EDIT: Bad Mouse was harshly yet deservedly criticized for dishonestly & falsely equating DiscoElysium’s good-faith criticism of leftist reading groups with ContraPoints’ bad-faith criticism (see: https://xcancel.com/BadMouse101/status/2053710692788720055 )
Not even the 1st time. Back in March, BadMouse hilariously failed at his own attempt to compare himself to George Orwell and ended up comparing himself to Nazi radio, so blatantly obvious that even a radlib on Xitter recognized that [1].
I watched their video on them becoming an anarchist after having been a Marxist-Leninist at some point in the past (“Why I left Anarchism, and then came back”), and one weird point struck me: At 8:14, they talk about Bakunin’s explanation of authority existing in such things as the authority of doctors or cobblers, which seems to justify the “unjustified hierarchy” definition (though they use authority instead of hierarchy in this case), yet at 9:06, they say that anarchists are opposed to all forms of authority and oppression? Umm, you contradicted yourself less than a minute after you imply that anarchists are not against all forms of authority (their attempt to hand-wave the example away as not authority, but as “skill expertise” is faulty).
Oh, they also have the anti-labelist argument of “oh, anarchism is fluid and cannot be pinned down”, which allows for them to wiggle out of clear contradictions with their ideology (like the one mentioned above); anyone who makes such arguments against clearly labeling people while also solidly adhering to one ideology like anarchism should not be taken seriously, because what they mean to say is that “any contradictions in logic that I make are not to be taken seriously”.
The video in general feels meanderous and intentionally vague at times, which really gives an impression of who this person is.
Edit: Also being against Iran is just an absurdity. Their lack of understanding in imperialism really shows because they end up being against Iran despite American victory being the worst possible scenario.
He cant help himself but to keep changing his “ideology,” likely because he has almost no underlying principles. Makes sense for a YouTuber
BadMouse kind of embodies the “we are against all forms of authority but we use the sources of bourgeois authority” problem in anarchism: They are supposedly against authority and forms of oppression, yet seem to ardently pretend like they treat all “authoritarian” countries the same (however, equal treatment of unequal power levels between two things means upholding the more powerful thing: in this case, bourgeois propaganda) while using capitalist propaganda.
How do people reverse course from ML to Ancom or Left-Com? How do you go from an ideology derived from the experiences of real revolution, tested all across the world, to an ideology with no fruits whatsoever?
I hate to say this, but it has to do with them being First-Worlders, right?
for people like this, it’s like choosing a sports team, just a part of their identity
Hello horse! Anarchism is definitely easier to choose as an identity rather than a coherent ideological stance because it is easy to simplify down to one simple principle: Oppose authority. Meanwhile, Marxism-Leninism is not capable of being simplified into such a way, and due to the scientific (and successful) nature of it alongside the large mountain of propaganda against MLism, the ones who become ML tend to be those who have actively questioned their beliefs and the beliefs of others rather than choosing it for aesthetics.
Fun fact: Marx’s name in Chinese is “马克思”, with the first character meaning horse.
hi!
Meanwhile, Marxism-Leninism is not capable of being simplified into such a way, and due to the scientific (and successful) nature of it alongside the large mountain of propaganda against MLism, the ones who become ML tend to be those who have actively questioned their beliefs and the beliefs of others rather than choosing it for aesthetics.
true, but there are a not insignificant number of people who call themselves ML because they like the aesthetic of the USSR etc. without actually engaging properly with theory and/or joining a party, which is what i was talking about
Fun fact: Marx’s name in Chinese is “马克思”, with the first character meaning horse.
that fact is fun :D
And I was not saying that there were no supposed Marxist-Leninists calling themselves such because of aesthetics, but that they are a rarer phenomenon than the equivalent situation for anarchists. Also, I am glad you appreciate that fact!
I cannot see the emote so it just says “stalin-heart” to me.
Are they actually a first-worlder? That would definitely explain their jump to unscientific drivel (the appeal to opportunism and reaction is very strong in the First World).
Are they actually a first-worlder?
Yes. BadMouse is a Brit.
… wow, that is almost as bad as being an American. That definitely explains the jump of anarchism.
