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fuckyeahmarxismleninism · 2 years

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By Stephen Millies

Whatever happens in the midterm elections, a mudslide of racist and bigoted filth is pouring down from the heights of capitalist society. Teaching Black history is under attack by labeling it Critical Race Theory.

Using an increase in street crime — the result of a massive increase in poverty and homelessness — politicians are encouraging more police brutality and killings.

A special target has been transgender people, particularly transgender youth. The laws passed in Florida forbidding transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming care guarantee more deaths.

This wholesale hate campaign is the reaction of banksters and billionaires to the Black Lives Matter movement, the largest series of protests in U.S. history.

The tiny percentage of society that consists of the big capitalist families is dragging millions of others behind them, including many workers. There’s nothing new in this.

#midterms #elections #racism #transphobia #capitalist state #BlackLivesMatter #ProtectTransKids #TransRightsAreHumanRights #Florida #Donald Trump #Joe Biden #police brutality #CRT #education #schools #class struggle #ruling class #workers #Struggle La Lucha

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 2 years

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"The French nationalizations supply an example [of a nursery of the New Class]: the heads of the nationalized enterprises, many of whom hold a party card, behave like the old bosses: same attitudes, same reactions. Perhaps there is a difference: the new bosses claim to be of the proletariat! So, the Socialist Party has not colonized the bourgeois state; the other way round is nearer the truth."

- Maurice Dufour, 1958

[Dufour is a curious figure, who appears to have been involved with the Pat Line in occupied France, but was also under suspicion of being associated with Cagoulards and was sympathetic post-war to the various descendants of Ordre nouveau. He was a critic of planisme and dirigisme in the French economy, which is how I think I found this quote years ago while researching my thesis...]

#nationalization #new class #planisme #dirigisme #sfio #socialism #parti socialiste #histoire de france #bourgeois state #economic planning #managed capitalism #capitalist state #academic quote #research quote

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lilithism1848 · 6 months

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defleftist · 3 months

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The only appropriate way to spend St. Patrick’s Day is to continue to stand up against the occupation and oppression of all people around the world. 🇵🇸🇮🇪

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mostlysignssomeportents · 2 months

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Greedflation, but for prisoners

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me TOMORROW (Apr 21) in TORINO, then Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

Today in "Capitalists Hate Capitalism" news: The Appeal has published the first-ever survey of national prison commissary prices, revealing just how badly the prison profiteer system gouges American's all-time, world-record-beating prison population:

https://theappeal.org/locked-in-priced-out-how-much-prison-commissary-prices/

Like every aspect of the prison contracting system, prison commissaries – the stores where prisoners are able to buy food, sundries, toiletries and other items – are dominated by private equity funds that have bought out all the smaller players. Private equity deals always involve gigantic amounts of debt (typically, the first thing PE companies do after acquiring a company is to borrow heavily against it and then pay themselves a hefty dividend).

The need to service this debt drives PE companies to cut quality, squeeze suppliers, and raise prices. That's why PE loves to buy up the kinds of businesses you must spend your money at: dialysis clinics, long-term care facilities, funeral homes, and prison services.

Prisoners, after all, are a literal captive market. Unlike capitalist ventures, which involve the risk that a customer will take their business elsewhere, prison commissary providers have the most airtight of monopolies over prisoners' shopping.

Not that prisoners have a lot of money to spend. The 13th Amendment specifically allows for the enslavement of convicted criminals, and so even though many prisoners are subject to forced labor, they aren't necessarily paid for it:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/02/captive-customers/#guillotine-watch

Six states ban paying prisoners anything. North Carolina caps prisoners' pay at one dollar per day. Nationally, prisoners earn $0.52/hour, while producing $11b/year in goods and services:

https://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2024/0324bowman.html

So there's a double cruelty to prison commissary price-gouging. Prisoners earn far less than any other kind of worker, and they pay vastly inflated prices for the necessities of life. There's also a triple cruelty: prisoners' families – deprived of an incarcerated breadwinner's earnings – are called upon to make up the difference for jacked up commissary prices out of their own strained finances.

So what does prison profiteering look like, in dollars and sense? Here's the first-of-its-kind database tracking the costs of food, hygiene items and religious items in 46 states:

https://theappeal.org/commissary-database/

Prisoners rely heavily on commissaries for food. Prisons serve spoiled, inedible food, and often there isn't enough to go around – prisoners who rely on the food provided by their institutions literally starve. This is worst in prisons where private equity funds have taken over the cafeteria, which is inevitable accompanied by swingeing cuts to food quality and portions:

https://theappeal.org/prison-food-virginia-fluvanna-correctional-center/

So you have one private equity fund starving prisoners, and another that's gouging them on food. Or sometimes it's the same company. Keefe Group, owned by HIG Capital, provides commissaries to prisons whose cafeterias are managed by other HIG Capital portfolio companies like Trinity Services Group. HIG also owns the prison health-care company Wellpath – so if they give you food poisoning, they get paid twice.

Wellpath delivers "grossly inadequate healthcare":

https://theappeal.org/massachusetts-prisons-wellpath-dentures-teeth/

And Trinity serves "meager portions of inedible food":

https://theappeal.org/clayton-county-jail-sheriff-election/

When prison commissaries gouge on food, no part of the inventory is spared, even the cheapest items. In Florida, a packet of ramen costs $1.06, 300% more inside the prison than it does at the Target down the street:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24444312-fl_doc_combined_commissary_lists#document/p6/a2444049

America's prisoners aren't just hungry, they're also hot. The climate emergency is sending temperatures in America's largely un-air-conditioned prisons soaring to dangerous levels. Commissaries capitalize on this, too: an 8" fan costs $40 in Delaware's Sussex Correctional Institution. In Georgia, that fan goes for $32 (but prisoners are not paid for their labor in Georgia pens). And in scorching Texas, the commissary raised the price of water by 50% last summer:

https://www.tpr.org/criminal-justice/2023-07-20/texas-charges-prisoners-50-more-for-water-for-as-heat-wave-continues

Toiletries are also sold at prices that would make an airport gift-shop blush. Need denture adhesive? That's $12.28 in an Idaho pen, triple the retail price. 15% of America's prisoners are over 55. The Keefe Group – sister company to the "grossly inadequate" healthcare company Wellpath – operates that commissary. In Oregon, the commissary charges a 200% markup on hearing-aid batteries. Vermont charges a 500% markup on reading glasses. Imagine spending decades in prison: toothless, blind, and deaf.

Then there's the religious items. Bibles and Christmas cards are surprisingly reasonable, but a Qaran will run you $26 in Vermont, where a Bible is a mere $4.55. Kufi caps – which cost $3 or less in the free world – go for $12 in Indiana prisons. A Virginia prisoner needs to work for 8 hours to earn enough to buy a commissary Ramadan card (you can buy a Christmas card after three hours' labor).

Prison price-gougers are finally facing a comeuppance. California's new BASIC Act caps prison commissary markups at 35% (California commissaries used to charge 63-200% markups):

https://theappeal.org/price-gouging-in-california-prisons-newsom-signature/

Last year, Nevada banned any markup on hygiene items:

https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/82nd2023/Bill/10425/Overview

And prison tech monopolist Securus has been driven to the brink of bankruptcy, thanks to the activism of Worth Rises and its coalition partners:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/08/money-talks/

When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time. Prisons show us how businesses would treat us if they could get away with it.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/20/captive-market/#locked-in

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chaiaurchaandni · 7 months

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it is imp to remember that this is not about religion and the ethnic cleansing of artsakh proves this. all oppressive regimes are connected regardless of religion and that is why azerbaijan and israel have good relations. another example is saudi arabia having good relations with america and israel while also killing other muslims in yemen.

interestingly, like israel, saudi also uses religion to gain credibility (recently got holy mosque imam to give statement condemning boycotts and encouraging muslims to not be involved in the situation in palestine) and recruit muslim supporters from all over the world, while simultaneously killing/imprisoning muslim critics of the kingdom.

similarly, israel sells itself as a safe haven for jews and convinces jews around the world to migrate to israel while also simultaneously criminalizing antizionist jews all over the world, even suggesting that theyre not 'real jews' (reminiscent of takfirism which is a core part of saudi wahabi ideology) [ fun fact: the house of saud came into power in arabia with help from the british, just like the zionists in palestine! ]

oppressive regimes are directly connected and mirror each other in several ways. this is why liberation and resistance movements need to unite and work together across the world

#as long as u sell ur soul for capitalist profits and empire you will get the support of other colonialist and imperialist countries #regardless of religion #this is also a ksa hate acc btw lol fuck the saudis they should be deposed asap #there is no place for a king in any muslim state #the saudi kingdom has been illegitimate from the very beginning #free palestine #palestine #artsakh #armenian genocide is another example of a musslim ottoman empire committing a enocide against a christian minority #another thing that proves that religion doesnt matter in oppression: the muslim turkish state's treatement of the muslim kurdish minority #look it up!!!#and since all oppressive regimes r connected in one way or another - turkey also has relations with israel #gaza #death to israel #death to america #free kurdistan #uyghurs #kurds #armenians #free kashmir #india's treatment of kashmir and link that to india's support for israel #china may be somewhat opposed to israel or america but that does not absolve china's ethnic cleansing of uyghurs #east turkistan #east turkistan independence day is today btw!!

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anarchywoofwoof · 7 months

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whenever someone wants to start blabbering about how damaging shoplifting and theft is to a business, particularly a place like Walmart, Target or nearly any big box retail establishment, be sure to look up the company's annual revenue.

and when you start playing out the numbers, it gets absolutely fucking absurd real fast.

for example, let's use Walmart.

the CEO of Walmart - Doug McMillon - his net worth is $280 million.

this is a person who made $24.1 million in fiscal 2023 alone.

that's about 933x the median salary of a Walmart employee.

let's have some more fun with numbers, shall we?

if you used only the ceo's salary of $24.1 million per year here's what you could buy in (men's) clothes from Walmart!

300,000 Hanes Men's ComfortSoft Crewneck T-Shirt - Pack Of 5 ($20)

500,000 Athletic Works Men's Crew Socks - Pack of 12 ($11)

250,000 George Men's Cotton Stretch Regular Leg Boxer Briefs - Pack of 6 ($20)

250,000 George Regular Fit Jeans - 1 pair ($13)

250,000 George Men's 38mm Single Loop Casual Belt - 1 belt ($7)

150,000 Athletic Works Men's Banded Jogger Slip-on - 1 pair ($15)

and he would still have $350,000 left over!

mind you - this is only the CEO!

Walmart CFO (Chief Financial Officer) John David Rainey made $39,725,601 during the same time period.

Walmart Chief Technology and Development Officer Suresh Kumar made $16,107,812 during the same time period.

Sam's Club President & CEO Kathryn McLay made $11,934,475 during the same time period.

Walmart President & CEO of Walmart International Judith McKenna made $13,526,160 during the same time period.

collectively, Walmart's Executive Staff was compensated to the tune of $120,900,000 during fiscal 2023.

so you know those numbers up there? all of those clothes that you can now commonly find locked behind glass at your local Walmart that you could buy with the CEO's annual salary?

multiply those figures by five, and now you have what you could buy with ONE YEAR of all of the Walmart executives' pay combined.

that's enough to give everyone in the City of Chicago, IL two free t-shirts.

the name of the game is greed. this is one corporation - albeit a huge one. and just one single solitary fiscal year of earnings.

extrapolate this across 5-10 years. could you imagine the untold number of lives we could change if these executives agreed to forego their insane salaries for a short period of time? it would almost certainly not cause them any undue struggle because of the sheer amount of wealth and resources they have.

it'll never happen, but don't let anyone convince you that it has to be this way. we are being gaslit by people with more money than we will ever see in many lifetimes so that they can live a life of luxury unseen by 90% of the population. stop letting them pull the wool over your eyes and call it what it is: pure, unadulterated greed.

#eat the rich #united states #fuck capitalism #anti capitalist #anti capitalism #bork bork thoughts

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nando161mando · 9 months

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We are living in a police state

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seance · 2 years

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i hate you 6 episodes long seasons, i hate you shock value plot twists that don’t make an ounce of sense, i hate you incosistent characterizations, i hate you inexistent character dynamics, i hate you shallow and rushed plots, i hate you bidimensional protagonists. i love you diversified and well explored storylines, i love you valued characterization, i love you world building, i love you actions/consequences dichotomy, i love you engaging relationships that aren’t exclusively romantic.

#ari.txt #text #i'm in a mood tonight #thinking of the state of tv shows cause of the worsening capitalistic market #where everything has to be as fast and as easily digestible as possible #with zero quality in mind #so they can produce more and more #and sell it for billions no matter how abysmal the story is #the capitalistic market from hell

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workersolidarity · 1 year

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Literally, your "democratic" government would rather fuck up the entire world with Imperialism than to have Americans realize their government can do more for them.

And THAT is why Actually-Existing Socialist countries cannot be allowed to survive and prosper.

#us imperialism #us hegemony #imperialism #capitalist imperialism #neoliberalism #neoliberal capitalism #socialism #communism #marxism leninism #socialist politics #socialist worker #socialist state #socialist news #socialist #communist #marxism #marxist leninist #progressive politics #politics

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slavicafire · 8 months

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notre dame burning was so beautiful I wish we could have been normal about it (enjoy it) instead of embarrasingly stupid (in uproar to waste milions in various currencies and susceptible to state propaganda)

#and I say this as an absolute lover of notre dame. don't get me wrong #it was beautiful in a very... cathartic way. poignant. and also somewhat funny because at the end of the day it is a catholic church #but we had to be so stupid about it. and I don't mean people crying because that's also a good reaction to something beautiful happening #I mean the state and catholic and capitalist and colonialist propaganda

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covenofthearticulate · 4 months

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tonight i'm thinking about the fact that Louis stayed in San Francisco after the interview like my guy was in SF through the 80s. he's seen some shit.

#i knew that as a fact but idk sometimes it just really Sinks In #like idk my pet peeve is always when people paint louis as a prude or god forbid a conservative #he's got an old world Capitalist mindset sure but i think he also has capacity to be very curious and open-minded #vampire meta #not really meta just stating facts LOL

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 2 years

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“We will grind you revolutionists down under our heel, and we shall walk upon your faces. The world is ours, we are its lords, and ours it shall remain. As for the host of labor, it has been in the dirt since history began, and I read history aright. And in the dirt it shall remain so long as I and mine and those that come after us have the power. There is the word. It is the king of words—Power. Not God, not Mammon, but Power. Pour it over your tongue till it tingles with it. Power.”

...

“They, as a class, believed that they alone maintained civilization."

- Jack London, The Iron Heel.

#jack london #the iron heel #literary quote #what the ruling class does when it rules #capitalism #capitalist state #power

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lilithism1848 · 2 months

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defleftist · 5 months

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I could be normal or I could go on long rants about why the police and the entire police system are evil and corrupt in a manner that scares normies. Guess which one I am?

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twilight-deviant · 2 months

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Telling content creators it's wrong to explore artistic freedom and be independently funded by fans, and they should instead continue taking advertisement revenue from google* is

NOT

the anti-capitalism stance actually.

*(Yes, google owns youtube.)

#Watcher #This post is specifically and exclusively about the people who seem to have the capitalism bit wrong #It's almost fascinating how no one is hearing themselves speak #I feel like some of you don't understand WHY we support small businesses and are anti-monopoly #I've seen multiple posts saying “Shane is so anti-capitalism there's no way this was his idea.”#So... you think it's pro-capitalism to start your own business instead of relying on pennies from the exploitative mega-corporation?#Guys... we support small businesses KNOWING it will cost the consumer more #Stop thinking you're entitled to someone's product #That's what got us in this mess #I understand $6 is a lot for many many people but that is what makes certain things a luxury #Nothing used to be this way #Nothing used to be “free” so you can be monitored for your viewing habits and sold to advertisers #If you see a little guy trying to leave youtube/google and you paint them as the capitalist??? You. have. taken. a. wrong. turn.#I don't know how many more ways I can say it #It is better to support someone (if you can) than to pressure them into taking money from the trillion-dollar corporation #so that you can have what they put all their blood/sweat/tears into for free #If you want something badly enough you're going to have to pay for it #Them's the breaks #If you don't want it that badly then maybe it didn't mean enough to you personally #Thinking otherwise is how corporations like youtube take over and squeeze out small competitors #btw on monopolies: having almost every single video content creator (outside of tiktoks and video game streams) on youtube is BAD #You understand that's bad yes?#How tf are we going to diversify unless SOME CREATORS leave youtube???#It's almost the responsibility of larger creators to do so #Ironically what I said is backwards #In its ideal state‚ capitalism is supposed to inspire innovation and new business‚ giving every person a chance to succeed #But I think we all know that's not the reality we're experiencing #I just went with what everyone means when they say it

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