/leftypol/ - Leftist Politically Incorrect

Here’s a bit of a rundown of what this group is about for those who missed the previous threads:

Every week, we start off with a new book or the continuation of a previous week’s book (I’d guess ~70-140 page range per week would be lenient enough for most people) whose theme is based off of one of the flags usable here on the board. Along the way, if people so chose, they make annotations here and there on whatever they want within the provided pdf (obviously avoid going into full-blown shitpost mode) and repost the pdf back into the thread (or make annotations through a shared doc). When we reach the end of what is contained within a provided file (be that one week or many), I’ll compile everyone’s notes together and make the combined file available in subsequent weeks either for active participants to see what everyone else thought was important or for newcomers to catch up while not missing out on what other people had to say.

A few goals I hope to accomplish with this project:

>Help assorted anons get into learning theory at a workable pace and with plenty of simultaneous feedback.

>Help to establish an “average” “or “standard” for what we might have expected people to have covered when posting in more intellectually-demanding threads.

>Create a collection of pdfs for important leftist literature that are annotated by fellow anons. This is to potentially give new insights for later individuals who decide to read into what we’ve covered and help new people get into it with the knowledge that “we’ve been there too.”

>Create a (somewhat) comprehensive but themed list of suggested reading materials based on the resulting “potential book list” by the end.

>Collect ideas for summarizing/simplifying key points of various examined theories so as to then present them in some coherent/entertaining fashion to the OC sticky. From there, maybe some drawfags or other OC makers might be interested in doing a few pieces that will assist later users in their understanding.

Archive:

Week 2

http://archive.is/iejGh

Bit of a quiet week in terms of new community projects.

Community Shoutouts

/leftypol/ meetup:

>>606978

A few people have gotten into contact it seems. Maybe COINTELPRO, but that’s about it in terms of new community shit. Interesting to see where /leftypol/ is geographically at least.

Expand your education:

Remember to drop by our sister board >>>/freedu/ so that we can better assemble our materials for independent study purposes. In addition, when we finally do complete a book, I will post the merged annotation version of what we end up with in a thread over there.

Also don’t forget to drop by our other sites from time to time. The people over there get lonely, and we need to make sure we are aware of our point of retreat should something disastrous ever happen to this site.

http://www.getchan.net/

http://www.bunkerchan.org/

All OC creators needed:

In coordination with the fifth intended goal of this project, be sure to drop by the OC thread to help contribute (>>591357). We have a number of drawfags currently waiting on substantial suggestions to be pushed through: don’t leave them disappointed. This stands as an excellent opportunity to use our creative talents for educational purposes that can touch a broader userbase.

Bunkermag writers needed:

Bunkermag is always in need of new writers to contribute articles. As we proceed through this reading project, this might serve as an excellent opportunity to put your proficiency in your understanding and application of theory to the test.

http://bunkermag.org/

Leftybooru tagging:

We need people still to help out tagging images for ease of searching. If you want to help with that, just search “tagme,” pick an image, find “edit” near the bottom of the page, and start adding descriptors. No login required. Gotta make sure the organization of our dank memes keeps pace with our organization of workers. http://lefty.booru.org/

Fucking finally

>>610772

I'll offer a semi-educated answer.

You're a part of the global value chain that stretches from the labor that acquired the raw materials, to the factory, to the truck, and finally to the store. You're at the end point.

Without your labor things aren't sold: you're the guy who puts things on shelves, points people towards the specials, and takes their money, as well as doing a whole bunch of other shit that ensures the store runs efficiently.

So, yes, your labor is "non-productive" in the sense you aren't creating commodities, but you are ensuring they are sold which is a valuable service to the bourgeoisie, hence your position.

As to how much exactly? Dunno, only the boardroom might be able to give you a definite answer (if they cared about you individually). Lets say for simplicity's sake you and all your co-workers in all the stores in your chain are worth 25%, the other 75% going to the rest of the value chain.

Now, the company, in all likelihood, does not directly own and run all the companies that supply it as subsidiaries. But that surplus value generated from the rest of the chain still arrives in the store, and is then expanded again through your labor. Large chain stores, for example, are notorious for ripping off their suppliers. It buttresses their profit margins; it's exploitation on top of exploitation, all down the line.

Each company that supplies another has to have some kind of regular profit to survive and make the whole thing worthwhile, hence surplus labor is being extracted in every business that interacts to put a commodity on the shelves.

To wind things up, it affects you because every laborer before you has been exploited in order to squeeze a profit out of the operations that stocked your store: you have to be squeezed in turn to ensure that surplus value does not end up in your pocket undeservedly – it's not yours, it belongs to those who own the store, who argue that without their existence the value chain would not have been created in the first place.

This is what neoclassical theory has helped me understand: laborers get what they're worth, i.e. what they individually contribute to the value chain from dirt to store shelf. Porky, situated on top of his private property, hires others to make it productive and thus gives them a wage in return. As porky has the highest marginal productivity, by virtue of the property and technology owned by him, it is only natural he profits.

>>610851

>i want to read and understand the left

I found this on /leftypol/ a while ago and it helped me, though if you're an absolute beginner some of it might go over your head. It's pretty clear though, and it's not that long either. It's a good answer to what "the left" actually means.

>>612721

If you can't find many other people to talk about the intricacies of economics as you have said, then help make it less intricate. There are a lot of great details and concepts included through this book that are often overlooked in your usual leftist critique of capitalist economic systems. We need people to help take those most vital concepts and distill them into a more palatable form for those who might otherwise not have the time to read such lengthy works in what little free time they might have. As I see it, that can either take the shape of something formal like writing articles (bunkermag as an in-community example) or other independent works (collaborative OC as an in-community example), or just as reserved ammunition for the time when economic discussion does come up.

Either way, the focused ideas that circulate among the greater masses expands. We as the left, for those who have the time, interest, and educational background to do so, must take it upon ourselves to bring our own understanding of politics and society to the people we intend to liberate.

>>610117

please add under Maoism