building a consensus is more likely to help avoid bad decisions rather than arbitrary hierarchy.
lmao like the occupied Wall Street, which accomplished nothing except for popularize some catch phrase? (and consensus on what to do going forward, was never really reached)
manormaid Thank you so much for all the intellectual value and compassion you consistently contribute to this pertinent discussion of ideology and praxis. Keep up the great work.
hey man, just want to say that this is an excellent video and that your content put me on the political path that i am today. keep up the good work, man!
I feel you. I used to be one of those edgelords that said "communism doesn't work xddddd". One day I was curious and started looking into the Ukrainian black army and revolutionary Catatonia, and from that I learned about Kropotkin, Mankho, and several others, and it really sparked my interest. I got involved with other leftists on UA-cam & Twitter, and its all that from their
Love these political journey videos, it really helps clarify our positions to others and ourselves 😌 Lets us know and question why we believe the things we believe
This is such an amazing video!!! Should be amplified. I think many (myself included) have very similar stories of political realization (and many more coming from more deeply conservative roots too). But all it takes is one well spoken recognition of these truths to help begin changing the world
Hello, and thanks so much for this channel and the videos you make. I am commenting because I am amazed, particularly with this video. My wife and I have philosophical talks, rather than just watching mindless TV at night. Last night we were talking about how dissatisfied we were with Liberalism. We touched on all of the areas that you mentioned in this video. I find that remarkable because we are In The USA, and you are in The UK. That means that we both have been under common conditions that precipitated the same thoughts, and produced the same reasoning. I had always been interested in Communism, but lately have been identifying as Anarcho Communist in my own ideology. Thank you for the thought provoking topics and videos.
I can and do very strongly relate with you. I felt and thought just the same way about it all for a while. In fact, I think and feel like I was on the exact, same, if not, similar path as you were. Ever since and after (mainly) finding your amazing and awesome UA-cam channel, as well as a whole bunch of other similar and associated users and their channels just like yours, I have personally come quite a long way in my political or social, economical, philosophical, ideological, societal, civic/civil, theoretical, practical, and tactical views, just like you and others have. I'm so glad and thankful/grateful that I have found you and your channel and all of the other similar and associated users and their UA-cam channels, and watched and listened to most or all of your channel's and the other users' channels' videos and content.
When I moved away from home in 2011 I first began to allow the unconcious ideology in my head to be assaulted by, you know, other stuff. But it was particularly your videos on "My Political Beliefs" which opened me up to radical anti-Capitalist politics. I think it was how you managed to eloquently present the pain of alienation and reveal how it could have a *political* critique, and shatter the capitalist realism that, yes, actually we *could* indeed build a world that wasn't quite a shit. So thanks for that pal :)
Great video love hearing from people’s different experiences coming into anarchism. For me personally even tho I ‘wasn’t into politics’ for a lot of my youth I’ve had the exact same ideas about society and capitalism it’s just nice to have the words to explain what I’ve always thought. Kinda funny thinking how my hyper conservative father raised an anarchist he may be against ‘big business’ but he still thinks trumps real smart never understood the mental gymnastics
I watched your videos back in the day. I was a conservative back then. I've transitioned to a libertarian socialist since then. I need to read more about anarchism so I can understand its philosophy.
Bro, you are so articulate in your points! I've had a similar journey myself except I started off religious (fundamentalist Christian), and that world view tended to be neoliberal and anti feminist. I left religion when I learnt thar prophecy isn't a good enough justification for ratifying the various legends that where upheld... among other things. Long story short, I took my time to explore some political theories this year, and when I learnt about anarchism, I knew I could get behind that. It seems to follow a radical trust in the potential for good that people have, which I love. Probably the most humanist political philosophy.
I started as a Conservative Christian. Then moved to Liberal+New Atheism. Then to full on Anarcho-Communist. So it was nice to see someone who also went through a similar change as me.
You are fucking amazing dude! Never doubt yourself, you do such a fucking service you don't even know. Thank you your videos are a privilege in a super sea of shit
I agree hard with these views; I also were a victim of more reactionary ways of viewing the world and I'm actually surprised at the guilt I feel because of it and the shame at my sheer stupidity for not being more skeptical at the time. You're really great at this shit, LibSoc, hope you have more educational fun with UA-cam; don't know how much you follow the site these days but there's a growing left, compared to at least 2 years ago.
Found your channel years ago when the Amazing Atheist made that video making fun of you. I remember thinking you were crazy at first but later on realizing I was just blindly following TJ and decided to at least watch your videos and give your ideas a chance. I disagreed at the time but subscribed anyways to try and fight my personal biases. 4 years later and I just read The Conquest of Bread and have seen many of your videos. Congratulations, I am now an anarchist, you have won.
This ties in nicely with a series of videos I'm working on about why representative democracy should be overthrown and replaced with anarchy. You'd be surprised at how little this type of viewpoint is expressed given that it seems natural once you see the world for what it is (at least as much as one can).
I went from libertarian to liberal to socialist to straight anarchist in the period of ten years and now a lot of liberals piss me off. Oh well. You live, you learn.
Great Story, man I want you as my mate! Growing up, I remember always feeling this general sense of being unhappy with the way things were and the answers I was given to explain why they were that way. Basic contradictions: we are living in a society that was supposedly equal and fair as well as incredibly prosperous, but there would be dozens of homeless people as I walked to school. We lived in a representative democracy, but me, my family and everyone I knew never felt like we ever had a say in anything or the power to stop things happening to us. If we lived in a free society, why did I have to go to school to learn stuff that I would need for career that I didn't even really want? One day I was spacing out in math class and I thought I would look at some book I was given about something called 'The Russian Revolution' for a history project. Nothing had ever been so fascinating to me, not only that a society thought back against problems I myself saw around me, but that they didn't accept the TINA notion, that they believed humanity could do better.
Anybody else get that ad from Corolla by PragerU? Christ, I cringed the entire time... Btw, I am thinking about making videos in support of Anarchist Communism, any tips?
Sleepless Owl "No ethical consumption under capitalism" doesn't mean that some forms of consumption aren't more ethical than others. Capitalism exploits workers but animal agriculture exploits both workers and animals. Way more land is used to grow crops to feed to animals before they are killed and slaughterhouse working conditions are some of the worst of any industry. It's a cop out to suggest that we have no consumer power.
ethics is about wellbeing, happiness and suffering. choosing to consume animal products is to make the decision to cause needless suffering for animals, needless damage to your own body, and destroying the future of the planet.
Great video! Thank you so much for sharing! I can empathise with a lot of what you say, it does to an extent mirror my own political considerations. Although I currently take a more pragmatic approach i.e. what type of policy can make the greatest improvement given the current state of affairs. Can we look forward to listening to more of your wonderful piano compositions?? I'd really love to hear more of them if you have had the time to write any.
There was a time when I was a christian conservative - that is how I was raised. It was a long, long trek from there to atheist anarchist, but I’m glad I used my mind and made the trip.
Not sure if you've done this, but I'd really love to hear you and the youtuber Mexie have a discussion!! I think both of you have some great ideas and concurrences that might be interesting to talk about.
It's amazing to me how many people follow a similar trajectory. Also, if you haven't already, read John Dewey's The Public and its Problems for a nice work on democracy in every action. He's a social democrat, but his theories are a great complement to anarchism.
To me, the mark of adulthood is the realization that the world is far more complex than we would like to to be. In many ways, the process you described in your video felt to me like a long, progressive coming of age.
Another great addition to the books, comrade. My story is boring lol Discovered punk in 4th grade and by 5th I'd stopped saying the pledge and ain't said it since. Learned all I could with minimal internet access and no YT. Became extremely disillusioned with the shit state of the anarchist community (heavy post left and primitivist influence) where I was living in my early twenties and became something of a very libertarian-minded SocDem before quickly coming to my senses and getting back at it after more traveling. I still hate the unwillingness to consider optics and lack of organizing in a lot of anarchist circles and online communities. But even if we never get anywhere, I can't be anything else. It's just who I am. Always been anti-authoritarian and always will be. Keep it up!
I went from conservative muslim to anarcho communist. My past self would hate me...
@Omar 1111 wtf?
@Omar 1111 political opinion = mental illnes?
@Omar 1111 Why, exactly? Give a reasoned set of arguments as to why this political viewpoint is incorrect.
because he will go to hell
@@plsegott Any God that will condemn someone to eternal torture for the mere "crime" of not believing in him or her is a petty, narcissist tyrant, undeserving of any worship of praise. I would prefer to suffer in Hell, than to abandon my sense of right and wrong and betray all of mankind by serving such a moral monster, should such a deity exist, which is highly unlikely.
dude we need your voice now more then ever
HOLY SHIT YES
Wonder if he could discuss with people like Kyle Kulinski and the host of Humanist Report.
Nageva Jimmy Dore too!
Especially since badmouse discovered his love for Lenin...
Espeshaly after we lost badmouse
I love hearing another leftist say that they used to be an anti-sjw/feminist liberal. It makes me not feel so bad about my past haha
heldvers
Its fairly common in my experience
A lot of us have had silly beliefs in the past. I think it is very important for leftists to acknowledge the fact that nobody is perfect and that all of us have had to go through some kind of learning process to get to where we are today. Especially considering how we interact with other people because you don't want to give off the vibe that you think your shit doesn't stink.
Nayako Sadashi U wot?
heldvers There’s nothing wrong with supporting Social Justice, but not agreeing with the way that many SJW’s go about trying to achieve it these days. That’s where I’m at. Political Correctness is a good thing for people to consider, but has gone way overboard when it starts to be pushed in an authoritarian manner.
@@solearesoul THIS! It's so crazy that "political correctness," became a way of saying politeness, but the fact that transgressions of political incorrectness are SO militantly opposed, it becomes almost...conservative. Like Evangelicals from the 50s.
Excellent video
Hey Zoe, hope you're doing well- I don't know if you'll see this, but recently I've become very depressed because of Transphobes like the famous Social-Liberal Vaush who calls himself an _"Anarchist"_ when he's not.
He dogwhistles constantly in his Videos and VODs, he's such a terrible LARP but because his Audience is largely uneducated on what words like _"Liberalism"_ and _"Anarchism"_ means, he gets away with Role-Playing as one by calling himself an _"Anarchist"_ .
Extremely Terrible- he also strawmans Anarcho-Communism in his latest VOD and in the Past he's Platformed many _"Anarcho"_ Capitalists as if they have any Legitimate claim to the term Anarchism.
It's a sad time to see the Left being Pacified by people like him.
Not going to lie, I always assumed anarchism is exactly how you incorrectly described it: death, destruction, pandemonium.
After a combination of these videos and some lurking on r/LateStageCapitalism, I realize how terribly, terribly wrong I was.
some anarchists kinda want that destruction part...I guess that is like violent revolutionists in general but still
@@unionsocialist4611 Its kind of requisite for a change no?
My video would have been so much shorter. "Bought a punk record when I was 12." End.
James Disaster 😂
Truly, a comrade(wanted to say "a queen", but remember, No God's No Kings)
Which record?
@@Hankyman583 NWA
cameron is like the father of online communism
I can relate. I just had the wakeup call when I found your channel, and it made things make sense. I now try to do what I can to spread ideas about the left, anarchism, and well being
My server has never doxed anyone?
Operation Blueism like. I monitor that shit. It has literally NEVER happened. Don't fucking lie about me
im the cunt the celebrate when fascist and socialist kill each other because they are both failed ideologies
anactualjoke Hi, Im considering that you are part of the LGBTQ and feminist anarchist "wing" for a lack of better word. I always wanted to ask a question someone like you. So, the question is: do you think that gays, lesbians and trans people should have a right to adopting kids?And second, do you think that kids should be exposed to so called sexual education in the primary school. Oh, and third, do you really believe that there are more than two genders?Can you explain to me these things in plain english without trying to mock me in a way that I can clearly understand your position?With clean argumentation?Thank you in advance
golemkonty - A lot of these are pretty obvious. Obviously, LGBT people should be able to adopt children just as anyone else. The way you framed it is very loaded, calling it sexual education when usually these elementary/primary school courses are about these people existing, diff sexualities and genders, and not about their sexual exploits or intercourse. If you want fair engagement, don't load questions. Gender is a spectrum and the way people's gender is placed between to, currently binary positions, at the binary positions, or not having a gender at all. This is all confirmed by modern psychology and the DSM V btw. At no point here have I mocked you. Please don't load your questions next time.
Good to see my favorite leftist UA-camr back with more content. ❤️
My radicalization happened at uni and at the first two workplaces (I'm an Indian). My philosophy transitioned from hardcore Leninist vanguardism to Rosa Luxemburg fairly quickly (she's still my favorite political theorist). The people to point me towards anarchism were you and former UA-camr Rebel Absurdity.
i was born a bitter old man who got his heart broken in catalonia, 1936 ~
Totally Not A Cylon Things haven’t felt right since
I gave up on life before I arrived
I knew this place wasn’t safe for anyone
But fascists and republicans and their apologists
Just googled this and the apolitical lyrics " I always wanted to die young; now I feel younger every day and I just hope I die younger than I am!" really got to me. Love it. I think I'm slowly coming round to anarchism.
You'd probably really like the album Burn the Earth! Leave it Behind! by Wingnut Dishwasher's Union. It's the same lead artist as the song we referenced here, and it's an essential folk punk album. Also, that's great that you're interested in anarchism! I think anarchism tells us a lot, not just about what a better world could look like, but also about the one we currently live in.
Totally Not A Cylon just haven't felt right since
Brilliant comment. Wish I'd thought of it!
I think it's a good idea to recount how we became radicalised so we can nudge others along a similar path, I had the help of falling down the rabbit hole of anarchist youtube, thanks for your videos, you do good work!
Reading so many comments about how positive of an impact you've had on viewers is very heartening. I hope you continue to produce content as frequently as possible because you have a very positive voice and platform.
As a STEM major (computer science), I 100% agree with you. I feel that people in tech jobs, who are supposedly supposed to push us into the future, are extremely submissive to authoritarian and Machiavellian thought. And growing up in the US, I never truly felt like a person. I felt that I was on an assembly line, and at the end of the line I would come out as a well oiled machine to be used up by authority. I completely relate to your transition.
I don't know if part of it is to do with the fact that STEM subjects seem to mesh better with the system, as they are seen as masculine jobs, therefore worthy and important and are generally higher paid which means people in those fields benefit from the system. There seems to a lot of superiority complexes in people in those fields due the higher pay = higher worth mentality.
I've seen way too many STEM lords making arrogant, paternalistic comments about how people should pull themselves out of poverty by learning to code. They have a very individualistic outlook all while conforming totally to the capitalism system.
If everyone learned the same skills, those skills wouldn't be worth very much anymore in the capitalist market.
Fam, you're my fave and I love it that you're still making vids
end
I was once a more right wing libertarian. Now I'm basically a left wing libertarian. The funny thing is, I haven't actually changed my mind, but everyone else took a massive step to the right. My only real change is that I used to think capitalism was fixable, where now I don't. But I came to that realization from history, not politics.
No it isn't. You buy a Harry Potter book because it's worth more to you (in sentimental value) than it costs. The book is worth less to JK Rowling than she sells it for, because she makes a profit but already has the knowledge in the book. It's a win-win game based on _voluntary_ exchanges. There are other issues with capitalism, but being a zero-sum game isn't one of them.
That's some good selfreferentialhumor you've voluntarily deployed there, well done!
selfreferentialhumor This only works so well in the example you gave. What about real necessities? And what about the geopolitical context? It tends to look like a zero sum game to me.
Same. Was a traditional right wing constitutional libertarian, briefly flirted with anarcho-capitalism and finally transitioned into what now could be described as a left libertarian or libertarian socialist.
selfreferentialhumor It doesn't matter whether or not it's a zero sum game. What matters is the positive feedback loop. The richer you are, the richer you get. The poorer you are, the poorer you get. It's just built in. The wealthy have the luxury of choosing their transactions, and the poor don't. Take an example less trivial than Harry Potter books, like rent or food, or increasingly, clean water. One side can take it or leave it, and the other has little or no choice. If you have a ton of money stashed away, you can be very picky about what job you are willing to take, or you can start a business of your own. If you are like most people, you have to take whatever you can get. This is the power of positive feedback loops. It plays out over and over throughout history.
You speak with a clarity and care of humanity that we really need...
Sounds like my transformation.
Carl Sagan: Anarchist, no wt that's true. Sagan was born an Astro-anarchist.
Does anyone else get Prager U ads on this channel every time, or is it just me.
I do as well!!
Ming Mongo if I understand correctly, advertisers on UA-cam don't choose the individual video's on which their adverts air. Instead, they choose for their ad's to show up on a particular category of videos, in this case, "news and politics"
Daniel Leon I get the mechanism, but question the consistency.
It's like a cancer: never stops spreading unless you blast it full of radiation.
Just you. Everyone else use adblock.
Words cannot possibly describe how grateful I am for finding your channel my dude. Back before I was a communist I was quite literally flirting with the alt right and considering unironic Nazism. God only knows what dark path I would’ve gone down had I not found you. And even though I’m a Leninist now I’m still grateful for you introducing me to leftism in general.
Have you considered that you might be less interested in politics than addicted to extreems? I don't mean this as an attack. It's fairly common, and if it's true, it would be an important thing to know about yourself. I have learned to keep an eye on that kind of thing in my own life.
Ming Lingo Leninism isn't extreme lol
You probably weren’t a very good communist then.
Marvin: Nazism and communism is quite similar. You shouldn't have left, there's a reason nazism was evolved out of marxist thought. Like how Mussolini,a former socialist, became the first fascist. But no matter what you are, remember, we are brothers, and my shirt is brown. You may hate it, but it's the truth.
Well that's one less alt right/nazi. Hopefully we'll be rid of them completely one day. Although I am not a complete communist, due to the way it can deter people from becoming doctors, scientists or some other job like that. I think we just need to create a smaller class divide, with greater opportunity and more encouragement to follow more ambitious careers. I think that there is a functioning middle ground between capitalism and communism that favours workers that make the most positive difference in society
Star Trek pushed me left. Captain Picard saying "we don't have money in the 24th century" was enough to push me, an impovrished 8 y/o at the time to supporting a gift economy. What pushed me down was realizing parties are merely monopolies on ideas and use ideas and proposals to gain public support for them. Parties are simply organizations built to cull support from the masses and uplift a new minority into power. I flirted around with non-partisan Confederalism and limited parliament for a while. I came up with numerous proposals and alternatives, each moving further left and down with time. I also incorporated a confusing but mostly original take on Revolutionary theory. Today I'm an Anarchist with some Libertarian Marxist takes
I also wouldn't cite Revolutionary Catalonia, it was hardly Anarchist. Catalonia was a clusterfuck of parties and unions, as well as the Republicans themselves, trying to seize power. The Free Territory is honestly a better example. I don't care how much people hate it, it had less hierarchy than Catalonia.
Star Trek pushed you left? Then anarchism really isn't for you since the Star Trek high tech. society sounds more like a fit for what the Zeitgeist movement and Venus Project proposes. All human managed governments and societies eventually end up as giant burning trash fires anyway. Neither a few handful of people in government nor some human staffed bureaucracies could realistically and competently manage high tech. societies numbering in the hundreds of millions anyway. It's a complete joke to think humans alone could manage large complex modern societies such as what we have today. The collapse of civilization and the near extinction of humanity will take almost everyone in the world by surprise.
@@metanostalgia To be fair to Revolutionary Catalonia(And I`m biased because I am descended from there,I`ll freely admit it),it`s difficult to be a doctrinaire anarchist during wartime against literal fucking fascists and AuthSocs!
Thank you for reflecting on why you were anti-feminism as a teen and that it was based in personal comfort. I have always known that about guys but it’s good to know people evolve out of that mindset. Much love
I had a similar transition myself, mostly helped by your content over the years. It was interesting to see you start churning out anarchist content, and I found it easily digestible and aligned with many beliefs i already held. Watching your videos helped me grow both politically and as a person.
I've always enjoyed watching your well thought out video essays. I met you once a few years ago in Edinburgh, I just came over to say keep up the good videos and I'd just like to say it again. No matter the subject or your opinion - the videos are always great with a compelling argument. Thanks for making them!
The story telling of your journey to anarchism was so nice to share with us. I look forward to more of your videos.
So interesting to learn about the evolution of your political thought - I will be sharing this video far and wide. Keep up the amazing work Cameron!
Every video from you is a treat. Thank you!
I relate to this so much. The more you learn about the way the world works, the more anarchist you become.
This is one of the most important videos on youtube. Well written and well said. Very concise and coherent.
Thanks again. I know it's corny, but your vids have hit that spot in me that says, "you're not alone" just when I needed it a couple times now.
I find that when I speak to people, that challenging authority of others often gets people thinking (if even slightly) about the nature of hierarchy. Once one questions the nature of hierarchy, they are one step towards becoming an anarchist.
I absolutely share your predicament about whether or not supporting violence against the state and the capitalist class is a viable way to help with the transition. I am still torn on this. I think there are very often people on both the Right and Left that are not educated or experienced with the ideology they endorse. They then lash out emotionally, rather than politically. A lot of young people, such as myself, are not thinking enough about the end goal and also, how to get there sufficiently.
I'm never sure if we're "ready" as a society, but working in the technology sector, I am becoming more and more convinced by the non-violent revolution that automation could bring. Bookchin's stuff on post-scarcity makes for an interesting read on this. I like to imagine the marketplace providing a cheaper and cheaper solution to self-sufficiency technologies and eventually surcumbing to removal by disassociation. Power to the people!
This is my favorite UA-cam channel, keep up the exceptional work you cool muchacho.
I had a similar transition. Your channel has helped me through a lot of difficult concepts. Thank you.
This is SUCH a powerful video!
This is such an amazing video!!! Should be amplified. I think many people (myself included) have very similar stories of political realization (and many more coming from more deeply conservative roots too). But all it takes is one well spoken recognition of these truths to help begin changing the world!
Anarchism is more pragmmatic as well. Communicating and building a consensus is more likely to help avoid bad decisions rather than arbitrary hierarchy.
lmao like the occupied Wall Street, which accomplished nothing except for popularize some catch phrase? (and consensus on what to do going forward, was never really reached)
@@irisryu6437 cause occupy wall street was explicitly anarchist?
Such an honest, consistent account. I always love your videos. Thanks, comrade
Nick Geffen you should marry each other then
manormaid Thank you so much for all the intellectual value and compassion you consistently contribute to this pertinent discussion of ideology and praxis. Keep up the great work.
Nick Geffen Thanks Nick, happy to do so
Great video and a pretty good example of the struggles that so many of us have gone through! Thanknyou!
Your channel is so great, honestly
one of my favourite channels! thanks!
Cheers for that.Keeps me warm at night.
hey man, just want to say that this is an excellent video and that your content put me on the political path that i am today. keep up the good work, man!
I feel you. I used to be one of those edgelords that said "communism doesn't work xddddd". One day I was curious and started looking into the Ukrainian black army and revolutionary Catatonia, and from that I learned about Kropotkin, Mankho, and several others, and it really sparked my interest. I got involved with other leftists on UA-cam & Twitter, and its all that from their
Love these political journey videos, it really helps clarify our positions to others and ourselves 😌
Lets us know and question why we believe the things we believe
This is such an amazing video!!! Should be amplified. I think many (myself included) have very similar stories of political realization (and many more coming from more deeply conservative roots too). But all it takes is one well spoken recognition of these truths to help begin changing the world
Hello, and thanks so much for this channel and the videos you make. I am commenting because I am amazed, particularly with this video. My wife and I have philosophical talks, rather than just watching mindless TV at night. Last night we were talking about how dissatisfied we were with Liberalism. We touched on all of the areas that you mentioned in this video. I find that remarkable because we are In The USA, and you are in The UK. That means that we both have been under common conditions that precipitated the same thoughts, and produced the same reasoning. I had always been interested in Communism, but lately have been identifying as Anarcho Communist in my own ideology. Thank you for the thought provoking topics and videos.
So good. My story is quite similar instead I was raised with more conservative views.
I can and do very strongly relate with you. I felt and thought just the same way about it all for a while. In fact, I think and feel like I was on the exact, same, if not, similar path as you were. Ever since and after (mainly) finding your amazing and awesome UA-cam channel, as well as a whole bunch of other similar and associated users and their channels just like yours, I have personally come quite a long way in my political or social, economical, philosophical, ideological, societal, civic/civil, theoretical, practical, and tactical views, just like you and others have. I'm so glad and thankful/grateful that I have found you and your channel and all of the other similar and associated users and their UA-cam channels, and watched and listened to most or all of your channel's and the other users' channels' videos and content.
When I moved away from home in 2011 I first began to allow the unconcious ideology in my head to be assaulted by, you know, other stuff. But it was particularly your videos on "My Political Beliefs" which opened me up to radical anti-Capitalist politics. I think it was how you managed to eloquently present the pain of alienation and reveal how it could have a *political* critique, and shatter the capitalist realism that, yes, actually we *could* indeed build a world that wasn't quite a shit.
So thanks for that pal :)
You’re an intelligent young man and I thoroughly enjoy your content.
Very nice summary of your growth, I certainly relate with nearly everything you said.
You've just vocalized everything i've been thinking for the past two years.
_Spread the bread, comrade!_
Great video love hearing from people’s different experiences coming into anarchism. For me personally even tho I ‘wasn’t into politics’ for a lot of my youth I’ve had the exact same ideas about society and capitalism it’s just nice to have the words to explain what I’ve always thought. Kinda funny thinking how my hyper conservative father raised an anarchist he may be against ‘big business’ but he still thinks trumps real smart never understood the mental gymnastics
Thank you for the video!
Good to see you back buddy. YT’s been shite without you.
"Revolutionary Catalonia" god, we do love going on about them, don't we? Great video, LSR, keep up the good work
I watched your videos back in the day. I was a conservative back then. I've transitioned to a libertarian socialist since then. I need to read more about anarchism so I can understand its philosophy.
This was a welcome surprise, and surprisingly familiar for myself. This is that good sh#t!
Fantastic video
You look much older now. Looking good.
Probably because he grew a tiny bit of stubble haha
Bro, you are so articulate in your points! I've had a similar journey myself except I started off religious (fundamentalist Christian), and that world view tended to be neoliberal and anti feminist. I left religion when I learnt thar prophecy isn't a good enough justification for ratifying the various legends that where upheld... among other things. Long story short, I took my time to explore some political theories this year, and when I learnt about anarchism, I knew I could get behind that. It seems to follow a radical trust in the potential for good that people have, which I love. Probably the most humanist political philosophy.
I started as a Conservative Christian. Then moved to Liberal+New Atheism. Then to full on Anarcho-Communist. So it was nice to see someone who also went through a similar change as me.
You are fucking amazing dude! Never doubt yourself, you do such a fucking service you don't even know. Thank you your videos are a privilege in a super sea of shit
I agree hard with these views; I also were a victim of more reactionary ways of viewing the world and I'm actually surprised at the guilt I feel because of it and the shame at my sheer stupidity for not being more skeptical at the time.
You're really great at this shit, LibSoc, hope you have more educational fun with UA-cam; don't know how much you follow the site these days but there's a growing left, compared to at least 2 years ago.
Found your channel years ago when the Amazing Atheist made that video making fun of you. I remember thinking you were crazy at first but later on realizing I was just blindly following TJ and decided to at least watch your videos and give your ideas a chance. I disagreed at the time but subscribed anyways to try and fight my personal biases. 4 years later and I just read The Conquest of Bread and have seen many of your videos. Congratulations, I am now an anarchist, you have won.
This ties in nicely with a series of videos I'm working on about why representative democracy should be overthrown and replaced with anarchy. You'd be surprised at how little this type of viewpoint is expressed given that it seems natural once you see the world for what it is (at least as much as one can).
Great video. Your trajectory from liberal to anarchism sounds very similar to my own radicalization process.
this did not show up in my subscription feed. glad i caught it.
keep up a good work!
I had similar upbringing. Except I had an aversion to authority figures. Having Metal, Rap, and Punk in the 90’s pushed it further.
Organize, unionize. Good to see you back fam.
Anarcho-posadist gang where you at?
2 am uploads 💗
Perfect...
One more subscriber from Brasil.
I'm right there with you lad.
Reminds me lots of myself, great video ^^
I went from libertarian to liberal to socialist to straight anarchist in the period of ten years and now a lot of liberals piss me off. Oh well. You live, you learn.
Is that a hint of a beard I see?
he doesen't have enough testosterone to grow one.
Owl, fuck you, you fucking InCel... Go and join the Wehrboos in their anti-SJW crusade you fucking reactionary
jesus christ man.
Sleepless Owl >unfunny jokes with a /pol/ undertone
go back
It's his inner Kropotkin trying to come out
Great Story, man I want you as my mate! Growing up, I remember always feeling this general sense of being unhappy with the way things were and the answers I was given to explain why they were that way. Basic contradictions: we are living in a society that was supposedly equal and fair as well as incredibly prosperous, but there would be dozens of homeless people as I walked to school. We lived in a representative democracy, but me, my family and everyone I knew never felt like we ever had a say in anything or the power to stop things happening to us. If we lived in a free society, why did I have to go to school to learn stuff that I would need for career that I didn't even really want? One day I was spacing out in math class and I thought I would look at some book I was given about something called 'The Russian Revolution' for a history project. Nothing had ever been so fascinating to me, not only that a society thought back against problems I myself saw around me, but that they didn't accept the TINA notion, that they believed humanity could do better.
Anybody else get that ad from Corolla by PragerU? Christ, I cringed the entire time... Btw, I am thinking about making videos in support of Anarchist Communism, any tips?
dont make us look bad
I could listen to you saying "Triple X swagmaster 420 triple X" for hours on end
This is Great!
Much respect. Refreshingly honest.
Marshall Solomon the guys a weasel
Want to talk about veganism?
Sleepless Owl "No ethical consumption under capitalism" doesn't mean that some forms of consumption aren't more ethical than others. Capitalism exploits workers but animal agriculture exploits both workers and animals. Way more land is used to grow crops to feed to animals before they are killed and slaughterhouse working conditions are some of the worst of any industry. It's a cop out to suggest that we have no consumer power.
"No ethical consumption under capitalism" So if i make something my self and sell it, it's not ethical?
ethics is about wellbeing, happiness and suffering. choosing to consume animal products is to make the decision to cause needless suffering for animals, needless damage to your own body, and destroying the future of the planet.
Nayako Sadashi It's already starting to :) if you look at the figures these industries are starting to struggle.
Mexie does some great videos about veganism and economics/society.
Great video! Thank you so much for sharing! I can empathise with a lot of what you say, it does to an extent mirror my own political considerations. Although I currently take a more pragmatic approach i.e. what type of policy can make the greatest improvement given the current state of affairs.
Can we look forward to listening to more of your wonderful piano compositions?? I'd really love to hear more of them if you have had the time to write any.
You simply arrived at the final result of a reasonable critique of economic/power structures.
Well said.
There was a time when I was a christian conservative - that is how I was raised. It was a long, long trek from there to atheist anarchist, but I’m glad I used my mind and made the trip.
Not sure if you've done this, but I'd really love to hear you and the youtuber Mexie have a discussion!! I think both of you have some great ideas and concurrences that might be interesting to talk about.
good vid. i can't say i agree with your economic solutions but its good to know the reasoning behind your ideas. thanks :)
well said! a free society is an awesome society!
holy shit this sounds almost EXACTLY like my progression (aside from all the UK-centric stuff ofc c:)
It's amazing to me how many people follow a similar trajectory. Also, if you haven't already, read John Dewey's The Public and its Problems for a nice work on democracy in every action. He's a social democrat, but his theories are a great complement to anarchism.
To me, the mark of adulthood is the realization that the world is far more complex than we would like to to be. In many ways, the process you described in your video felt to me like a long, progressive coming of age.
i missed you, my dude
All the love in the comments! Whoooo!
Love watching your stuff. I went from a center leftist to libsoc.
Do you have any thoughts on the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria?
Another great addition to the books, comrade.
My story is boring lol Discovered punk in 4th grade and by 5th I'd stopped saying the pledge and ain't said it since. Learned all I could with minimal internet access and no YT. Became extremely disillusioned with the shit state of the anarchist community (heavy post left and primitivist influence) where I was living in my early twenties and became something of a very libertarian-minded SocDem before quickly coming to my senses and getting back at it after more traveling.
I still hate the unwillingness to consider optics and lack of organizing in a lot of anarchist circles and online communities. But even if we never get anywhere, I can't be anything else. It's just who I am. Always been anti-authoritarian and always will be.
Keep it up!
Read title. Instantly liked.