True left

The son came, asks: "And who are the left?" -“Oh, e-mine ...” I want to go like a joke: “Son, go google!” But he is now fifteen. And we must answer.

My answer was such. Living among people for many years, my son, I met such left. Some left are social reformers. These are people who believe that the state should be human loving. That is, "social". That is, so that the pensions are large, treated and taught at the expense of the budget. Their main philosopher is John Rolls. He substantiated the theory of justice for the modern state. Its main thought is about this: each government’s action should be so arranged that any increase in private income among the rich leads to an increase in life chances for weak groups. Therefore, the Social Reformers always care about the poor, the provincials, abandoned in different bear's corners of life, are baking about all inequality. They are not against capital and private enrichment, but they want all the wealth that is spinning in the state is somehow more honestly distributed. So that no one is “turned off” from life opportunities for circumstances that are beyond it. Now the Social reformists have a big problem. The social state appeared with the Germans even under Bismarck, but it really became a worldwide significant device only after 1968. And for forty years everything went quite smoothly. But now this "social state" is cracking at the seams. His prospects are foggy.

The second type of left is revolutionaries. In general, these are not very interesting people, because today these are mainly dogma or just fanatics-terrorists. Although there is no more “revolutionary class”, but they continue to look for it. It is difficult to look for it. Either these are “global destitute masses” from “peripheral capitalism”, or it is “cognitive” (that is, you and I, son). Some people think that these are Islamic Mujahideen. In short, there is no “subject of history” that could turn the entire social pyramid upside down. Previously, this property was attributed to a certain “proletariat”, i.e. "The progressive class." And now it is not clear who is the “progressive class”. At one time, the Red Brigades terror, urban Gerila and so on were popular. Now all this has subsided. They have the main philosophers Marx and Trotsky, and they love Che Guevara very much.

Since Trotskyism is Nechaevschina, “demons” and intrigue (they call it “entrism”), among the Trotskyists there are a lot of confused aesthetes.

The third type of left is the so -called cultural left. Professors, artists and so on. They have the main philosopher - Zizhek. He says this: earlier, in former times, the goal was “emancipation”, i.e. The liberation of a person from various lack of freedom, repressive institutions, restrictions, now the emancipation project of the West seemed to complete the large cycle. And we need some new emancipation project. But this is not easy. Because for two hundred years, and universal suffrage, and the rights of children and women have been fixed, and even animals, and all previously “repressive institutions” - family, school, church - are liberalized. In short, they have already been “freed”. There is also a problem - from what to “free” now. Well, there are feminists, vegetarians, different not completely recognized forms of behavior. They were previously considered perversions or deviations, and now - permissible stylistic diversity. In general, these cultural left -wingers wage a discursive war, i.e. Against the hegemonist style of thinking. They affirm the "post -colonialist discourse." But there is also a problem. When you fight very much against something, you involuntarily have to rely on some “universals”, i.e. On something common for everyone, on the "social ideal." And this “common to all” is already hegemony, suggests centralism. And in general-just "colonialism." There is such insidiousness here. From which it is difficult to get out.

In general, these social reformists and cultural left are good people. Of course, among them there are some kind of freaks that turn the idea of ​​cultural diversity into such a dogmatic universal that this variety itself becomes a repressive life philosophy. But this is a rarity. In general, these are creative people. Well, we must remember that everyone who takes care of the poor, weak, due to the fact that they see a lot of human suffering, are made slightly “left” ... And the artists should somehow “blow up the brain”-because many of them are left. And the professors are many left -wing, because the duty of an educated humanitarian person is social criticism. The humanities are generally arranged so that they are a reservoir of social criticism. And she has an important function. The left criticize everything: corporations, financial capitalism, church, bureaucracy, any restrictive public norms. This does not mean that they certainly want to destroy them. They want to show their problematicity. Without criticism, the adaptability of society to changes is reduced.

Now, I said, I will show you pictures so that you know what the left looks like and what varieties we have in Russia.

1. Boring Marxist-Professor Karelitsky . He writes large thick books in which he explains in great detail why Marxism is the most correct. He does not believe in the revolution, but believes that Marxism gives the correct "understanding of the world." It should be classical Marxist style - to write long and combine the flows of very detailed argumentation and journalistic images (as Marx himself wrote). But it is very cultural, and it can be shown on behalf of Russia at any international conference.

2. Honest intellectual Trotskyist. In my generation, this is Alexander Tarasov . Good, kind person. He is vividly interested in any anti-system riots that can at least somehow swing the world system in general (“red brigades”, “vandalist actions of anti-globalists”, the rebel army of Colombian drug carters, etc.).

3. Intellectual Trotskyist-Obel. Since Trotskyism is Nechaevschina, “demons” and intrigue (they call it “entrism”), among the Trotskyists there are a lot of confused aesthetes. Here, the most vivid types with us are Daria Mitina and Vyacheslav Danilov . They have to stay away from them.

4. The writer-populist. Here we must understand that there are “sufferers for the popular grief” - deep right in spirit, since they think this matter within the same people. And the real left-wing writer-populist sympathizes with the world. Such is Sergey Shargunov .

5. Real left artists. "Pussy Ryot." They are in prison. They are both good and left, because they thoroughly angry at the same time the system, and the church, and the fascist "middle class".

6. Gorbachev, Yavlinsky, Gamesov . These are such special left leftists who believe that there was a way to reform the USSR towards humanism. Well, or, in any case, they made efforts to do this. Unlike ordinary social reformists, they believe that in the USSR it was possible to build their own new “social state”.

7. Ordinary social reformers. Sergey Mironov, for example. Good people too. They have no special fantasies, they simply want the same institutions as in the "social states" of Northern Europe.

8. Boris Kupriyanov, Alexander Bikbov, Kirill Medvedev and others. These are very good people. These are neoanarchists. They are supporters of the “autonomous action” and the creation of all social spaces outside the state of the state. And in general, outside the zone of “controllability” in the understanding of the French philosopher Michel Foucault. Most of them can be trusted, they are honest people. At the time of my youth, these were geologists.

9. Communists in the State Duma. Keep in mind that they are not left. But among the municipal deputies from the Communist Party in the province there are many real fighters for "popular happiness." There are sincere defenders from the arbitrariness of the system. Therefore, all the Communists cannot be measured with one measure.

10. There are still all sorts of “left sects”-“Antifa”, the National Bolsheviks Lemon, we still had all kinds of “revolutionary armies”, one of them blew up a monument to Nikolai II about ten years ago. You have to stay away from these. (If the conversation comes in, then we must say this: “ Limonov , of course, a brilliant writer, I respect him, but ...”, etc.) In short, to distance himself. Basically, because they, like the ultra -right, are infiltrated by special services and you can never be sure there - you talk to the underground or with the Chekist “undercover”.

In general, you need to be friends with Kupriyanov and with Pussy Ryot. That is, with "autonomists" and avant -garde artists. Unfortunately, it is impossible to be friends with some of the right left, they are arrogant, as an Osmolov artist. But you can be friends with the left artist Dmitry Vrubel (by the way, he now joined the German pirate International). It ’s also good to be friends with Ekaterina . She is simple, but smart, and she has a very good book on Russian art of the twentieth century. By the way, it is written so understandable that any senior student can read it. And even should.