Not really.

The fundamental critique of capitalism is that not even the capitalists are really in charge. Marx lays out quite thoroughly in Capital that the profit motive is what’s actually in charge, and the capitalists are just along for the ride, and that any attempt by the capitalists to flex their power in a way that the market cannot abide will result in them losing their privileged status and being replaced by a different capitalist who will better serve the needs of the profit motive.

By contrast, socialist systems are run by people. That makes them flexible and able to serve the needs of society in a way that capitalist societies simply aren’t. And yes, people are capable of mistakes, failure, and betrayal; but so too are they capable of insight, success, and solidarity. The best of existing socialist societies past and present is when they buck the demands of the market and provide for their people in ways that capitalist societies don’t, and the worst of socialist societies is invariably the things that they are required to do in order to maintain their existence on a predominantly capitalist world.

The worst things that happen are when students lock the door to a building, or when fascist counter protestors (often in police uniforms) show up and escalate shit.

Americans live in one of the police states of all time. Capitalism can only produce this result, there is no alternative, because the ruling class knows just as well as the socialists do that the contradictions will only keep getting worse and the protests will only keep getting bigger but of course instead of wanting to change the equation to produce a different result like the socialists do the capitalists want to cling to power by any means necessary.

And then setting the car they’re sitting in on fire.

Your characters walk into a magic shop, but instead of buying magic items the shopkeeper offers to sell them scrolls of ownership. “There are infinite number of these scrolls,” he explains, “but they all use a decentralized mechanism to determine ownership!”

“Okay, I’ll buy one. Now where’s my +1 sword?” The fighter asks.

“The scrolls say that you own it” the shopkeeper unhelpfully reiterates. “And every other scroll will be updated to agree that you own it.”

I like this because then you can say that a non-worthy person can wield the hammer, if they’re stronger than Odin and can beat the enchantment. Magneto is probably on that level.

The trope probably goes back further than that, but yes.

The one I remember is the one where the kid gets chiffed that his manager at the general store told off some girls for wearing swimwear in the store and quits his job.

Those are the rules when you’re occupied by a foreign military. Imagine if Russia had control over all of Ukraine - people in occupied Kyiv would be justified in attacking Russia, but Russia would not be justified in retaliating against the Ukrainians.

If Israel wants to make it so that the Palestinians don’t have every right to retaliate against them, they would have to end the occupation, the blockade, the settlements, etc.

I think they assumed that Israel wouldn’t be so bloodthirsty as to put the hostages at risk, which would give them a bargaining position so that once they weathered the initial retaliation they would be able to get concessions such as allowing Palestinians to leave Gaza, ending the blockade of Gaza’s ports, ending Israeli control of Gazan water sources, etc.

But as we’ve all learned since then the IDF has an explicit policy to kill Israeli civilians if it looks like they’re about to be captured, and Israel’s political leadership simply aren’t put off by the possibility of killing every single remaining hostage in their campaign to flatten Gaza.

Like all things it’s a spectrum. This conflict has been about 1% a war between Hamas and the IDF, and 99% the IDF indiscriminately killing civilians.

Israel is an occupying/besieging force and Hamas’ attack against them was justified morally, ethically, and under international law. Israel’s retaliation against the entire population of Gaza is completely unjustified, and completely illegal.

The SPD was joining with the right to crush workers’ movements long before the election of 1933. If the KPD had joined with them in a coalition it would have represented the KPD abandoning the German workers, and events from then on would have played out largely the same because the Social Democrats enthusiastically went after the Communists along with the Nazis, and it was once the Communists were taken out that the Nazis turned their ire towards the Social Democrats.

The only ways Wiemar Germany turns out different is if a) the SPD joins, rather than represses, the Spartacist Uprising, or b) the KPD manages to take control before being destroyed. It isn’t about being perfect, it’s about preventing the forces of reaction from having a foothold in the movement.

After Adolf Hitler gained power in 1933

WHO GAVE HITLER POWER MOTHER FUCKER?

Nobody in history has been more vindicated than Ernst motherfucking Thälmann. A vote for a Social Democrat is a vote for fascism now just as it was then - and the Democrats aren’t even that!

I think it depends on your legal system. Appointed judges that can overturn legislation are a problem, but if the judges don’t have that power and all they’re doing is running a courtroom then a judge representative of the community would be an asset.

My parents have “the new minivan” and “the old minivan,” I guess that’s what happens when you adopt four kids and two dogs.

Trump only looked good in the first debate because of who he was standing next to. It really shouldn’t be surprising that he acted the same way he always has, but a bit slower than four/eight years ago.

clay that was fired after impression

New record format just dropped.

Yes, but we’re taught that those democracies don’t count because they’re non white.

attempt to eat triangle sandwich

die of blood loss because mouth can’t be stitched back together