Here a little refresher of some things he's done JUST from the past year

Growth shatters expectations: GDP expands 3.1% - a year beginning with heavy odds of a recession

Job creation 40 times rate of last 3 republican presidents - More than double Clinton and Obama

Black unemployment rate lower under Biden than any other administration (4.7%) - Compared to black unemployment under Trump was 2nd worst number in history, reaching over 16%

$1 Billion to replace the Blatnik Bridge connecting WI - MN

$600 million to replace the I-5 Bridge between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, with an earthquake-resistant, multimodal bridge.

$427 million to establish the first offshore wind terminal on the West Coast, off California.

$372 million to replace Cape Cod's nearly 90-year-old Sagamore Bridge.

$300 million for a new container terminal for the Port of New Orleans.

$95 million to widen a 10-mile section of I-10 through the Gila River in Arizona.

$142 million to fix the I-376 corridor in Pittsburgh, including an area infamously known as "the bathtub" due to its regular flooding.

$150 million to reconnect communities divided by the Cross Bronx Expressway in New York built in the mid-1900s.

Modernizes American port infrastructure

$3B investment for high speed internet for rural communities

$623 million to build EV charging network

Awards nearly $163 billion in federal contracts to small businesses

$426 million for Northern California offshore wind farm

Post-pandemics recovery is by far the most successful in the world

US oil production hits all-time high

Rescinds Trump-era "Denial of Care" rule that allowed health care workers to deny medical care to patients because of their personal religious or moral belief

Launches $11 billion on semiconductor-related research and development including $5 billion National Semiconductor Technology Center

US Trade Deficit With China Narrows to Lowest Since 2010

$250 million to modernize airports in 37 states

$4.4 million to upgrade Maine's power grid

Violent crime drop significantly since 2020

$5.8 billion to clean up nation’s drinking water and upgrade infrastructure

Round 15 of student loan forgiveness: $1.2 billion of federal student loans

Orders cybersecurity regulations for port operators similar to standardized safety regulations preventing injury and damage to people and infrastructure

$500 million to combat wildfire and improve resilience

$1 billion deal with Oregon, Washington, and 4 Columbia River tribes to revive Northwest salmon population

$1.7 billion package to fund initiatives aimed at ending hunger across the United States by 2030

$1 billion toward cleaning up 110 contaminated sites

$28 billion towards substance abuse treatment

$366 million to accelerate clean energy deployment in rural and remote areas

Implemented new rule that cuts credit card late fees $32 to $8

Allows student loan borrowers to repay based on income providing affordable payments and eventual student loan forgiveness

Directs DOJ to issue regulations giving clear protections of sensitive data from access by countries of concern

Bans asbestos

Funds program to fund coast-to-coast bicycle path without hitting a road

Commits $6B to cut emissions from high-carbon industries

Lends $1.5B to restart Michigan nuclear power plant

Allocates $750 million for hydrogen research and development

Restores threatened species protections dropped by Trump

Blocks mining on more than 221,000 acres of federal land in Colorado

First National standard ever for reducing harmful chemicals in drinking water

"Last resort" program keeps tens of thousands of American veterans who were in danger of losing their homes

America's economy growing at double the rate of all other G7 countries

Adds Title IX protections for LGBT students, forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity

Shields millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness from drilling and mining

$7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households

Extends rule requiring overtime pay to workers making under $58,000 annually

Requires airlines to give cash refunds for canceled and significantly delayed flights

Establishes standards to eliminate emissions from new federal buildings by 2030

Lays out conditions for national goal to cut emissions from freight shipping down to zero

Bans most noncompete employment agreements preventing workers from joining competing businesses or launching ones of their own

Reinstates net neutrality

Prohibits federally funded health providers & insurers from discriminating on basis of sexual orientation and gender identity

Canadian Solar, one of the largest solar manufacturing companies in the world coming back to the US, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act

Round 16 of student debt forgiveness: Clears $6 billion in debt for closed art school’s students

In 2021 only three states supplied 12 months of post partum care - Three years later 46 states now do

Online platforms and social media companies required to report child sex trafficking and online enticement to NCMEC’s tip line

Bans Russian uranium imports

$16 billion investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Round 17 of student debt forgiveness: $7.7 billion for over 160,000 borrowers

Free online tax filing program piloted this year made permanent and scope will be expanded

Executive action ordering the closure of border cutting asylum claims in half (according to FOX News)

Prohibits medical debt from being reported on credit reports

Pardons US Service Members convicted because they were gay

Enacts plan to end Parkinson’s disease

Codifies same-sex and interracial marriage

Bolsters nation’s nuclear power by speeding timeline for licensing new nuclear reactors and cut fees that companies have to pay to do so

Again, that's just the past year. Want me to find more for you? Or maybe you can do more research

Growth shatters expectations: GDP expands 3.1% - a year beginning with heavy odds of a recession

Job creation 40 times rate of last 3 republican presidents - More than double Clinton and Obama

Black unemployment rate lower under Biden than any other administration (4.7%) - Compared to black unemployment under Trump was 2nd worst number in history, reaching over 16%

$1 Billion to replace the Blatnik Bridge connecting WI - MN

$600 million to replace the I-5 Bridge between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, with an earthquake-resistant, multimodal bridge.

$427 million to establish the first offshore wind terminal on the West Coast, off California.

$372 million to replace Cape Cod's nearly 90-year-old Sagamore Bridge.

$300 million for a new container terminal for the Port of New Orleans.

$95 million to widen a 10-mile section of I-10 through the Gila River in Arizona.

$142 million to fix the I-376 corridor in Pittsburgh, including an area infamously known as "the bathtub" due to its regular flooding.

$150 million to reconnect communities divided by the Cross Bronx Expressway in New York built in the mid-1900s.

Modernizes American port infrastructure

$3B investment for high speed internet for rural communities

$623 million to build EV charging network

Awards nearly $163 billion in federal contracts to small businesses

$426 million for Northern California offshore wind farm

Post-pandemics recovery is by far the most successful in the world

US oil production hits all-time high

Rescinds Trump-era "Denial of Care" rule that allowed health care workers to deny medical care to patients because of their personal religious or moral belief

Launches $11 billion on semiconductor-related research and development including $5 billion National Semiconductor Technology Center

US Trade Deficit With China Narrows to Lowest Since 2010

$250 million to modernize airports in 37 states

$4.4 million to upgrade Maine's power grid

Violent crime drop significantly since 2020

$5.8 billion to clean up nation’s drinking water and upgrade infrastructure

Round 15 of student loan forgiveness: $1.2 billion of federal student loans

Orders cybersecurity regulations for port operators similar to standardized safety regulations preventing injury and damage to people and infrastructure

$500 million to combat wildfire and improve resilience

$1 billion deal with Oregon, Washington, and 4 Columbia River tribes to revive Northwest salmon population

$1.7 billion package to fund initiatives aimed at ending hunger across the United States by 2030

$1 billion toward cleaning up 110 contaminated sites

$28 billion towards substance abuse treatment

$366 million to accelerate clean energy deployment in rural and remote areas

Implemented new rule that cuts credit card late fees $32 to $8

Allows student loan borrowers to repay based on income providing affordable payments and eventual student loan forgiveness

Directs DOJ to issue regulations giving clear protections of sensitive data from access by countries of concern

Bans asbestos

Funds program to fund coast-to-coast bicycle path without hitting a road

Commits $6B to cut emissions from high-carbon industries

Lends $1.5B to restart Michigan nuclear power plant

Allocates $750 million for hydrogen research and development

Restores threatened species protections dropped by Trump

Blocks mining on more than 221,000 acres of federal land in Colorado

First National standard ever for reducing harmful chemicals in drinking water

"Last resort" program keeps tens of thousands of American veterans who were in danger of losing their homes

America's economy growing at double the rate of all other G7 countries

Adds Title IX protections for LGBT students, forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity

Shields millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness from drilling and mining

$7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households

Extends rule requiring overtime pay to workers making under $58,000 annually

Requires airlines to give cash refunds for canceled and significantly delayed flights

Establishes standards to eliminate emissions from new federal buildings by 2030

Lays out conditions for national goal to cut emissions from freight shipping down to zero

Bans most noncompete employment agreements preventing workers from joining competing businesses or launching ones of their own

Reinstates net neutrality

Prohibits federally funded health providers & insurers from discriminating on basis of sexual orientation and gender identity

Canadian Solar, one of the largest solar manufacturing companies in the world coming back to the US, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act

Round 16 of student debt forgiveness: Clears $6 billion in debt for closed art school’s students

In 2021 only three states supplied 12 months of post partum care - Three years later 46 states now do

Online platforms and social media companies required to report child sex trafficking and online enticement to NCMEC’s tip line

Bans Russian uranium imports

$16 billion investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Round 17 of student debt forgiveness: $7.7 billion for over 160,000 borrowers

Free online tax filing program piloted this year made permanent and scope will be expanded

Executive action ordering the closure of border cutting asylum claims in half (according to FOX News)

Prohibits medical debt from being reported on credit reports

Pardons US Service Members convicted because they were gay

Enacts plan to end Parkinson’s disease

Codifies same-sex and interracial marriage

Bolsters nation’s nuclear power by speeding timeline for licensing new nuclear reactors and cut fees that companies have to pay to do so

Again, that's just the past year. Want me to find more for you? Or maybe you can do more research

The people have more power than you think. It was UNTHINKABLE for 70 years that a major party would even entertain someone who is sympathetic to socialism like Bernie Sanders. Yet they allowed him a national stage in the past two elections. That’s actual cultural and institutional change that is happening quite rapidly actually.

Your expectations and aspirations need to be adjusted to the reality of what levels of change humans are capable of accepting over time.

You saw how the country (and the world) reacted to the election of the first (half) black president, right?

The entirety of this surge of right wing neo-Nazi fervor we are seeing across the world over the past 16 years is a direct result of the deep-seated racism of the people who vote.

The people who don’t vote (and those who vote for a losing but admirable third party) have had no say in the matter. You are respectfully abstaining, and allowing the fascists to dominate.

I contend that those third party voters and nonvoters could have stemmed the tide of fascism we are seeing today. Without you, we are weaker than the fascists. And the fascists will keep on winning.

The people have more power than you think. It was UNTHINKABLE for 70 years that a major party would even entertain someone who is sympathetic to socialism like Bernie Sanders. Yet they allowed him a national stage in the past two elections. That’s actual cultural and institutional change that is happening quite rapidly actually.

Bernie has been entirely cast aside by the DNC proper, though. The people love him for being a Social Democrat, not even a Socialist, and yet he has no power over policy.

Your expectations and aspirations need to be adjusted to the reality of what levels of change humans are capable of accepting over time.

As Capitalism decays, leftism rises in popularity.

You saw how the country (and the world) reacted to the election of the first (half) black president, right?

Yes.

The entirety of this surge of right wing neo-Nazi fervor we are seeing across the world over the past 16 years is a direct result of the deep-seated racism of the people who vote.

No, fascism is rising because Capitalism is decaying. It doesn't matter if the people who vote are racist, what matters is that Capitalism is declining.

The people who don’t vote (and those who vote for a losing but admirable third party) have had no say in the matter. You are respectfully abstaining, and allowing the fascists to dominate.

No, liberals are contributing to the rise in fascism by petpetuating Capitalism.

I contend that those third party voters and nonvoters could have stemmed the tide of fascism we are seeing today. Without you, we are weaker than the fascists. And the fascists will keep on winning.

Fascists win when liberals side with them over leftists. Read the first chapter of Blackshirts and Reds.

Thanks for the reply. Honestly, it's refreshing being able to actually discuss this with someone and not just be dismissed/blocked/banned "for being a shitlib"... Anyway, I appreciate you. I'm listening to your points and considering them before replying myself. I hope that you have the patience to hear me out as well. Feel free to reply to any part of the response below. Curious to hear your thoughts.

Bernie has been entirely cast aside by the DNC proper, though.

He was dismissed by the DNC proper before he even declared his candidacy. The fact that they allowed him to A) Run as a Democrat, and B) Stand on the debate stage, means that something big is happening and they saw that if they didn't, they would have an internal revolt on their hands.

The people love him for being a Social Democrat, not even a Socialist, and yet he has no power over policy.

He actually has a tremendous amount of influence now relative to the rank-and-file Democrats. He chairs the Senate Budget Committee, which is actually a huge deal in our system. It's astonishing, really, that they would allow a SocDem to control that committee. It shows they know the writing is on the wall and that they know Capitalism is in decay, and that they have to make capitulations otherwise they are doomed.

He has inspired an entire generation (my generation) to get into politics to try to change it from inside. AOC and "The Squad" are a perfect example. Prior to Bernie's rise in popularity, it would have been UNTHINKABLE that people like them could not only run as Democrats and be supported by the party apparatus, but also win and become influential members of the establishment of the party.

They are the future of the party. It's no longer the Clinton/Blue Dog/Third Way that are the future of the party. It's The Squad and SocDems and eventually full-throated Socialists. Because the culture is changing in America. Step by step.

As Capitalism decays, leftism rises in popularity.

I've always contended that Capitalism isn't exactly in decay, but rather just reverting back to the Feudalism from which it stemmed, which was the plan all along. When Feudalism was "in decay" in the early 1800's, both Socialism and Capitalism rose in popularity. Capitalism won out because of a number of factors, but it is my contention that a few of the major factors included:

1. The concept of true democracy was completely foreign to those generations. Humanity hadn't had actual democracy since the Greeks (and even then, only marginally). We'd lived under Feudalism for centuries until the revolutions of the 1700's/1800's. People weren't used to not having a hierarchy. It was a foreign concept to be able to have an equal say in how the world was organized and run. Unthinkable, for those generations.
2. The socialists and anarchists used terrorism and violence to try to influence the masses, which always has the opposite of the desired effect. Nobody likes a bully (unless it's "their" bully). Rule by fear does not work, long-term.
3. The Capitalists, on the other hand, offered the illusion of self-determination, the illusion of freedom of choice. Capitalists didn't have to bomb people to get them to join their cause. They just had to pay them. They did have the challenge, however, to organize the new system so that the serfs (workers) could only survive by working for the lords (the capitalists), just as they did under feudalism. Give the serfs the illusion of freedom by allowing them the "freedom" to choose a different master who may afford them some marginally better conditions, or the "opportunity" to become a master themselves by going into debt to the king (the rich capitalists/banking institutions), and feed them the hope that eventually they could pay off that debt if they were "successful" at exploiting other serfs and earning a profit off their "cheap" labor.

Obviously, the Feudal Aristocracy saw that the Capitalists were "their kind of people" and therefore the money and the power won out for Capitalism. Socialists could have used that same playbook, but we were blinded by our own passion and compassion for our fellow human beings.

I firmly believe that had humanity not been so resigned to hierarchy in the first place, more and longer lasting revolutions and democracies would have sprung up even in the face of that power.

The failure of the AES experiments, in my opinion, is that they have emulated the tactics of the feudalists, using violence and establishing their own authoritarian hierarchy, in order to give the people, who weren't used to democracy in the first place, something familiar. The contradiction between our socialist ideals and the establishment of a hierarchy used to force those ideals down the throats of people who aren't culturally prepared for the changes (and therefore who are antagonistic to the changes, as all humans are to all changes), irreparably cracks and weakens the system, necessitating more and more force to maintain itself. Add to that the outside influences working at every moment to thwart the socialist efforts, and the internal mismanagement and cults-of-personality that lead to policies that created famines, and you can see why it all failed. Violence is never a long-term solution.

Now that we have had a century or so of cultural changes such that democracy is the expected "norm" I believe that a move further to the left is not only inevitable, but achievable through nonviolent means. Through further cultural shifts, we could change the system over time. This generation is ready. The boomers were not. Gen-X was open to the idea. Millennials are socialists, by and large. Gen-Z are fucking communists and ready to fucking go.

But that will take some leadership and guidance and yes, some "force" from the existing hierarchy in the form of laws that encourage leftward movement and respect for our fellow human beings.

And it will take time. A lot of leftists are passionate (admirably so, of course), and impatient, and want change immediately, and are willing to kill to get it.

My opinion is that violent revolutions are short-lived and generally have resulted in much worse outcomes than the conditions they were initially revolting from. For instance, look at the French Revolutions, or the American Revolution. The Russian revolutions are another example. The Korean, Vietnamese, and Cuban revolutions were all thwarted by the forces that arose from the previously mentioned violent revolutions.

If we truly believe in the general purposes of our cause (to make life better for everyone), then we have to look for a solution that will last millennia. That will only come from cultural change, and lasting cultural change is one in which the majority of the people are culturally inclined to not be fucking dicks to each other, and that comes from a lack of scarcity. Capitalism has given us that lack of scarcity. And now it's time to use it to our social advantage.

Fascists win when liberals side with them over leftists. Read the first chapter of Blackshirts and Reds.

The left needs to stop living in the past. Yes, learn some lessons from those dead men, but take a look at the current generations and plan for the future. We're not going back to the glory days of socialist uprisings and guillotines. We just aren't. Face that reality. Embrace the hope for the future.

He was dismissed by the DNC proper before he even declared his candidacy. The fact that they allowed him to A) Run as a Democrat, and B) Stand on the debate stage, means that something big is happening and they saw that if they didn't, they would have an internal revolt on their hands.

I read it more as Bernie never standing a risk to the system, he's a Social Democrat at most.

They are the future of the party. It's no longer the Clinton/Blue Dog/Third Way that are the future of the party. It's The Squad and SocDems and eventually full-throated Socialists. Because the culture is changing in America. Step by step

The establishment Dems have the squad in a chokehold, they have treated Rashida Tlaib like garbage, and this is just for SocDems! It will never become a party for Socialism.

I've always contended that Capitalism isn't exactly in decay, but rather just reverting back to the Feudalism from which it stemmed, which was the plan all along. When Feudalism was "in decay" in the early 1800's, both Socialism and Capitalism rose in popularity. Capitalism won out because of a number of factors, but it is my contention that a few of the major factors included:

This isn't accurate. Socialism never took a foothold until the 1900s, pre-Marx there were minor Utopian projects but that's it. Capitalism isn't reverting to feudalism, it's advancing towards Socialism as monopolist syndicates are intricately related with one another, making themselves ripe for central planning once the proletariat siezes them. Meanwhile, competition is going away and disparity is rising. Read Marx, it'll do you good.

The concept of true democracy was completely foreign to those generations. Humanity hadn't had actual democracy since the Greeks (and even then, only marginally). We'd lived under Feudalism for centuries until the revolutions of the 1700's/1800's. People weren't used to not having a hierarchy. It was a foreign concept to be able to have an equal say in how the world was organized and run. Unthinkable, for those generations.

Democracy wasn't "discovered," it was a natural evolution upon technological advancement. Read Why do Marxists Fail to Bring the "Worker's Paradise?" Organizational structures aren't random ideas but come into existence to support the Mode of Production.

The socialists and anarchists used terrorism and violence to try to influence the masses, which always has the opposite of the desired effect. Nobody likes a bully (unless it's "their" bully). Rule by fear does not work, long-term.

This is just generally wrong. Read Blackshirts and Reds.

The Capitalists, on the other hand, offered the illusion of self-determination, the illusion of freedom of choice. Capitalists didn't have to bomb people to get them to join their cause. They just had to pay them. They did have the challenge, however, to organize the new system so that the serfs (workers) could only survive by working for the lords (the capitalists), just as they did under feudalism. Give the serfs the illusion of freedom by allowing them the "freedom" to choose a different master who may afford them some marginally better conditions, or the "opportunity" to become a master themselves by going into debt to the king (the rich capitalists/banking institutions), and feed them the hope that eventually they could pay off that debt if they were "successful" at exploiting other serfs and earning a profit off their "cheap" labor.

This is a very "ideas focused" view of history, rather than a materialist focus. The aforementioned text on Marxism and the mythical "worker's paradise" is a perfect into to Historical Materialism.

Obviously, the Feudal Aristocracy saw that the Capitalists were "their kind of people" and therefore the money and the power won out for Capitalism. Socialists could have used that same playbook, but we were blinded by our own passion and compassion for our fellow human beings

The Capitalists overpowered the Feudal Aristocracy with their vastly superior productive mechanisms. It wasn't about ideas but literal structures.

I firmly believe that had humanity not been so resigned to hierarchy in the first place, more and longer lasting revolutions and democracies would have sprung up even in the face of that power.

Hierarchy is fine, organization almost requires it, certainly at scale.

The failure of the AES experiments, in my opinion, is that they have emulated the tactics of the feudalists, using violence and establishing their own authoritarian hierarchy, in order to give the people, who weren't used to democracy in the first place, something familiar. The contradiction between our socialist ideals and the establishment of a hierarchy used to force those ideals down the throats of people who aren't culturally prepared for the changes (and therefore who are antagonistic to the changes, as all humans are to all changes), irreparably cracks and weakens the system, necessitating more and more force to maintain itself. Add to that the outside influences working at every moment to thwart the socialist efforts, and the internal mismanagement and cults-of-personality that lead to policies that created famines, and you can see why it all failed. Violence is never a long-term solution.

You are analyzing AES as an idealist, not a materialist. Socialism isn't good because it's morally superior, but because production requires it if we are to continue to advance technologically.

Now that we have had a century or so of cultural changes such that democracy is the expected "norm" I believe that a move further to the left is not only inevitable, but achievable through nonviolent means. Through further cultural shifts, we could change the system over time. This generation is ready. The boomers were not. Gen-X was open to the idea. Millennials are socialists, by and large. Gen-Z are fucking communists and ready to fucking go.

Reform cannot work, this is a solved problem. The State and Revolution is a good text going over why.

My opinion is that violent revolutions are short-lived and generally have resulted in much worse outcomes than the conditions they were initially revolting from. For instance, look at the French Revolutions, or the American Revolution. The Russian revolutions are another example. The Korean, Vietnamese, and Cuban revolutions were all thwarted by the forces that arose from the previously mentioned violent revolutions.

This is absurd. The Russian, Cuban, Korean, Vietnamese, French, and American revolutions drastically improved on previous conditions, they were not "thwarted." Look up metrics like life expectancy and democratization, life expectancy doubled in the USSR and multiplied by 1.5 in Cuba post-revolution. This is a whitewashing of just how monstrous previous regimes before revolution was.

If we truly believe in the general purposes of our cause (to make life better for everyone), then we have to look for a solution that will last millennia. That will only come from cultural change, and lasting cultural change is one in which the majority of the people are culturally inclined to not be fucking dicks to each other, and that comes from a lack of scarcity. Capitalism has given us that lack of scarcity. And now it's time to use it to our social advantage.

Not entirely wrong in analysis of material conditions, but putting the emphasis on culture and not the Mode of Production is misguided.

The left needs to stop living in the past. Yes, learn some lessons from those dead men, but take a look at the current generations and plan for the future. We're not going back to the glory days of socialist uprisings and guillotines. We just aren't. Face that reality. Embrace the hope for the future

Your problem is that you are ignoring the lessons of the past. Reform cannot work. AES is by no means perfect, but you are throwing out all of the advancements in theory and practice over time and embracing Utopianism and Idealism, which were dominant pre-Marx and subsequently disproven.

Please read the article on the "Worker's Paradise," it's 20 minutes, if nothing else. Blackshirts and Reds will also be eye-opening for you, as should State and Revolution, but those are full books.

Hey there! I read through Worker's Paradise and have some thoughts I'd like to discuss if you have the time:

It is not merely voting that is necessary for workers to truly be in charge in production. It does not matter how many votes are cast if the infrastructure simply does not exist to transform those inputs into outputs. If there is no infrastructure for actually developing the economy, all these votes will never lead to the democratic will of the voter actually being expressed.

Utopians believe that the problem is always lack of direct democracy. More and more direct democracy is always their solution. More and more voting. Voting is insufficient here. Without the tools to actually carry out economic plans, these votes will be for naught. The economy will never reflect the will of the workers.

The author does not elaborate on the reasoning for their assertion that voting will never bring into manifestation the will of the workers, except to say:

It had grown to the largest economy in the world while still largely planning everything by hand, and the planning technology and infrastructure was lagging far behind.

You can’t solve this problem by just having “more democracy”. It’s a problem of information. The economy was too enormous and complex to actually gather all that information and then respond to consumer demand. The USSR had tons of places for workers to have democratic input, but it did not matter. As its clunky system aged, it continually lacked the ability to efficiently transform any sort of democratic input into economic output.

The Soviet Union lacked the communication infrastructure to be able to allow democracy to actually be able to control the entirety of the huge system. Which is true, for the Soviet Union. At that time.

We have the technology today. We have the computers. We have the AI which can quickly and easily determine the most efficient options for our democratic processes to choose from.

Lenin instead encouraged encouraging market development in order to lay the foundations for socialized production.

socialism requires economic planning, economic planning requires big industry, and big industry can only be developed through market competition.

Why do they think big industry can ONLY be developed through market competition? What is the reasoning behind that? (Aside from what they have seen happen in the past, for older generations of people with very different material conditions to our own today?)

The transformation of capitalism into socialism must necessarily be a gradual process inline with gradual economic development, and complete abolition of private property would only be possible with incredibly, incredibly high levels of economic development.

This is true. So why are you all so against voting in the United States' two-party system, when that very voting will continue to allow incredibly high levels of economic development and the GRADUAL socialization of industry and society?

Economic democracy implies that the will of the workers is directing, planning, the economy. Economic planning inherently requires large-scale infrastructure. Large-scale infrastructure cannot be decreed into existence, but can only come into existence efficiently through market mechanisms.

The market has created that large-scale infrastructure. Let's use it to make the world better.

Marxists should drop the obsession of implementing some “workers’ utopia”.

Then what is it all for? Why do anything if it doesn't lead to an eventual utopia where everyone has their needs met and we can just hang out in parks and play games all day? Isn't that what the whole point of this thing is?? Is that NOT what we are striving for?

people cannot be liberated as long as they are unable to obtain food and drink, housing and clothing in adequate quality and quantity.

Marx himself wanted that utopia. We have the means of achieving it today, because, as the author says, we allowed the market to create that large-scale infrastructure. The process worked. We're here now, and now we inherently deserve to be able to have a say in what we do with it. Because we're sentient beings. We deserve to have control over our own lives.

This article is merely a defense of capitalism (and the way that China has structured itself in particular). There's logic behind it, of course, and that's clearly laid out. But it's based on presuppositions. It's based on the idea that this is the ONLY way to achieve that utopia.

In fact, the article itself basically says "resign yourself to the idea of never having control over your life, because you're never going to create a utopia, so you might as well just be content being a cog in the wheel of the system and be thankful that we who are in control continue to allow you to live" which is no better than the slavery system that (I thought) we (and marx) are trying to get society away from!

The author does not elaborate on the reasoning for their assertion that voting will never bring into manifestation the will of the workers, except to say:

This is because Reform or Revolution is a "solved question" elsewhere. In a 20 minute article, there's not much room to go over everything.

The Soviet Union lacked the communication infrastructure to be able to allow democracy to actually be able to control the entirety of the huge system. Which is true, for the Soviet Union. At that time.

We have the technology today. We have the computers. We have the AI which can quickly and easily determine the most efficient options for our democratic processes to choose from.

Yes, that's why as the PRC continues to develop and socialize, it becomes more capable of democratization. The point isn't that the USSR wasn't democratic. It was, just not a fantasy.

Why do they think big industry can ONLY be developed through market competition? What is the reasoning behind that? (Aside from what they have seen happen in the past, for older generations of people with very different material conditions to our own today?)

Markets are efficient at centralization. It isn't only possible via markets, it just comes with slower growth and recessions. More on that in Socialism Developed China, Not Capitalism.

This is true. So why are you all so against voting in the United States' two-party system, when that very voting will continue to allow incredibly high levels of economic development and the GRADUAL socialization of industry and society?

Because the bourgeois state cannot simply be reformed. The State and Revolution is the clearest overview of why.

The market has created that large-scale infrastructure. Let's use it to make the world better.

Yes, let's overthrow the bourgeoisie so this can happen! Exactly.

Then what is it all for? Why do anything if it doesn't lead to an eventual utopia where everyone has their needs met and we can just hang out in parks and play games all day? Isn't that what the whole point of this thing is?? Is that NOT what we are striving for?

The point is to continue advancing, not to come up with an idea and force it into reality. That's the difference between Utopian and Scientific Socialism. We still want all of what you said.

Marx himself wanted that utopia. We have the means of achieving it today, because, as the author says, we allowed the market to create that large-scale infrastructure. The process worked. We're here now, and now we inherently deserve to be able to have a say in what we do with it. Because we're sentient beings. We deserve to have control over our own lives.

Marx was anti-utopian. You are correct in saying we can socialize now, but haven't analyzed the means.

his article is merely a defense of capitalism (and the way that China has structured itself in particular). There's logic behind it, of course, and that's clearly laid out. But it's based on presuppositions. It's based on the idea that this is the ONLY way to achieve that utopia.

It's a defense of socialist markets as a means of stabilizing growth towards Communism (not utopia).

In fact, the article itself basically says "resign yourself to the idea of never having control over your life, because you're never going to create a utopia, so you might as well just be content being a cog in the wheel of the system and be thankful that we who are in control continue to allow you to live" which is no better than the slavery system that (I thought) we (and marx) are trying to get society away from!

No, it says building Communism takes time even after siezing the means of production. Check out the other texts I linked.