Red Montana is a blog written by the one, the only jjack, comin’ atcha straight outta Butte, Montana.
The purpose if this blog is to share with you my opinions on labor, politics, international affairs, economics, Marxist-Leninist theory, and other good stuff, all from a left perspective.
I, jjack, am no longer the only YCL/Party member in Montana. We have a small but ambitious group of Young Communist League members who meet in Butte, so if you’re interested check out the “Montana YCL” page. That being said, this blog is not a place for official policy statements or anything! This is just a place for me to vent my own ramblings, practice my amateur journalism, and maybe meet some new folks along the way. So enjoy!
January 18, 2008 at 7:06 pm |
Holy cow, there’s another commie in Montana?! Greetings comrade, and you go to Tech to boot. Too bad I had to move to Helena to finish my automotive degree. Anywho, I was born and raised in Butte, and I love it to death. Hope you like it there.
Drop me a line if ya ever want to chat about communism or whatever.
See ya,
Moe
November 6, 2008 at 5:38 pm |
i prefer socialism rather than communism.
btw, what do u think of obama?
November 6, 2008 at 5:40 pm |
btw, i don’t fully understand your views,
do want EVERYONE in montana to have the same standard of living?
or do u just want one party governing montana?
November 6, 2008 at 5:49 pm |
srry about the “what do u think of obama” question, i posted that before reading
the home page
November 6, 2008 at 8:49 pm |
Neel:
These are very simple questions that I think require kind of complicated answers. I will do my best to respond to them without flying off on a tangent.
First you have to understand, from the Marxist viewpoint, the class struggle and the role of the state. Communism is a society where there is no class struggle, and therefor little motivation for people to cheat/steal/etc. and people have learned to get by without a massive police force or army pointing guns at them. This is something that humanity has yet to witness. Socialism is a society where the working class controls the state, to work in their own interest, and it is a means by which to work toward communism. The USSR, China, Cuba, etc. are all examples of socialism because they are/were workers’ states “on the road” to communism.
So, it is possible to be a socialist but not a communist, but all communists are also socialists.
Barack Obama is neither; the Democratic party has some progressive policies but its main purpose, I think, is to be a mediator and control the destructive tendencies of Capitalism so it doesn’t collapse under its own weight. That being said, we believe that there is no possibility to jump straight to socialism from this period of ultra-right domination in the government. First we have to sweep the right-wing movement from political power. The Democratic Party is our best hope for doing so in the current political climate. They also have some policies that will help strengthen the forces that will eventually lead to socialism: the employee free choice act is one good example.
Do I want everyone in Montana to have the same standard of living? I don’t think everyone should be identical clones but I think that the working class people whose sweat and blood fuels our economy should be the first ones to benefit from their labor. This means cutting the super-rich property owners out of the picture all together. Make them work for a living just like everyone else. The multi-million dollar salaries that they once drew will then be freed up to distribute back to the workers in more pay, health care, education, recreation, etc.
Under socialism not everyone gets paid the same so some people are better off than others, but I think everyone should have a basic minimum standard of living, and all workers should be on a union pay scale where they have the opportunity to get real significant gains for staying on the job and making a career.
Finally, the one party question: personally I would like to see the parties removed from politics all together. I think there should be one party: the Communist Party. But it should not play the same role as parties today. I think in an ideal government would have people who are in the Communist Party but also a significant portion who are not, people who are not a member of any part, for the purpose of making sure that the government stays representative to the people and is not just a rubber-stamp of the Party.
Finally, my views are not just for Montana but also for the whole country and indeed the world.
So, hopefully that helped you out some. I know it was long-winded but that was about as concise as I could think to write it. Thanks for your comments.
January 12, 2009 at 7:11 pm |
Firstly, I wanted to say how glad I am to have people with your views right here in Montana and I’ve found many of your blogs enlightening.
I’m currently producing a documentary for my senior thesis at Montana State University. Right now, my film focuses on different political ideas throughout Montana but I’m attempting to narrow it down to socialism in Butte, MT. Aside from showing the rich history of socialism in early 20th Century Butte, I want to show current support of socialism and communism in Butte to try and eradicate the “socialism stigma” of Americans, many still seemingly affected by the after effects of McCarthyism.
Please email me at chasewhh@gmail.com if you would be interested in doing an interview or if you would like to talk more about it. Also, if you know of any meetings or other people who might be interested in the film it would be great if you kept me posted. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Chase Heidlebaugh