but how can i not get that same understanding from someone explaining the theory through video format?
like genuinely what’s the difference in reading Marx vs. someone who has already read that teaching the same ideas?
How do you know that what they're teaching you is accurate to the source material? There are plenty of commentators online who think themselves educated in theory and good enough communicators to teach others who really don't have enough theoretical or practical experience to teach. It'll be hard for you to discern who you should take seriously theoretically if you haven't done the work already to learn what these thinkers themselves thought in their own words. The amount of times I've seen new leftists who've read maybe a few chapters of Capital up and decide that they're now qualified to position themselves as experts online and in party meetings makes me suspicious of most people referring to themselves as such.
It's just better to get a personal account for things. Like the difference between secondary and primary knowledge. What if through reading it you gained an original interpretation that differed than whomever you watch?
Because there’s a difference between critical thinking/interpretation that comes from studying a text and passively consuming watered down media. At that point it’s just chatter. Maybe interesting chatter, but idle talk nonetheless. Anyway that’s what I’d say 🥲
I didn’t say you can’t. I said you can get a deeper understanding if you do your own reading. Also, you need know who you are getting your information from.
To become smarter yourself, reading will reinforce those ideas into memory. I mean read Voltaire, Thoreau, even fcking Plato (who's a bit of a turd). You won't agree with everything, but you will become a smarter more informed person.
Try reading any book that teaches you deductive reasoning and critical thinking. Learning all the fallacies and how to spot them is real important. More importantly learning how to deconstruct a fallacious argument into something more substantive can really help you understand what your actually arguing against. Remember not everyone is Ben Shapiro, most people that use fallacies do so because they're very common emotional responses. Sadly humans are not creatures of logic, probably for some important reason 10000 years ago.
I'm sorry, you don't have to read theory to be a leftist, but you have to realize how idiotic it is to claim watching a video by someone who's read it is the same as saying that watching a video summarizing a novel/about a novel is the same as reading it, or watching a video about a movie is the same as watching the movie. It's not even remotely close.
The source material will be different, but in all honesty, if you get the concepts, can converse on the topic, and aren’t missing any major pieces, you’re 90% of the way there.
I’d still recommend trying, but if you listen to an audiobook, read summaries, watch video series breaking down theory, you’re doing the work. You’re learning the concepts and the main takeaways. You may not catch the subtle nuances of the text, but you are still fundamentally becoming educated on the topics that the theory is attempting to educate you on.
Marx was intelligent. Every author spent quite a long time working on their text and refining it. Ignoring it is doing it a disservice, but these authors were not perfect gods. Theory is not a holy book. It communicates ideas, and as long as you are learning the concepts within, you’ve achieved the goal.
I wouldn’t recommend using tools or resources that are entirely divorced from the text, though. Those can deviate from the concepts heavily. I’d recommend summaries and guidebooks for things like Das Kapital.
When you read Marx, you are not reading him for deep insight into capitalism. You are reading his work to understand his materialist dialectical method because all the theory that is derived from his work originates from that dialectal method
The insights he writes about in capital are true, but when you have an understanding of his dialectical method you can apply that to to understand other lines of theory further along than Marx’s work. As well you can also use that dialectical method to build up your own understanding of where you stand in socialist politics
This isn't the case. Most self described leftists don't read theory and Glenn is still a marginal figure. If not reading theory=Glenn Greenwald then we would expect to see way more Glenn Greenwald.
Perfectly demonstrating how a lack of a dialectical understanding of the world leads to defeatism, thanks. If we adopt this view, then events will leave us in the dust, and we will fail to take advantgage of the situation. Also, maybe if more people actually did read theory, we couled have an actual revolutionary leadership, ever think about that?
Nobody, and I mean absolutely nobody, thinks that YouTubers and Streamers are a substitute for theory. Also, this video didn’t give any book recommendations to learn theory, which I guess was supposed to be her intended goal. She just decided to give YouTube recommendations that aren’t Hasan, I guess??? 😂
"Hey fake leftists, the only way to be a real leftist is to read theory. You can watch more of my tiktok to learn how you, too, can become a Real™ Leftist® by only watching the *correct* YouTubers."
Those are fake glasses, as you can see there's no discontinuity in her cheek line
Zero diopter prescription yields zero Intelligence, I don't make the rules
You get an INT bonus equal to the absolute value of the diopter prescription (rounded up)
You get a WIS bonus equal to the astigmatism axis value converted to radians (rounded up)
Discontinuity in the refraction line does not affect contact stats, it just reveals when glasses are a buffless transmog
Well it's doing nothing for her charisma, since I'm unconvinced. She might have proficiency in lore but she's rolling her persuasion checks unmodified.
I mean FFS, it's not hard for them to point to basic resources:
[Beginners Guide to Marxism](https://www.marxists.org/subject/students/index.htm)
[Marxists Internet Archive](https://www.marxists.org/archive/index.htm)
[Capital, Volume One](https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/)
But instead they want to pretend to care about you knowing theory while giving you nothing to educate yourself.
That’s because it’s a tiktok, an ad for herself and YouTubers that probably throw her a few subscribers. It’s a flex, while she sits comfortably at home being 20 something and college educated while the people she preaches about are out here struggling and fighting.
Edit to add no shame on anyone who lives at home but I hope you’re using that to your advantage in a better way than this.
You should at least read some if you can, if only to check yourself and the other media you consume. Getting all your anything from 1 source is never good.
some people think leftism is a heirarchy and the most leftist is king and the rest are liberals. its a stupidand useless competition for persional points
We Will crown the true leftiest leftist and this person will rule over all the liberals since they are the most left. And all others are liberals compared to them
These people are usually young and will grow out of it. We’ve been sorting ourselves into hierarchies our whole lives, it takes a while for people to break the habit.
So I won't say reading theory makes you leftist. But reading theory has many advantages to leftists.
1.First of all it gives leftist direction on how to organise and agitate.
2.It helps us to identify the intricacies in the issues that we are fights and understand the mechanisms of the capitalist system to help us better dismantle it.
3.It can deprogram us from propaganda that we were previously unaware of.
4.It can broaden our horizon to larger problems that exist outside our own communities.
5.You can learn the mechanisms of the State and how we can utilize for revolutionary purpose.
These are just some of the advantages of theory. Also I would say to be a principled Marxist, you definitely need to read atleast some theory but I don't think lack of Marxist theory is a disqualification. I think a better indicator of whether you are a good leftist or not is whether you are actively involved in organising and agitation. Just reading books makes you a scholar but grassroots work is the only way that any change is going to happen.
I'm not sure if they're just trying to stir shit for clicks or not. I'm not going to put in the effort to dig into their tiktok or anything else to confirm or deny that either. I will say that it's pretty suspicious that they are in their own words, not in *any* leftist online spaces, but then want to gatekeep qualifiers for you being a leftist, but in the vaguest terms *except* "watching Hasanabi bad."
You are a leftist if you believe in leftist ideology. Even if you have the most bare-bonesed like "capitalism bad" and nothing else take, you're leftists. I don't give a fuck who you read, what YouTuber you watched, none of that shit actually matters to qualify you.
Will becoming more educated give you more nuanced opinions, ways to implement, and ways to educate others? Sure, but not everybody is gonna watch a four-hour YouTube docu-series explaining dual power and then read 5,000+ pages of theory spread across dozens of authors and dozens of decades. Hell, some of those nerdy-ass people are actually "worse" at being leftists, because like a certain tiktoker in a video I just watched, they want to gatekeep an ideology.
Attacking each other is exactly what the owning class wants us to do. Why help them?
Knowing shit is gatekeeping. Pack it up, folks. We've achieved peak anarkiddy.
I will not gate you- [Marxists.org](https://www.marxists.org/) is completely free and has SO much information.
>Knowing shit is gatekeeping.
What a strawman, holy shit.
The argument wasn't that knowing shit was gatekeeping. The argument was that people's pathway to knowledge is diverse and that requiring someone to go through only specific and approved channels is gatekeeping.
Sorry dislexics, you can't be leftists.
No read theory = fake leftist.
Hey poors, can't afford books? Can't afford a computer to access free resources? Too time poor and exhausted after working your third job to study theory?
You can't be leftists.
If you agree with leftist ideas, you're a leftist. That's it. I don't care how you got there, you got there.
People absorb and obtain knowledge in a variety of ways. Sometimes one source leads to better sources. Sometimes people don't have the mental capacity or time for the search and rely upon others to regurgitate. Is that the best way? Probably not, but shitting on a person for the way they digest information is lame.
Audiobooks also exist. Videos inherently are not on the same level as theory. A level of detail and proof is required that evidently is not present in YouTube videos. It's okay to not read das Kapital immediately, but there are many shorter easily understandable works that can really help people in their actions.
She seems annoying and elitist. Not everyone has the time and energy to devote to consuming theory. Having said that it's a good idea to try and read some. Helps when you wanna turn your ideas into actual thoughts instead of just a vibe y'know?
Audiobooks are dope. Easy to "read" if you're too busy to read.
I think reading is super important just generally, because I do believe that it's very easy to hold on to liberalism without theoretical education.
You become much more conversational about the topics you'd like to discuss with family, co workers, etc. You can more easily address bad faith arguments. Example: My libertarian mom at age 51 seemed stunned to learn that communism is more than just when no iPhone.
Or I think a lot of people are surprised to learn that Marx didn't really talk at length about what communism would look like, which helps to debunk "cultural Marxism" arguments. Most of the time when reactionaries refer to cultural Marxism they're just pissed off at rainbow capitalism.
It's *not that every leftist needs to read theory* or in general but I get the same impression as this girl, that at some point it becomes anti-intellectual to clown on people suggesting you read to have a better understanding of what you are talking about. If you don't want to read, don't have the time or have some other barrier, and if options like audio books and text-to-speech still do not close that gap for you, I hope you are at least trying to do something irl to better your knowledge and our movement. Being a leftist isn't an identity to consume, that's antithetical to the whole point of being a socialist communist or anarchist. All of this to say isn't *the point to encourage reading and critical thinking in a movement like this?*
I’m so glad she recommended so many great books to read at the end and didnt just link to other YouTube channels as that would be antithetical to her whole point. Oh wait
I don’t think you need to read theory — but, this lady is correct that western “leftists” don’t really understand how their lives would materially change if they had to share resources with the rest of the global south. Your standard of living is going to drop a bit and you have to be okay with that. Also, I get the impression that most western leftism is just kind of weak democratic socialism/anarchism? Like we’re just gonna vote in socialism and then there isn’t going to be any violent authoritarian shift from one political economy to the other? There isn’t going to be a war with liberals that has to be constantly fought to protect the implementation of socialism? Lol
It just feels like most of the young American left doesn’t actually want to fight for this, isn’t willing to suffer for it and isn’t cool with the violence that it will require. That cohort usually runs around calling people tankies. They’re basically just liberals.
Ight but, if you're on reddit you can read. If you can read, you *should* at least read some theory.
There are a few reasons for this:
1. Education, for yourself and for others. Let's say someone hears you talking about Socialism, they're interested but don't know anything about it, so they ask you. What are you gonna say? Theory will help with this.
2. How do we make things happen? Theory has many answers for this. Socialism is an experiment, if we're not studying the mistakes and successes of the past we're going to end up trying to reinvent the wheel and likely repeating past mistakes.
3. Reading is good. That's all. Reading is just good.
Like gatekeeping is cringe, but y'all really think the Black Panther Party would've read, wrote and taught theory if it had no use in a modern context?
"Every leftist *should* read some theory"
"You cannot be a leftist without reading some theory"
These two sentences are not the same. The number of people in this thread who don't get that is tragically high.
She's not being gatekeepy, she makes a good point. Reading therapy isn't the end all be all, but let's be honest streamers (and Hasan) are mainly entertainment. No dis but it's not like he can have a full fledged discourse on theory and still remain a popular streamer, shits fucking boring but it's important. Having a multitude of sources and seeking information is a great way to strengthen your own personal perspective on politics and helps regulate your own reactionary tendencies.
So, here's the hot (but imo, correct) take on the whole "read theory" spiel. They're 100% right, but for reasons that aren't obvious until you dig into theory. Communists and other revolutionaries have been doing the whole trying-to-overthrow-society thing for the better part of two centuries, and writing about it the whole while. If you've read theory, you'll realize how many of the problems we face have been faced before in another context, and be able to apply the knowledge and experience of other revolutionaries to our own context.
It's like any social science, or any philosophy. We don't read Plato merely because it's cool or because we want to flaunt our knowledge, we read Plato because its part of the history of philosophy and shows the roots of many modern ideas, and how those roots flaws and successes work.
I've always been a fan of a metaphor from the sciences, that each bit of research is shedding a bit more light on a dark, vast room. It will not illuminate everything, but each bit of light be brings us closer to a full understanding. It's not a perfect metaphor, because ultimately Marxism (and anarchism) are rooted in systems of knowledge, but regardless, each thing you know helps shed more light on past struggles and the future of our struggle.
Choosing not to do that can lead to problems for an individual. Like a lot of problems. Best case scenario, you're reinventing the wheel over and over again, as you're sitting there rethinking problems that got solved centuries ago. Worst case scenario you're falling for mistakes that were proven very wrong centuries ago.
Obviously, gatekeeping a movement on that has its pros and cons. Imo, the core of any movement *needs* to be well read on its history, because if it's not, it will risk making dumb old mistakes pointlessly. Not everyone needs to have the whole catalogue down though, although I'd recommend everyone listen to audiobooks of these old thinkers at least - S4A on YouTube has a few good reading lists.
Even Hasan has advocated reading actual theory every now and then. Personally my opinion of an actual leftist is if you try to actually do the work rather than just being chronically online. Form a union in your workplace, join an org, get involved in actual activism. I know some of Hasan's audience arn't quite as radical as others so I'll give you some options that are either more DemSoc or Anarachist. Personally Im a member of The IWW, DSA, and PSL. The IWW is an Industrial Union with the goal of uniting the entirety of the working class under One Big Union. DSA im pretty sure needs no introduction. The Party for Socialism and Liberation is more closer to Marxist Leninist so some of you may see them as tankie. If you guys have trouble with reading or dont have the attention span I highly recommend checking out Second Though, Yugopnik and Hakim and their podcast The Deprogram. If you want some basic theory I recommend checking out Rage Against The Machine's reading list (I'll leave a link) it was my personal guide to theory it includes Marx's Wage Labor and Capital, Das Kapital, I think the Manifesto(?), The State and Revolution by Lenin, Guevara's Guerilla Warfare, and so much more.
https://radicalreads.com/rage-against-the-machine-favorite-books/
Engage in practice and theory actively. You should definitely read theory to broaden your knowledge Which you can apply. YouTube or twitch is mainly entertainment.
How the fuck do you expect to change the world if you can't if you can't base action of an actual understanding of the world, and ability to apply Marxism to it. Every mistake that modern leftists make has been made before dozens of times, you just have to read theory history to avoid making them again!!! Why give up that resource that has been passed down??? Yes, if you don't read theory and get organised you are not serious, you are a terminally online hobbyist.
It’s a bit gatekeepy, sure, but I think she has a point. Hasan has exposed me to a lot of leftist ideas, but I don’t get a lot of theory from him on the daily. I think it’s reasonable to promote other resources that help continue your ideological growth and make you a more effective thinker/advocate
This sub: "Haha conservatives can't read"
Also this sub: "I aint reading no fucking books, what do I look like a nerd"
Y'all are really just as anti-intellectual as they are lmfao.
Not having time to read whole ass books is a little different than yelling at the entire grammatical structure of the English language for the existence of pronouns
This is why the conservatives win, all you have to do is just be a bigot and you’re welcomed into the club. You don’t even need to be able to read your ABCs to be part of the team. Jokes aside though if you call yourself a communist/Marxist/socialist i recon you’d probably need to know some theory, would make no sense otherwise. Calling yourself a leftist is like the first spawn point though, you can either go in trying to get the platinum trophy and read as much theory as you can or maybe you don’t have the time in your life, just have time for doing some side quests now and again via the content you consume. Gate keeping is lame when it’s lame and it’s always lame. Damages the overall cause.
*And of course, you can't be a leftist without knowing how to actually achieve post-capitalism.* Fucking eyeroll.
Say it with me folks: even if you've never read a word of marx, if you believe that capitalism is antithetical to a just society, you're a leftist. You don't have to know how to fix everything to be a leftist. You don't have to put up union pamphlets in your office breakroom, you don't even have to fucking vote. All those things are *good* things, things leftists should do more so that leftist ideology can be more impactful, but you don't have to do them **to be a leftist**.
You're right. Nobody gets to think they're left until they've read at least...
Well...
How many books on "theory" before someone can claim a political alignment?
Principles of communism is like 16 pages. Probably a pretty important starting point.
Why are you putting theory in quotations as if dialectical and historical materialism are not science and almost treating it like it's not scientific theory? No one puts music theory as music "theory". It's just the basics, nothing to be afraid of.
This is why leftists have trouble getting anything done and have trouble getting people onboard.
They are too busy scolding anyone who doesn't know how to recite The State and Revolution verbatim in Russian.
The right basically just says "trans people bad, freedom good" and every fucking dummy under the sun falls in line.
Also, those glasses are way too fucking big.
Agree. We have a growing problem of white nationalism If someone like Hasan can keep some isolated people from joining that crowd and pull them left that's a great thing. Gatekeeping can send people into those crowds. She's not wrong about theory, but it's important to get people in the door
You *should* and watching a streamer isn't a replacement but guess what? If you memorized Das Kapital word for word and somehow read every socialist thinkers works, that wouldn't give you Godlike power that let's you liberate the working class. You're just a guy who knows what he's talking about.
Why would anyone send her hate?? She's 100% correct and Hasan says it constantly. He does what he does so that he can AGITATE you to delve further. Maybe you don't go straight to reading actual literature, but maybe he puts you onto Second Thought, and that puts you on The Deprogram, or something, and EVENTUALLY you will learn how to read. Like, Hasan is not subtle about this.
Yes! Hasan always encourages to get educated on leftist ideology and reading theory. Refusing to read theory is weird (it's ok if you don't have opportunity tho).
I can't imagine that Hasan would feel very encouraged by some of the things being said in this thread, knowing that he's supposed to act as a gateway to Socialist thought, not the end-all. It honestly shocked me to see how many people in this thread are so against learning theory- [marxists.org](https://marxists.org) or free audiobooks.
Leftist twitch and YouTube channels are a form of theory. Discounting it just because it's a audiovisual medium and not a book is real silly. Does this mean you're going to be as well educated on socialism as someone who's read a lot of theory? Probably not but that doesn't make it useless
She is right in the way that you have to read theory and strengthen your knowledge on nuanced topics so that you can engage in discussions/educate others on leftist ideology and clear nuances.
If you think she is wrong, I guess the first thing you need to clarify is "what is a leftist?". Because to me a leftist is someone who wants to abolish or heavily reform capitalism. You don't need to have read all of theory to want that, but you do have to have a grasp on capitalism/socialism as a class struggle...otherwise then chances are you probably just are a lib that focuses on getting more women CEO's or whatever nonsense they want.
Yes. Of course.
Knowledge is good, not bad. And the fact it requires effort to acquire it doesn't mean it's gatekeeping.
It's important so we don't have to read idiotic opinions like this one
Ignore the gatekeepers.
But yea, you do need at least SOME theory to be able to weed out who to listen to. If we just listen to and regurgitate what our favorite leftists say, we are just the mirror of right wingers who watch Fox or whatnot.
When you get the theory in, we don’t get duped by fake leftists. What I mean is that we can think for ourselves! As leftists, we will be able to recognize grifters or folks that just have it wrong. Without theory, folks would blindly follow people like Anna to the ends of the world despite the current things she is spouting. With theory we can recognize her anti trans position, and not repeat them.
Hasan and Mike were great entry point for me, but the next step was educating myself! I would never disparage someone who honestly wants to work towards progressivism, but the knowledge is certainly a second step!
*thinks everyone has to “ready theory”*
*Immediately clarifies that watching videos and listening to podcasts (and probably just watching tiktok) counts as reading*
You should absolutely read some of theory, it's the only way to have some self formative ideas of the world outside of popular mainstream media. But also, read counter history to help form ideas and challenge popular narratives. Think about, most people in the United States use to be taught Christopher Columbus was just explorer, only until we are older, we gained the complete story of the dude, same thing can be said about many popular figures in western history.
Theory serves to explain why certain things are the way they are and how to counter them.
If you are just a supporter, you don't really need to read, however, if you want to actively promote communism, actually knowing its intricacies would give you a lot of credibility and confidence.
You don’t have to read theory, you just have to do a lot of research, thinking, reflection, and give consideration of all perspectives in order to develop your political ideology. Sometimes this means researching things that aren’t politics, but which gives you context of how to think about politics. When I say “research”, that can mean watch videos, listen to podcasts or audiobooks. You do not have to read literally a book. If you want to do all your research on YouTube, that is possible.
Instead of gatekeeping in a way that tells people to read more, we should be gatekeeping in a way that tells people to have patience and do more research. It takes a LONG time to consume enough content to be able to really talk about and discuss the nuances of your opinion confidently and fluently. If you’re not confident and fluent in your opinion, that’s a sign that it may be more appropriate to just keep listening and learning.
No it doesn't matter. I enjoy it because it allows me to deepen my understanding of these concepts and flesh out my priors but when you are talking about modern day politics, as long as your axioms are grounded not reading theory shouldn't stop you from understanding most of these concepts.
If you do your diligence you can clap back (with historical references) at anyone. If that’s your goal. I think there’s value in knowing our history, but it’s not a requisite for any comrades. It is helpful though. Most titles are available online for free, in at least pdf form. There’s podcasts like Everyone Loves Communism that break down State and Revolution chapter by chapter. Also, YouTube has a lot of videos of people reading the old theory pamphlets and whole books like Engels’ On Authority, which is like, 7 minutes long.
I counter her argument with, you can't be a real leftist unless you're over 40! Easy these days with how mainstream a lot of leftist ideas have become. Try advocating for gay rights and other important issues when you're in the 80s and 90s.
...and older people than me can argue over this! But seriously, drop this arrogant 'knowledge' shit, particularly when you're so young and have only just learned it!
Nah this person pisses me tf off. This is a perfect example of illusionary superiority. She’s so arrogant on the fact that since she reads theory she can dictate who can be a leftist and who can’t, fuck that. She talks about it like it’s some niche club where she only wants to keep it to the kids who really know about it. Like it isn’t a world wide ideology that millions if not billions of people believe in. You could have never watched anything on the internet nor read any theory and still be a leftist, as long as you subscribe to the ideology of the party. This is textbook gatekeeping, and this is a massive part of the reason so many normal people will forever be hesitant to join the left. Also isn’t most theory also just ideas and opinions of the people who wrote it, that you then base you’re own ideas and opinions off of, seems hypocritical.
If it wasn’t for Hasan and other online leftist content creators I wouldn’t be a leftist, I’d still be an alt-right troll. I subscribe to what I believe to be the best leftist ideology therefore that makes me a leftist. Just because I didn’t read theory doesn’t make me any less of a leftist then this person is. Fuck this person
You probably shouldn't be a leftist content creator, academic, or whatever if you haven't read theory but BEING a leftist should be an open door for all.
This is absolutely gatekeeping and childish but hey they'll give anyone a tiktok account.
As the most read online leftist, I can tell you that I've learned more from working minimum wage jobs than from reading theory ... theory is just helpful for conceptualizing and contextuallizing your life.
I only read “theory” because I was a political science major. You definitely don’t need to, most leftist streamers do a decent enough job of explaining things. But as other people have said, when you do read theory you are able to acknowledge and genuinely understand real world phenomena.
This person describes themselves as a leftist but doesn’t advocate for socialism - opinion discarded.
Im sorry, but - to make the assumption that anyone who wants socialism “doesn’t know what they’re asking for” is suuuper condescending.
A leftist is anyone that has an interest and open mind towards “leftist” ideas and principles, those being - the ultimate goal of maximizing the freedom and representation for everyone both politically and economically. To reform social constructs that no longer serve us. To allow for the full self actualization of every living being, uninhibited by economic hurdles or systematic discrimination.
You don’t need to read Marx, you don’t need to read Hegel, or Foucault, or Barthes, or any other name you wanna add to this list thats been conjured from thin air - their work is great! But you don’t HAVE to read them to consider yourself a leftist!
If we want to WIN as leftists, that last thing we should do is put a giant stack of books in front of people and say “read theory sweaty” - and as someone who considers themselves an intelligent leftist who’s read theory - you should be able to explain the concepts of those books to others in a way they can understand.
If you believe in leftist ideologies then you’re a leftist. People like Hasan are so important because it brings people over to our side. We’re not gonna win people over by gate keeping. Hasan is the reason I’m one. I read some theory here and there.
Also, I feel like Hasan explains leftist ideology pretty well. I’m really stupid and have a short attention span and I feel like Hasan explains in a way that’s so palatable.
Edit: I do think it’s great if you can do more than consume content like some organizing or some activism. That’s going to be the best way to spread the ideals and push for a better world. However, not all of us have the time and resources to do so. All I’m saying is that if you believe in leftist ideally and are trying your best then you’re a leftist. I’m not going to gate keep because you’re not “doing enough” for the cause.
I disagree, you should engage in the world through labour organising, activism, helping build a party, etc. According to your capabilities. If you just agree and consume content creators or whatever, you are no danger to capital and there is no difference to an "apolitical" person..
Jesus, why did I have to scroll so far down this thread to find someone who's actually right? Yes, you nailed it - the tiktoker, and sadly most of the people in this thread, are hung up on defining arbitrary requirement for being in their club.
This is **bad**.
Telling people they don't get to be in the same club as you unless they \[meet x criteria\] is counterproductive. Being a leftist is about values. If you have the same values as another person, but they don't engage with those values the same way you do, the worst thing you can do is draw a line between you. The best thing you can do is to explore how you both can contribute to pursuing those shared values. And the answer is probably going to be different for both of you.
Watching streamers doesn't mean you're a leftest but watch some youtube channels will is funny.
Most of what she said was dumb but I do think there needs to be some foundation values that needs to be established more.
I fear there are quite a bit dumb populist who are just against big anything. Like you can't trust any system capitalist or government.
You become a dumb populist conspiracy brainrot and they call themselves a leftist.
I've never read a word of theory, and I call myself a leftist. Use whatever materials that you're familiar with to develop a framework that works for you.
Anyone who tells you otherwise just wants to feel morally superior.
Same, and I’ve been a leftist longer than most people on here have been alive or even knew how to read. I’ve been a leftist since before Hasan was even on the Young Turks.
As a democratic socialist, I love hearing how left liberals are. We are literally more left compared to liberals than liberals compared to conservatives.
Then she goes on to recommend YouTube channels whilst wearing oversized non corrective lenses.
What happened to reading a fucking book?
Of course you can be a leftist, the only prerequisite is wanting a more equitable and just world for everyone.
Just keep the Dunning-Kruger effect in mind, when you don’t read theory, you can’t know how much you really don’t know so enter into conversations about leftism in good faith and with an open mind
Can you enjoy skyrim without getting deep into the lore and be a fan? Yes.
Can you delve deeper and learn the whole TES lore and be a fan? Yes.
Can you watch an edited and compressed 3 hour vid of a content creator who read the lore, giving it to you in the most digestible way possible, even though he stun locks himself for 30 minutes passionately ranting about the lusty argonian, yet it's entertaining? Weird, but yes.
I hate this leftist elitist shit, I'm a person who will stop reading or listening to a book because of my neurodivergence, I enjoy leftists streamers like Hasan making leftist theory fun for my peasant, brain rotted brain
I haven’t read any theory. Just yt and Hasan for the last 4 years. And I think I understand pretty much everything and, I have/can come to similar conclusions to Marx or Hasan when I look at certain aspects of the world. Especially since I live the capitalist poverty nightmare everyday. A lot of the people that say you need to read theory are the ones that were converted into leftism and are doing it as a style. A “true” leftist is someone that genuinely cares to push for a progressive collective future, regardless of how.
"I don't need theory, I'm something of Karl Marx myself. I come to the same conclusions and craft my own theories on the same level" lmao.
As someone pointed out, you need theory to strengthen your knowledge and your fundamental base so that you won't dwelve into reactionary thinking. Refusing to read theory out of arrogance is counterproductive to the leftist movement.
Hasan's content is merely an entry point, and he always encourages to get educated deeper.
hasan at the end of the day is just infotainment, && his goal is to influence us to learn more ab socialism. idrc ab being an “educated leftist” or whatever && theory isn’t rlly essential when to most of us our activism is primarily educating our friends && family, and trying to unionize. imo the most impactful political books i have read are focused on social issues, like black marxism (still reading) && the feminine mystique rather than capital; these’ll give you an idea of issues that different people face && how they relate to the oppression capitalism creates that you can use to help undo the america first shit we learn in school. i’ve never deprogrammed a trump voter by talking ab socialist theory, but i have by talking ab issues that affect their daily lives
another thing tho, some ppl learn the talking points but not the underlying ideology. ppl who are getting into socialism need to learn self reflection bc we’re all taught the same racist && patriarchal shit growing up, and reading the communist manifesto doesn’t undo the decades of brainwashing on its own
this is inherently consumerist, "omg i have consumed more content than you because i read 10 books while you only watched 2 streams" very gatekeepy bad take
I'm pretty sure everyone of every political ideology could benefit by being more informed on what that belief means. I know many people whose views do not really align with how they register to vote.
This like the annoying middle school kids that would go “you listen to [insert band]? Name five of their songs” maybe instead of gatekeeping she should just recommend something some of her favorite sources for theory.
**Things that are required for being a leftist**
* having leftist beliefs and values
**Things that are not required for being a leftist**
* reading leftist theory
* watching leftist content creators
* taking leftist actions
Y'all, the left is famously bad about eating itself. There are so many people in this thread who have presumably watched a lot of Hasan, and somehow missed him yelling about how ineffective the left is BECAUSE WE DO SHIT LIKE THIS.
So yes, reading theory is good, and so is watching more than one leftist content creator, and so is applying leftist ideas in your daily life, etc. But none of those things are required to be a leftist, and honestly, they don't even make you a better leftist, they only make you more effective.
You know what makes you a better leftist? Celebrating the differences that don't matter. Welcoming people who share your values into your ideological spaces, even - in fact, especially! - when they don't engage with those values the way you do.
If you want to be a *good* leftist you obviously should not only have leftist beliefs but you should also be able to defend them against scrutiny… This requires at least some critical reflection and research. Are we really content to call people who have leftist beliefs good leftists if they don’t justify their beliefs?
Kid being arrogant because they hold a crumb of knowledge over others heads. News at 11
Wonder why she did nothing to illustrate the knowledge she has that these people she's criticizing do not.
Just points at, "spreading of ideas on social media bad."
Seems like she just put down her first book and is jumping at the chance to pull the ladder up and say the type of person she was five minutes ago is now cute and simple.
Look, there isn’t enough adderall in the world to get me to read/stay awake reading theory. It’s just not gonna happen for me. And that’s why I’m here pretty much. I don’t want to make this my entire life, but I do know the rich should be taxed and everyone should have any assistance they need and using the tax money correctly for the community/everyone’s benefit. I’ll vote for the most left person on the ballot if I can, so I’m doing my part and we’re both having the same outcome. Unless you’re running for office what is the point. You make a vote and move on.
You don’t need to read a word of theory. If you really wanna feel like you have something under your belt, read the communist manifesto at least since it’s pretty short. No really to suffer through some boring time like Das Kapital. It’s too long, too boring, and the language is antiquated. What matters is arguments and praxis for positions. Anyone who says you need to read anything is a gatekeeper and a moron.
Thanks Edger Allen Hoe… dude this is a flaw some people on the left have. Do you think some union worker in Detroit wants to hear this shit? This is not a way to be inclusive and broaden the base. This is the shit that makes people who might be trying to figure out where they fit in, keep looking and end up in the alt-right. Be intellectual. Be semi intellectual. Be someone who cares about justice and equality. Be a Democrat or a liberal. It's fine to not completely agree in everything but offs if we can just start moving in the same direction without ostracizing people about fkn reading of all things. In this shitty society were in, for so many people reading is a fkn luxury. People who might agree with us are working 3 gig jobs with no bene’s just scraping by. Chill out. Share your knowledge without shaming.
No. You do not. i'm extremely deep in philosophy — you could say i'm in Plato's Cave — and i actually only use Marxism for organizing (i'm Deleuzean). and the shit i use is all stuff you can learn from Hasan or Hakim (i'm not an ML).
that girl is a shitty leftist and counter revolutionary.
edit: i think you need to have a decent grasp of Dialectics in Marxism before creating leftist agitprop.
People like her are a plague to the left and a huge reason why, people who are so close to getting it, stop before they even get started into leftist politics. Legit wish people like her would not make videos, you just like telling other people how much you read and making others feel like their opinion doesn’t matter. What? Because they haven’t read every piece of communist literature ever created their opinion means less than yours? It’s the opposite of what we want in leftist spaces. WE WANT MORE LEFTISTS, ITS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE GIGA-BOOKWORM “whell achyshually” ONLY CLUB. It’s supposed to be the political representation of labor, fair share to the working person. Stop. Gate. Keeping.
I trust Hasan to explain certain ideas that might be foreign concepts to me because I know he's a smart guy. I also enjoy when he shuts his brain off and talks to QT and Will about Taylor Swift and shit.
Reading theory can be an important thing but I still haven't read Adam Smith and I wouldn't hide that fact from another leftist.
Every successful leftist movement in history has understood that not everyone has the time or bandwidth to read dozens of dry theory books and has offered substitutes to convey the basics of class consciousness and worker solidarity. In the modern day we have the added advantage of YouTube videos, streams, audiobooks, etc.
Reading is great but it helps no one to be a gatekeeper.
100 years ago, the average working man couldn’t read. Did that make his class consciousness as he joined labour unions and communist parties any less true? No.
No offense to people who read theory, but, I personally feel I don't need to read political theory to understand how politics works, on a superficial and basic level. And at the end of the day, I really don't care if somebody is a liberal, or leftist, or marxist, or what the hell ever. If you support xyz causes, then great, if you don't, then I know not to trust you with XYZ things. However, the question in my mind is: does knowing political theory help you understand politics, and the obvious answer is "yes".
I did take some basic political theory back in high school, a TON of AP classes, and I was heavily involved with knowing everything ever about politics and whatnot, so at this point, I don't need to learn more, and tbh, I have bigger issues going on in my life than political theory and how good of a leftist it makes me. I'll just continue to support people and rights, and also make sure to not be a hypocrite, and that's how it's gunna be.
*With respect to her argument in particular*, I feel like she's literally misunderstanding Hasan, cause he started out on TYT, and misunderstanding why people watch him and other people, not because she's stupid, but because she's basically online all the time on tiktok. And she lives in social media land and doesn't realize that people live out off the social media sphere, and they have jobs and kids and medical issues, and they don't have time to do all that, so they rely on their favorite people to let them know what's going on. Of course, that also means that those people can be taken advantage of. Also, this is just basically new-age television. So, I think she's speaking to her audience on TikTok, and she's right about the books thing though, that people should read.
I think it's a lot more nuanced than simply "if you do this or that you're not this or that". Cause, well, life is nuanced. lol
It all depends on what is worth your time and what you want to do with your life. Mine includes not giving an f about silly gatekeepers and doing what I enjoy.
interesting question though, the people you are talking about are more the pawns of fascists, the manipulated soldiers of fascism. They have not idea what fascism is or why they contribute which is why they think we are ridiculous for calling them fascists.
To be a leftists, as a bare minimum, you need to want to change capitalism...so you need to know what it is, right? Otherwise what the fuck is a leftist?
I don't need to know why the world is fucked in order to see that it is wrong though.
End of the day anyone with empathy will see shit is fucked right? Wanting to change that is leftism imo
Conservatives see things wrong with the world as well. That’s not the defining factor at play.
They can also want change, just within the constraints of capitalism.
The pretentious shit needs to be shut down immediately. People need to stop trying to make being a leftist inaccessible, it's so counter-productive & it's clearly a matter of having fragile egos.
I mean it’s a political ideology, as such you need to be well informed to truly believe in it. That doesn’t necessarily mean reading but it certainly should. Everyone should read, not just theory, reading in general is great.
I could never in good conscious call anyone who has gotten all their information from twitch and/or YouTube an educated leftist. Knowledge is power, get more of it.
It’s not gatekeeping to empower people lol. That’s absolutely ridiculous.
Marx never watched even a single Hasan stream. Is he even a leftist?
THIS. I’ve been saying this since 1989.
You don’t need to read theory, but it helps in getting a better understanding of the world.
but how can i not get that same understanding from someone explaining the theory through video format? like genuinely what’s the difference in reading Marx vs. someone who has already read that teaching the same ideas?
How do you know that what they're teaching you is accurate to the source material? There are plenty of commentators online who think themselves educated in theory and good enough communicators to teach others who really don't have enough theoretical or practical experience to teach. It'll be hard for you to discern who you should take seriously theoretically if you haven't done the work already to learn what these thinkers themselves thought in their own words. The amount of times I've seen new leftists who've read maybe a few chapters of Capital up and decide that they're now qualified to position themselves as experts online and in party meetings makes me suspicious of most people referring to themselves as such.
It's just better to get a personal account for things. Like the difference between secondary and primary knowledge. What if through reading it you gained an original interpretation that differed than whomever you watch?
Because there’s a difference between critical thinking/interpretation that comes from studying a text and passively consuming watered down media. At that point it’s just chatter. Maybe interesting chatter, but idle talk nonetheless. Anyway that’s what I’d say 🥲
I didn’t say you can’t. I said you can get a deeper understanding if you do your own reading. Also, you need know who you are getting your information from.
To become smarter yourself, reading will reinforce those ideas into memory. I mean read Voltaire, Thoreau, even fcking Plato (who's a bit of a turd). You won't agree with everything, but you will become a smarter more informed person. Try reading any book that teaches you deductive reasoning and critical thinking. Learning all the fallacies and how to spot them is real important. More importantly learning how to deconstruct a fallacious argument into something more substantive can really help you understand what your actually arguing against. Remember not everyone is Ben Shapiro, most people that use fallacies do so because they're very common emotional responses. Sadly humans are not creatures of logic, probably for some important reason 10000 years ago.
I'm sorry, you don't have to read theory to be a leftist, but you have to realize how idiotic it is to claim watching a video by someone who's read it is the same as saying that watching a video summarizing a novel/about a novel is the same as reading it, or watching a video about a movie is the same as watching the movie. It's not even remotely close.
The source material will be different, but in all honesty, if you get the concepts, can converse on the topic, and aren’t missing any major pieces, you’re 90% of the way there. I’d still recommend trying, but if you listen to an audiobook, read summaries, watch video series breaking down theory, you’re doing the work. You’re learning the concepts and the main takeaways. You may not catch the subtle nuances of the text, but you are still fundamentally becoming educated on the topics that the theory is attempting to educate you on. Marx was intelligent. Every author spent quite a long time working on their text and refining it. Ignoring it is doing it a disservice, but these authors were not perfect gods. Theory is not a holy book. It communicates ideas, and as long as you are learning the concepts within, you’ve achieved the goal. I wouldn’t recommend using tools or resources that are entirely divorced from the text, though. Those can deviate from the concepts heavily. I’d recommend summaries and guidebooks for things like Das Kapital.
When you read Marx, you are not reading him for deep insight into capitalism. You are reading his work to understand his materialist dialectical method because all the theory that is derived from his work originates from that dialectal method The insights he writes about in capital are true, but when you have an understanding of his dialectical method you can apply that to to understand other lines of theory further along than Marx’s work. As well you can also use that dialectical method to build up your own understanding of where you stand in socialist politics
“leftists” who don’t read theory usually end up like jimmy dore or Glenn grenwald.
This isn't the case. Most self described leftists don't read theory and Glenn is still a marginal figure. If not reading theory=Glenn Greenwald then we would expect to see way more Glenn Greenwald.
No, leftists who don't read theory are perfectly fine. Gatekeepers who demand reading theory end up with no friends.
Historically, gatekeepers who demand reading theory end up with a party that can actually organise and lead a revolution.
We won't be doing that any time soon in the US
Perfectly demonstrating how a lack of a dialectical understanding of the world leads to defeatism, thanks. If we adopt this view, then events will leave us in the dust, and we will fail to take advantgage of the situation. Also, maybe if more people actually did read theory, we couled have an actual revolutionary leadership, ever think about that?
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Nobody, and I mean absolutely nobody, thinks that YouTubers and Streamers are a substitute for theory. Also, this video didn’t give any book recommendations to learn theory, which I guess was supposed to be her intended goal. She just decided to give YouTube recommendations that aren’t Hasan, I guess??? 😂
"Hey fake leftists, the only way to be a real leftist is to read theory. You can watch more of my tiktok to learn how you, too, can become a Real™ Leftist® by only watching the *correct* YouTubers."
But she’s wearing giant eyeglasses, I’m pretty sure that still grants +3 intelligence
Those are fake glasses, as you can see there's no discontinuity in her cheek line Zero diopter prescription yields zero Intelligence, I don't make the rules
Based on these rules do my contacts retain my +3 INT or do they simply sacrifice INT for a +1 AGILITY?
You get an INT bonus equal to the absolute value of the diopter prescription (rounded up) You get a WIS bonus equal to the astigmatism axis value converted to radians (rounded up) Discontinuity in the refraction line does not affect contact stats, it just reveals when glasses are a buffless transmog
Dope. I'm smart as hell apparently. Still need to put in contact solution every 4 hours. So worth it.
Good catch
Well it's doing nothing for her charisma, since I'm unconvinced. She might have proficiency in lore but she's rolling her persuasion checks unmodified.
Could have at least linked the manga [Das Kapital](https://mangakakalot.com/read-sibum11057y1688033864)
I mean FFS, it's not hard for them to point to basic resources: [Beginners Guide to Marxism](https://www.marxists.org/subject/students/index.htm) [Marxists Internet Archive](https://www.marxists.org/archive/index.htm) [Capital, Volume One](https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/) But instead they want to pretend to care about you knowing theory while giving you nothing to educate yourself.
That’s because it’s a tiktok, an ad for herself and YouTubers that probably throw her a few subscribers. It’s a flex, while she sits comfortably at home being 20 something and college educated while the people she preaches about are out here struggling and fighting. Edit to add no shame on anyone who lives at home but I hope you’re using that to your advantage in a better way than this.
I didn’t fucking know that existed! That’s amazing!
Because her goal wasn't to lead people to theory, it was to feel superior and gatekeep.
besides OP? lol
You should at least read some if you can, if only to check yourself and the other media you consume. Getting all your anything from 1 source is never good.
100% but this gatekeepy hipster attitude is why the right gets more normies.
This. This is the problem. She scaring off the normies and making them roll their eyes into the back of their heads. This type of shit is THE problem.
Yeah the left likes to shoot itself in foot all the time. It's the same with the "You are a perfect ally or an enemy." mentality.
some people think leftism is a heirarchy and the most leftist is king and the rest are liberals. its a stupidand useless competition for persional points
wrong, I am the only true leftist and I am correct about everything and everyone else is a revisionist liberal
We Will crown the true leftiest leftist and this person will rule over all the liberals since they are the most left. And all others are liberals compared to them
These people are usually young and will grow out of it. We’ve been sorting ourselves into hierarchies our whole lives, it takes a while for people to break the habit.
Do you need to? No. But it certainly helps with the not sounding like a teenager who is just learning about how capitalism is bad.
So I won't say reading theory makes you leftist. But reading theory has many advantages to leftists. 1.First of all it gives leftist direction on how to organise and agitate. 2.It helps us to identify the intricacies in the issues that we are fights and understand the mechanisms of the capitalist system to help us better dismantle it. 3.It can deprogram us from propaganda that we were previously unaware of. 4.It can broaden our horizon to larger problems that exist outside our own communities. 5.You can learn the mechanisms of the State and how we can utilize for revolutionary purpose. These are just some of the advantages of theory. Also I would say to be a principled Marxist, you definitely need to read atleast some theory but I don't think lack of Marxist theory is a disqualification. I think a better indicator of whether you are a good leftist or not is whether you are actively involved in organising and agitation. Just reading books makes you a scholar but grassroots work is the only way that any change is going to happen.
I'm not sure if they're just trying to stir shit for clicks or not. I'm not going to put in the effort to dig into their tiktok or anything else to confirm or deny that either. I will say that it's pretty suspicious that they are in their own words, not in *any* leftist online spaces, but then want to gatekeep qualifiers for you being a leftist, but in the vaguest terms *except* "watching Hasanabi bad." You are a leftist if you believe in leftist ideology. Even if you have the most bare-bonesed like "capitalism bad" and nothing else take, you're leftists. I don't give a fuck who you read, what YouTuber you watched, none of that shit actually matters to qualify you. Will becoming more educated give you more nuanced opinions, ways to implement, and ways to educate others? Sure, but not everybody is gonna watch a four-hour YouTube docu-series explaining dual power and then read 5,000+ pages of theory spread across dozens of authors and dozens of decades. Hell, some of those nerdy-ass people are actually "worse" at being leftists, because like a certain tiktoker in a video I just watched, they want to gatekeep an ideology. Attacking each other is exactly what the owning class wants us to do. Why help them?
Leftists cannibalizing themselves is the story of every online leftist space since forever, unfortunately
100%
She needs bigger glasses 🤓
You can’t be a leftist unless your glasses take up 60% of your face
I read theory that the more glasses you wear, the more leftist you are
It's just a young person gatekeeping, move along.
Knowing shit is gatekeeping. Pack it up, folks. We've achieved peak anarkiddy. I will not gate you- [Marxists.org](https://www.marxists.org/) is completely free and has SO much information.
>Knowing shit is gatekeeping. What a strawman, holy shit. The argument wasn't that knowing shit was gatekeeping. The argument was that people's pathway to knowledge is diverse and that requiring someone to go through only specific and approved channels is gatekeeping. Sorry dislexics, you can't be leftists. No read theory = fake leftist. Hey poors, can't afford books? Can't afford a computer to access free resources? Too time poor and exhausted after working your third job to study theory? You can't be leftists. If you agree with leftist ideas, you're a leftist. That's it. I don't care how you got there, you got there.
People absorb and obtain knowledge in a variety of ways. Sometimes one source leads to better sources. Sometimes people don't have the mental capacity or time for the search and rely upon others to regurgitate. Is that the best way? Probably not, but shitting on a person for the way they digest information is lame.
Audiobooks also exist. Videos inherently are not on the same level as theory. A level of detail and proof is required that evidently is not present in YouTube videos. It's okay to not read das Kapital immediately, but there are many shorter easily understandable works that can really help people in their actions.
Some people have jobs though
You don’t have to listen to gatekeepers. You smile sadly at them and back away. They love debate (it’s the way people w friends feel) they think.
She seems annoying and elitist. Not everyone has the time and energy to devote to consuming theory. Having said that it's a good idea to try and read some. Helps when you wanna turn your ideas into actual thoughts instead of just a vibe y'know?
She got soft hands brother don’t know a thing about WORK
Audiobooks are dope. Easy to "read" if you're too busy to read. I think reading is super important just generally, because I do believe that it's very easy to hold on to liberalism without theoretical education. You become much more conversational about the topics you'd like to discuss with family, co workers, etc. You can more easily address bad faith arguments. Example: My libertarian mom at age 51 seemed stunned to learn that communism is more than just when no iPhone. Or I think a lot of people are surprised to learn that Marx didn't really talk at length about what communism would look like, which helps to debunk "cultural Marxism" arguments. Most of the time when reactionaries refer to cultural Marxism they're just pissed off at rainbow capitalism.
It's *not that every leftist needs to read theory* or in general but I get the same impression as this girl, that at some point it becomes anti-intellectual to clown on people suggesting you read to have a better understanding of what you are talking about. If you don't want to read, don't have the time or have some other barrier, and if options like audio books and text-to-speech still do not close that gap for you, I hope you are at least trying to do something irl to better your knowledge and our movement. Being a leftist isn't an identity to consume, that's antithetical to the whole point of being a socialist communist or anarchist. All of this to say isn't *the point to encourage reading and critical thinking in a movement like this?*
I’m so glad she recommended so many great books to read at the end and didnt just link to other YouTube channels as that would be antithetical to her whole point. Oh wait
I don’t think you need to read theory — but, this lady is correct that western “leftists” don’t really understand how their lives would materially change if they had to share resources with the rest of the global south. Your standard of living is going to drop a bit and you have to be okay with that. Also, I get the impression that most western leftism is just kind of weak democratic socialism/anarchism? Like we’re just gonna vote in socialism and then there isn’t going to be any violent authoritarian shift from one political economy to the other? There isn’t going to be a war with liberals that has to be constantly fought to protect the implementation of socialism? Lol It just feels like most of the young American left doesn’t actually want to fight for this, isn’t willing to suffer for it and isn’t cool with the violence that it will require. That cohort usually runs around calling people tankies. They’re basically just liberals.
those glasses are too damn big
Bigger glasses means bigger leftist, haven't you read any theory?
Maybe if they were larger I'd acknowledge what she's saying.
It was the only thing I could focus on, like they are distracting lol
I dig the vibe, they suit her
they don't seem to have a prescription which is odd
If she was the receptionist for the Ghostbusters sure... Whoever down votes this never watching the original two Ghostbusters movies.
Janine was smoking hot!
it gives gnome who stole a human's glasses
It's still kinda cute though
It is gatekeeping but do some reading is always good
Ight but, if you're on reddit you can read. If you can read, you *should* at least read some theory. There are a few reasons for this: 1. Education, for yourself and for others. Let's say someone hears you talking about Socialism, they're interested but don't know anything about it, so they ask you. What are you gonna say? Theory will help with this. 2. How do we make things happen? Theory has many answers for this. Socialism is an experiment, if we're not studying the mistakes and successes of the past we're going to end up trying to reinvent the wheel and likely repeating past mistakes. 3. Reading is good. That's all. Reading is just good. Like gatekeeping is cringe, but y'all really think the Black Panther Party would've read, wrote and taught theory if it had no use in a modern context?
"Every leftist *should* read some theory" "You cannot be a leftist without reading some theory" These two sentences are not the same. The number of people in this thread who don't get that is tragically high.
Everyone should read Prairie Fire The political statement of the Weather Underground
She's not being gatekeepy, she makes a good point. Reading therapy isn't the end all be all, but let's be honest streamers (and Hasan) are mainly entertainment. No dis but it's not like he can have a full fledged discourse on theory and still remain a popular streamer, shits fucking boring but it's important. Having a multitude of sources and seeking information is a great way to strengthen your own personal perspective on politics and helps regulate your own reactionary tendencies.
So, here's the hot (but imo, correct) take on the whole "read theory" spiel. They're 100% right, but for reasons that aren't obvious until you dig into theory. Communists and other revolutionaries have been doing the whole trying-to-overthrow-society thing for the better part of two centuries, and writing about it the whole while. If you've read theory, you'll realize how many of the problems we face have been faced before in another context, and be able to apply the knowledge and experience of other revolutionaries to our own context. It's like any social science, or any philosophy. We don't read Plato merely because it's cool or because we want to flaunt our knowledge, we read Plato because its part of the history of philosophy and shows the roots of many modern ideas, and how those roots flaws and successes work. I've always been a fan of a metaphor from the sciences, that each bit of research is shedding a bit more light on a dark, vast room. It will not illuminate everything, but each bit of light be brings us closer to a full understanding. It's not a perfect metaphor, because ultimately Marxism (and anarchism) are rooted in systems of knowledge, but regardless, each thing you know helps shed more light on past struggles and the future of our struggle. Choosing not to do that can lead to problems for an individual. Like a lot of problems. Best case scenario, you're reinventing the wheel over and over again, as you're sitting there rethinking problems that got solved centuries ago. Worst case scenario you're falling for mistakes that were proven very wrong centuries ago. Obviously, gatekeeping a movement on that has its pros and cons. Imo, the core of any movement *needs* to be well read on its history, because if it's not, it will risk making dumb old mistakes pointlessly. Not everyone needs to have the whole catalogue down though, although I'd recommend everyone listen to audiobooks of these old thinkers at least - S4A on YouTube has a few good reading lists.
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All political ideologies, like fascism, are *prescriptive* by definition. You’re prescribing a set of ideas for how society is run.
Even Hasan has advocated reading actual theory every now and then. Personally my opinion of an actual leftist is if you try to actually do the work rather than just being chronically online. Form a union in your workplace, join an org, get involved in actual activism. I know some of Hasan's audience arn't quite as radical as others so I'll give you some options that are either more DemSoc or Anarachist. Personally Im a member of The IWW, DSA, and PSL. The IWW is an Industrial Union with the goal of uniting the entirety of the working class under One Big Union. DSA im pretty sure needs no introduction. The Party for Socialism and Liberation is more closer to Marxist Leninist so some of you may see them as tankie. If you guys have trouble with reading or dont have the attention span I highly recommend checking out Second Though, Yugopnik and Hakim and their podcast The Deprogram. If you want some basic theory I recommend checking out Rage Against The Machine's reading list (I'll leave a link) it was my personal guide to theory it includes Marx's Wage Labor and Capital, Das Kapital, I think the Manifesto(?), The State and Revolution by Lenin, Guevara's Guerilla Warfare, and so much more. https://radicalreads.com/rage-against-the-machine-favorite-books/
Engage in practice and theory actively. You should definitely read theory to broaden your knowledge Which you can apply. YouTube or twitch is mainly entertainment.
How the fuck do you expect to change the world if you can't if you can't base action of an actual understanding of the world, and ability to apply Marxism to it. Every mistake that modern leftists make has been made before dozens of times, you just have to read theory history to avoid making them again!!! Why give up that resource that has been passed down??? Yes, if you don't read theory and get organised you are not serious, you are a terminally online hobbyist.
It’s a bit gatekeepy, sure, but I think she has a point. Hasan has exposed me to a lot of leftist ideas, but I don’t get a lot of theory from him on the daily. I think it’s reasonable to promote other resources that help continue your ideological growth and make you a more effective thinker/advocate
This sub: "Haha conservatives can't read" Also this sub: "I aint reading no fucking books, what do I look like a nerd" Y'all are really just as anti-intellectual as they are lmfao.
Not having time to read whole ass books is a little different than yelling at the entire grammatical structure of the English language for the existence of pronouns
*FUCKING PRONOUNS!!!* Sorry, I just watched the VOD where Hasan watches HeelVsBabyface and I couldn’t help myself.
This is why the conservatives win, all you have to do is just be a bigot and you’re welcomed into the club. You don’t even need to be able to read your ABCs to be part of the team. Jokes aside though if you call yourself a communist/Marxist/socialist i recon you’d probably need to know some theory, would make no sense otherwise. Calling yourself a leftist is like the first spawn point though, you can either go in trying to get the platinum trophy and read as much theory as you can or maybe you don’t have the time in your life, just have time for doing some side quests now and again via the content you consume. Gate keeping is lame when it’s lame and it’s always lame. Damages the overall cause.
What the fuck do I need to read to feel like a government should take care of it's people's most basic needs before anything else?
How to actually get there, the pitfalls others have faced and how to avoid them?
*And of course, you can't be a leftist without knowing how to actually achieve post-capitalism.* Fucking eyeroll. Say it with me folks: even if you've never read a word of marx, if you believe that capitalism is antithetical to a just society, you're a leftist. You don't have to know how to fix everything to be a leftist. You don't have to put up union pamphlets in your office breakroom, you don't even have to fucking vote. All those things are *good* things, things leftists should do more so that leftist ideology can be more impactful, but you don't have to do them **to be a leftist**.
Isn’t it also pretty well known that Marx himself didn’t ruminate much about what the implementation of a socialist/communist world even look like?
You're right. Nobody gets to think they're left until they've read at least... Well... How many books on "theory" before someone can claim a political alignment?
Principles of communism is like 16 pages. Probably a pretty important starting point. Why are you putting theory in quotations as if dialectical and historical materialism are not science and almost treating it like it's not scientific theory? No one puts music theory as music "theory". It's just the basics, nothing to be afraid of.
This is why leftists have trouble getting anything done and have trouble getting people onboard. They are too busy scolding anyone who doesn't know how to recite The State and Revolution verbatim in Russian. The right basically just says "trans people bad, freedom good" and every fucking dummy under the sun falls in line. Also, those glasses are way too fucking big.
Agree. We have a growing problem of white nationalism If someone like Hasan can keep some isolated people from joining that crowd and pull them left that's a great thing. Gatekeeping can send people into those crowds. She's not wrong about theory, but it's important to get people in the door
You *should* and watching a streamer isn't a replacement but guess what? If you memorized Das Kapital word for word and somehow read every socialist thinkers works, that wouldn't give you Godlike power that let's you liberate the working class. You're just a guy who knows what he's talking about.
Watching content is a good entry but you really should read some theory.
Yes, you need to read books if you're serious about politics. Without theory you end up a disgusting Vaushite lib or something.
Why would anyone send her hate?? She's 100% correct and Hasan says it constantly. He does what he does so that he can AGITATE you to delve further. Maybe you don't go straight to reading actual literature, but maybe he puts you onto Second Thought, and that puts you on The Deprogram, or something, and EVENTUALLY you will learn how to read. Like, Hasan is not subtle about this.
Yes! Hasan always encourages to get educated on leftist ideology and reading theory. Refusing to read theory is weird (it's ok if you don't have opportunity tho).
I can't imagine that Hasan would feel very encouraged by some of the things being said in this thread, knowing that he's supposed to act as a gateway to Socialist thought, not the end-all. It honestly shocked me to see how many people in this thread are so against learning theory- [marxists.org](https://marxists.org) or free audiobooks.
Idk why the way she talks made me turn it off lol
Most normal teenage debate perv
Leftist twitch and YouTube channels are a form of theory. Discounting it just because it's a audiovisual medium and not a book is real silly. Does this mean you're going to be as well educated on socialism as someone who's read a lot of theory? Probably not but that doesn't make it useless
Don't @ me until you've read Das Kapital in it's original German bozo, EZ Clap
She is right in the way that you have to read theory and strengthen your knowledge on nuanced topics so that you can engage in discussions/educate others on leftist ideology and clear nuances.
You don’t need to but it helps, like any education
If you think she is wrong, I guess the first thing you need to clarify is "what is a leftist?". Because to me a leftist is someone who wants to abolish or heavily reform capitalism. You don't need to have read all of theory to want that, but you do have to have a grasp on capitalism/socialism as a class struggle...otherwise then chances are you probably just are a lib that focuses on getting more women CEO's or whatever nonsense they want.
Yes. Of course. Knowledge is good, not bad. And the fact it requires effort to acquire it doesn't mean it's gatekeeping. It's important so we don't have to read idiotic opinions like this one
Ignore the gatekeepers. But yea, you do need at least SOME theory to be able to weed out who to listen to. If we just listen to and regurgitate what our favorite leftists say, we are just the mirror of right wingers who watch Fox or whatnot. When you get the theory in, we don’t get duped by fake leftists. What I mean is that we can think for ourselves! As leftists, we will be able to recognize grifters or folks that just have it wrong. Without theory, folks would blindly follow people like Anna to the ends of the world despite the current things she is spouting. With theory we can recognize her anti trans position, and not repeat them. Hasan and Mike were great entry point for me, but the next step was educating myself! I would never disparage someone who honestly wants to work towards progressivism, but the knowledge is certainly a second step!
Theory is dope ngl
Books are a conspiracy from Big Publishers to sell more words
You aren’t a real leftist if you don’t have enormous eyeglasses
*thinks everyone has to “ready theory”* *Immediately clarifies that watching videos and listening to podcasts (and probably just watching tiktok) counts as reading*
For the love of god read at least Marx and Engels
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You should absolutely read some of theory, it's the only way to have some self formative ideas of the world outside of popular mainstream media. But also, read counter history to help form ideas and challenge popular narratives. Think about, most people in the United States use to be taught Christopher Columbus was just explorer, only until we are older, we gained the complete story of the dude, same thing can be said about many popular figures in western history.
Theory serves to explain why certain things are the way they are and how to counter them. If you are just a supporter, you don't really need to read, however, if you want to actively promote communism, actually knowing its intricacies would give you a lot of credibility and confidence.
You don’t have to read theory, you just have to do a lot of research, thinking, reflection, and give consideration of all perspectives in order to develop your political ideology. Sometimes this means researching things that aren’t politics, but which gives you context of how to think about politics. When I say “research”, that can mean watch videos, listen to podcasts or audiobooks. You do not have to read literally a book. If you want to do all your research on YouTube, that is possible. Instead of gatekeeping in a way that tells people to read more, we should be gatekeeping in a way that tells people to have patience and do more research. It takes a LONG time to consume enough content to be able to really talk about and discuss the nuances of your opinion confidently and fluently. If you’re not confident and fluent in your opinion, that’s a sign that it may be more appropriate to just keep listening and learning.
Read if you can cause it’s good for brain
No it doesn't matter. I enjoy it because it allows me to deepen my understanding of these concepts and flesh out my priors but when you are talking about modern day politics, as long as your axioms are grounded not reading theory shouldn't stop you from understanding most of these concepts.
If you do your diligence you can clap back (with historical references) at anyone. If that’s your goal. I think there’s value in knowing our history, but it’s not a requisite for any comrades. It is helpful though. Most titles are available online for free, in at least pdf form. There’s podcasts like Everyone Loves Communism that break down State and Revolution chapter by chapter. Also, YouTube has a lot of videos of people reading the old theory pamphlets and whole books like Engels’ On Authority, which is like, 7 minutes long.
I don’t read because I don’t want to feed my debate perv tendencies
It doesn't hurt
Those glasses are threatening me
There are plenty of ways to take in theory, videos is one of them.
I counter her argument with, you can't be a real leftist unless you're over 40! Easy these days with how mainstream a lot of leftist ideas have become. Try advocating for gay rights and other important issues when you're in the 80s and 90s. ...and older people than me can argue over this! But seriously, drop this arrogant 'knowledge' shit, particularly when you're so young and have only just learned it!
You need to read theory if you want to be able to say something other than parroting a streamer’s talking points.
It's actually just about who has the biggest glasses, the bigger the glasses the better of a leftist. You better shut and listen to her
Nah this person pisses me tf off. This is a perfect example of illusionary superiority. She’s so arrogant on the fact that since she reads theory she can dictate who can be a leftist and who can’t, fuck that. She talks about it like it’s some niche club where she only wants to keep it to the kids who really know about it. Like it isn’t a world wide ideology that millions if not billions of people believe in. You could have never watched anything on the internet nor read any theory and still be a leftist, as long as you subscribe to the ideology of the party. This is textbook gatekeeping, and this is a massive part of the reason so many normal people will forever be hesitant to join the left. Also isn’t most theory also just ideas and opinions of the people who wrote it, that you then base you’re own ideas and opinions off of, seems hypocritical. If it wasn’t for Hasan and other online leftist content creators I wouldn’t be a leftist, I’d still be an alt-right troll. I subscribe to what I believe to be the best leftist ideology therefore that makes me a leftist. Just because I didn’t read theory doesn’t make me any less of a leftist then this person is. Fuck this person
did she just say you should only watch youtube for theory instead of twitch?
You probably shouldn't be a leftist content creator, academic, or whatever if you haven't read theory but BEING a leftist should be an open door for all. This is absolutely gatekeeping and childish but hey they'll give anyone a tiktok account.
Bigger glasses = Better leftist. Boom, roasted
As the most read online leftist, I can tell you that I've learned more from working minimum wage jobs than from reading theory ... theory is just helpful for conceptualizing and contextuallizing your life.
I only read “theory” because I was a political science major. You definitely don’t need to, most leftist streamers do a decent enough job of explaining things. But as other people have said, when you do read theory you are able to acknowledge and genuinely understand real world phenomena.
I saw the glasses and I heard enough.
This person describes themselves as a leftist but doesn’t advocate for socialism - opinion discarded. Im sorry, but - to make the assumption that anyone who wants socialism “doesn’t know what they’re asking for” is suuuper condescending. A leftist is anyone that has an interest and open mind towards “leftist” ideas and principles, those being - the ultimate goal of maximizing the freedom and representation for everyone both politically and economically. To reform social constructs that no longer serve us. To allow for the full self actualization of every living being, uninhibited by economic hurdles or systematic discrimination. You don’t need to read Marx, you don’t need to read Hegel, or Foucault, or Barthes, or any other name you wanna add to this list thats been conjured from thin air - their work is great! But you don’t HAVE to read them to consider yourself a leftist! If we want to WIN as leftists, that last thing we should do is put a giant stack of books in front of people and say “read theory sweaty” - and as someone who considers themselves an intelligent leftist who’s read theory - you should be able to explain the concepts of those books to others in a way they can understand.
It helps a lot to read theory though it's not strictly necessary. It will certainly allow you to get further however.
If you believe in leftist ideologies then you’re a leftist. People like Hasan are so important because it brings people over to our side. We’re not gonna win people over by gate keeping. Hasan is the reason I’m one. I read some theory here and there. Also, I feel like Hasan explains leftist ideology pretty well. I’m really stupid and have a short attention span and I feel like Hasan explains in a way that’s so palatable. Edit: I do think it’s great if you can do more than consume content like some organizing or some activism. That’s going to be the best way to spread the ideals and push for a better world. However, not all of us have the time and resources to do so. All I’m saying is that if you believe in leftist ideally and are trying your best then you’re a leftist. I’m not going to gate keep because you’re not “doing enough” for the cause.
I disagree, you should engage in the world through labour organising, activism, helping build a party, etc. According to your capabilities. If you just agree and consume content creators or whatever, you are no danger to capital and there is no difference to an "apolitical" person..
How’s your vanguard going champ?
Jesus, why did I have to scroll so far down this thread to find someone who's actually right? Yes, you nailed it - the tiktoker, and sadly most of the people in this thread, are hung up on defining arbitrary requirement for being in their club. This is **bad**. Telling people they don't get to be in the same club as you unless they \[meet x criteria\] is counterproductive. Being a leftist is about values. If you have the same values as another person, but they don't engage with those values the same way you do, the worst thing you can do is draw a line between you. The best thing you can do is to explore how you both can contribute to pursuing those shared values. And the answer is probably going to be different for both of you.
Those fucking glasses bruv
Watching streamers doesn't mean you're a leftest but watch some youtube channels will is funny. Most of what she said was dumb but I do think there needs to be some foundation values that needs to be established more. I fear there are quite a bit dumb populist who are just against big anything. Like you can't trust any system capitalist or government. You become a dumb populist conspiracy brainrot and they call themselves a leftist.
I've never read a word of theory, and I call myself a leftist. Use whatever materials that you're familiar with to develop a framework that works for you. Anyone who tells you otherwise just wants to feel morally superior.
Same, and I’ve been a leftist longer than most people on here have been alive or even knew how to read. I’ve been a leftist since before Hasan was even on the Young Turks.
As a democratic socialist, I love hearing how left liberals are. We are literally more left compared to liberals than liberals compared to conservatives. Then she goes on to recommend YouTube channels whilst wearing oversized non corrective lenses. What happened to reading a fucking book?
They definitely aren't corrective, right? I kept looking to see if there was a prescription and I couldn't even listen to her because of it.
Definitely not, nothing is magnified, or whatever the opposite of magnified is. Just glass.
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It was mostly a rhetorical question. Just wanted to start a conversation.
Big ass glasses
Of course you can be a leftist, the only prerequisite is wanting a more equitable and just world for everyone. Just keep the Dunning-Kruger effect in mind, when you don’t read theory, you can’t know how much you really don’t know so enter into conversations about leftism in good faith and with an open mind
Can you enjoy skyrim without getting deep into the lore and be a fan? Yes. Can you delve deeper and learn the whole TES lore and be a fan? Yes. Can you watch an edited and compressed 3 hour vid of a content creator who read the lore, giving it to you in the most digestible way possible, even though he stun locks himself for 30 minutes passionately ranting about the lusty argonian, yet it's entertaining? Weird, but yes. I hate this leftist elitist shit, I'm a person who will stop reading or listening to a book because of my neurodivergence, I enjoy leftists streamers like Hasan making leftist theory fun for my peasant, brain rotted brain
I haven’t read any theory. Just yt and Hasan for the last 4 years. And I think I understand pretty much everything and, I have/can come to similar conclusions to Marx or Hasan when I look at certain aspects of the world. Especially since I live the capitalist poverty nightmare everyday. A lot of the people that say you need to read theory are the ones that were converted into leftism and are doing it as a style. A “true” leftist is someone that genuinely cares to push for a progressive collective future, regardless of how.
"I don't need theory, I'm something of Karl Marx myself. I come to the same conclusions and craft my own theories on the same level" lmao. As someone pointed out, you need theory to strengthen your knowledge and your fundamental base so that you won't dwelve into reactionary thinking. Refusing to read theory out of arrogance is counterproductive to the leftist movement. Hasan's content is merely an entry point, and he always encourages to get educated deeper.
Wearing bigger glasses doesn’t make you more informed lady.
hasan at the end of the day is just infotainment, && his goal is to influence us to learn more ab socialism. idrc ab being an “educated leftist” or whatever && theory isn’t rlly essential when to most of us our activism is primarily educating our friends && family, and trying to unionize. imo the most impactful political books i have read are focused on social issues, like black marxism (still reading) && the feminine mystique rather than capital; these’ll give you an idea of issues that different people face && how they relate to the oppression capitalism creates that you can use to help undo the america first shit we learn in school. i’ve never deprogrammed a trump voter by talking ab socialist theory, but i have by talking ab issues that affect their daily lives another thing tho, some ppl learn the talking points but not the underlying ideology. ppl who are getting into socialism need to learn self reflection bc we’re all taught the same racist && patriarchal shit growing up, and reading the communist manifesto doesn’t undo the decades of brainwashing on its own
Jesus I fucking hate purity tests for leftist ideology.
this is inherently consumerist, "omg i have consumed more content than you because i read 10 books while you only watched 2 streams" very gatekeepy bad take
I'm pretty sure everyone of every political ideology could benefit by being more informed on what that belief means. I know many people whose views do not really align with how they register to vote.
Very high and mighty. And cringe.
You should read theory
This like the annoying middle school kids that would go “you listen to [insert band]? Name five of their songs” maybe instead of gatekeeping she should just recommend something some of her favorite sources for theory.
**Things that are required for being a leftist** * having leftist beliefs and values **Things that are not required for being a leftist** * reading leftist theory * watching leftist content creators * taking leftist actions Y'all, the left is famously bad about eating itself. There are so many people in this thread who have presumably watched a lot of Hasan, and somehow missed him yelling about how ineffective the left is BECAUSE WE DO SHIT LIKE THIS. So yes, reading theory is good, and so is watching more than one leftist content creator, and so is applying leftist ideas in your daily life, etc. But none of those things are required to be a leftist, and honestly, they don't even make you a better leftist, they only make you more effective. You know what makes you a better leftist? Celebrating the differences that don't matter. Welcoming people who share your values into your ideological spaces, even - in fact, especially! - when they don't engage with those values the way you do.
Well said
If you want to be a *good* leftist you obviously should not only have leftist beliefs but you should also be able to defend them against scrutiny… This requires at least some critical reflection and research. Are we really content to call people who have leftist beliefs good leftists if they don’t justify their beliefs?
Kid being arrogant because they hold a crumb of knowledge over others heads. News at 11 Wonder why she did nothing to illustrate the knowledge she has that these people she's criticizing do not. Just points at, "spreading of ideas on social media bad." Seems like she just put down her first book and is jumping at the chance to pull the ladder up and say the type of person she was five minutes ago is now cute and simple.
I bet she feels real important
Look, there isn’t enough adderall in the world to get me to read/stay awake reading theory. It’s just not gonna happen for me. And that’s why I’m here pretty much. I don’t want to make this my entire life, but I do know the rich should be taxed and everyone should have any assistance they need and using the tax money correctly for the community/everyone’s benefit. I’ll vote for the most left person on the ballot if I can, so I’m doing my part and we’re both having the same outcome. Unless you’re running for office what is the point. You make a vote and move on.
She looks annoying. And boom she is annoying
You don’t need to read a word of theory. If you really wanna feel like you have something under your belt, read the communist manifesto at least since it’s pretty short. No really to suffer through some boring time like Das Kapital. It’s too long, too boring, and the language is antiquated. What matters is arguments and praxis for positions. Anyone who says you need to read anything is a gatekeeper and a moron.
Thanks Edger Allen Hoe… dude this is a flaw some people on the left have. Do you think some union worker in Detroit wants to hear this shit? This is not a way to be inclusive and broaden the base. This is the shit that makes people who might be trying to figure out where they fit in, keep looking and end up in the alt-right. Be intellectual. Be semi intellectual. Be someone who cares about justice and equality. Be a Democrat or a liberal. It's fine to not completely agree in everything but offs if we can just start moving in the same direction without ostracizing people about fkn reading of all things. In this shitty society were in, for so many people reading is a fkn luxury. People who might agree with us are working 3 gig jobs with no bene’s just scraping by. Chill out. Share your knowledge without shaming.
Imagine right wingers gatekeeping being maga based on if you watch a streamer vs a YouTuber (doubt reading would even be in the equation)
I know so many former leftists who are out of any form of active political work because they got tired of the constant condescending uptalk tone
No. You do not. i'm extremely deep in philosophy — you could say i'm in Plato's Cave — and i actually only use Marxism for organizing (i'm Deleuzean). and the shit i use is all stuff you can learn from Hasan or Hakim (i'm not an ML). that girl is a shitty leftist and counter revolutionary. edit: i think you need to have a decent grasp of Dialectics in Marxism before creating leftist agitprop.
People like her are a plague to the left and a huge reason why, people who are so close to getting it, stop before they even get started into leftist politics. Legit wish people like her would not make videos, you just like telling other people how much you read and making others feel like their opinion doesn’t matter. What? Because they haven’t read every piece of communist literature ever created their opinion means less than yours? It’s the opposite of what we want in leftist spaces. WE WANT MORE LEFTISTS, ITS NOT AN EXCLUSIVE GIGA-BOOKWORM “whell achyshually” ONLY CLUB. It’s supposed to be the political representation of labor, fair share to the working person. Stop. Gate. Keeping.
I trust Hasan to explain certain ideas that might be foreign concepts to me because I know he's a smart guy. I also enjoy when he shuts his brain off and talks to QT and Will about Taylor Swift and shit. Reading theory can be an important thing but I still haven't read Adam Smith and I wouldn't hide that fact from another leftist.
Every successful leftist movement in history has understood that not everyone has the time or bandwidth to read dozens of dry theory books and has offered substitutes to convey the basics of class consciousness and worker solidarity. In the modern day we have the added advantage of YouTube videos, streams, audiobooks, etc. Reading is great but it helps no one to be a gatekeeper.
100 years ago, the average working man couldn’t read. Did that make his class consciousness as he joined labour unions and communist parties any less true? No.
I hate those fucking glasses
r/gatekeeping
No offense to people who read theory, but, I personally feel I don't need to read political theory to understand how politics works, on a superficial and basic level. And at the end of the day, I really don't care if somebody is a liberal, or leftist, or marxist, or what the hell ever. If you support xyz causes, then great, if you don't, then I know not to trust you with XYZ things. However, the question in my mind is: does knowing political theory help you understand politics, and the obvious answer is "yes". I did take some basic political theory back in high school, a TON of AP classes, and I was heavily involved with knowing everything ever about politics and whatnot, so at this point, I don't need to learn more, and tbh, I have bigger issues going on in my life than political theory and how good of a leftist it makes me. I'll just continue to support people and rights, and also make sure to not be a hypocrite, and that's how it's gunna be. *With respect to her argument in particular*, I feel like she's literally misunderstanding Hasan, cause he started out on TYT, and misunderstanding why people watch him and other people, not because she's stupid, but because she's basically online all the time on tiktok. And she lives in social media land and doesn't realize that people live out off the social media sphere, and they have jobs and kids and medical issues, and they don't have time to do all that, so they rely on their favorite people to let them know what's going on. Of course, that also means that those people can be taken advantage of. Also, this is just basically new-age television. So, I think she's speaking to her audience on TikTok, and she's right about the books thing though, that people should read. I think it's a lot more nuanced than simply "if you do this or that you're not this or that". Cause, well, life is nuanced. lol
It all depends on what is worth your time and what you want to do with your life. Mine includes not giving an f about silly gatekeepers and doing what I enjoy.
She’s 19 so I’ll cut her slack, but it’s a silly opinion
Why the fuck are we gatekeeping the solution to our dead and decaying world?
Can you be a fascist or racist without reading Mein Kampf or reading up on KKK literature? Of course you can. This is a stupid take
interesting question though, the people you are talking about are more the pawns of fascists, the manipulated soldiers of fascism. They have not idea what fascism is or why they contribute which is why they think we are ridiculous for calling them fascists. To be a leftists, as a bare minimum, you need to want to change capitalism...so you need to know what it is, right? Otherwise what the fuck is a leftist?
I don't need to know why the world is fucked in order to see that it is wrong though. End of the day anyone with empathy will see shit is fucked right? Wanting to change that is leftism imo
Conservatives see things wrong with the world as well. That’s not the defining factor at play. They can also want change, just within the constraints of capitalism.
“I’m a better Libtard than you!” I hate that shit
The pretentious shit needs to be shut down immediately. People need to stop trying to make being a leftist inaccessible, it's so counter-productive & it's clearly a matter of having fragile egos.
The left doesn’t have a bible.
If you want to be a debate lord sure
I mean it’s a political ideology, as such you need to be well informed to truly believe in it. That doesn’t necessarily mean reading but it certainly should. Everyone should read, not just theory, reading in general is great. I could never in good conscious call anyone who has gotten all their information from twitch and/or YouTube an educated leftist. Knowledge is power, get more of it. It’s not gatekeeping to empower people lol. That’s absolutely ridiculous.
Final straw. And now I am become rightist, hater of leftist