My question would be, why do we want to model supply and demand in the first place? As we see in liberal economics, supply and demand is just used as a justification for pushing deregulation policies. if you want to use the model for other means, the problem is that it’s only useful in markets of perfect competition, which are very rare. perfect competition occurs where there are virtually infinite producers (because the barrier to entry is super low) and the products are identical. i like the example of apples or potatoes in a farmers market. producers have to set the ‘market price’ because otherwise people will buy the other thing that’s the same and cheaper (but then you assume that people don’t have a favourite stall, all the producers haven’t colluded etc etc). most of the time you have a monopoly or oligopoly situation, so supply and demand equilibrium becomes meaningless, because the firms can set any prices they want.

for recommendations, i like unlearning economics I like his debunking of liberal econ (disclaimer that i disagree with his views on market socialism and LTV). check out the ‘death of econ 101’ video for supply and demand stuff. Doughnut Economics which i mentioned is a pretty good debunking of models that advocate for growth and free markets, it’s a light read. it is more focused on sustainability rather than socialism, but i think it’s good at suggesting alternative ways at looking at an economy. for instance as a cycle rather than an intersection of lines (Marx did it first but whatever, i like cool graphs). i would also recommend looking into the field of behavioral economics, since it’s whole purpose is to debunk the liberal claim that people in a market are ‘rational actors’.

i also recommend this course on economics4emancipations website for a brief socialist oriented economics course (not really about debunking though). it has really good readings suggestions as well.

i guess my main point would be just to keep in mind when looking at a model: what does this assume about humans and relations? what is the goal of the person presenting the model? is this model backed up with statistically significant evidence?

sorry for the a bit long reply, it’s my area so i have quite some thoughts on it. would love to answer any more specific questions anytime too

essentially yes. you will can only observe the equilibrium price, and the curves are an abstraction of all the possible interactions of producers and consumers in a competitive market. there are ways of deducing these curves, but they are kinda tautological. also like, the curves were made curves only because it looked like newton’s graphs, which makes them more scientific by association (pic from Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth).

Antonio Gramsci’s work on hegemony could be interesting. These topics are still quite broad, like technology, trends or social media. What information specifically are you looking for? What is your goal?

Changes in supply and demand explain why changes in prices happen (in a perfectly competitive market), not where those prices come from in the first place (see lemmygrabers comment). The issue in liberal economics is applying this model to things that have many more factors (labour, housing). For example saying that minimum wage distorts the market and causes unemployment: Clearly policymakers are attempting to depoliticise a very political issue by appealing to economics as if it is a natural science. So as marxists we should be aware of how economics is used in class struggle to justify certain actions. The minimum wage thing was disproven quite some time ago now, but the issue still persists because the model is seen as some common sense.

I like reading or arts, talking to people about reading and arts.

I agree with your views, I had the same experiences with older communists. Also hoping that the younger gen can turn things around

Yeah I get that. People who consume western media often have skewed views of the world/imperialism (I did too at some point). But I do think that right now it’s easier than ever to point out west’s hypocrisy.

Nope, it’s all pretty bad. I’m waiting for a newer generation to take the lead in CPRF

i read it quite recently too! my copy is like 99% covered in highlighters now ha

Also consider that there may be people (perhaps like yourself) who don’t agree but just don’t speak up.

My thoughts exactly. I don’t think you are going to find people who walk around with a red star pin on campus (I do but im a weirdo), but @SpaceDogs@lemmygrad.ml can definitely find people who are more sympathetic to socialist ideas. I find anti-imperialism to be a very good topic for that for instance. Maybe i’m optimistic about Canada but I’ve met socialists in the most conservative areas of the US, so anything is possible.

So many liberals will say Marxism/leftism is fringe in order to discredit it. I mean that’s how they get you, by making you feel alone and powerless! Don’t buy into that and keep your chin up!!!

What is your criteria for best?

Nolan infamously cannot write women, at all. It’s like he descended from a womanless planet. scary stuff

I dont have any sources on actual collaboration, but I have a couple of articles about how the SPD created the context for nazis to some to power. From this article http://isj.org.uk/divided-they-fell-the-german-left-and-the-rise-of-hitler/

The SPD participated in a governing coalition with bourgeois and conservative parties from 1928 to 1930. From 1930 to 1932 they tolerated the authoritarian, right wing government by decree of Heinrich Brüning as a sort of lesser evil opposed to the Nazis. Brüning’s solution to the economic crisis was austerity and deflation. He savaged the welfare state, raised indirect taxes and pushed down wages. These measures spelled untold suffering for the millions of workers who supported the SPD. Government employees found their wages cut by 25 percent, unmarried adults were forced to pay an additional tax of 10 percent and workers’ pension contributions quadrupled; simultaneously, social spending was reduced by two thirds. Illness increased as more and more people could no longer afford to see a doctor. The SPD, having campaigned on the left but governed on the right, were punished at the polls. Their lack of credibility led them to go from 30 percent of the vote in 1930 to only 18 percent in 1933. The party leadership steadfastly refused to engage in extra-parliamentary mobilisations or workplace struggles to defend workers’ standards of living.

Looks familiar?

SPD was very against KPD during the last election cycle. The three arrows symbology is the perfect example of the SPD’s left anticommunism position:

Heres another article from the perspective of the KPD on why they were against SPD: https://cosmonaut.blog/2019/01/07/fighting-fascism-communist-resistance-to-the-nazis-1928-1933/

Thanks for the deep dive! As you mentioned, it seems that to her, every (perceived) societal change since 1990 is a liberal plot. Quite a few older communists I’ve noticed are like this, I guess 1991 really messed with their heads huh.

Not to sidetrack but speaking of GDR, it wasn’t the most socially progressive place but I think it was moving towards being more accepting? For one they had state sponsored gender affirming surgery, which of course wasn’t the case after the unification. I like this article for its outline of the mindset of GDR on queer issues. The sad part is that most of the efforts started right before 1990. https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/gay-liberation-behind-iron-curtain/

Anyways this is all to say that I wish the European left was more Marxist and had good takes.

I usually put on some soft music in the background. It helps me concentrate on the text and sets my mind to a reading mode

He went on to explain that because of the famine many Ukrainians had their nationalism fuelled and sided with the Nazis.

except that many many many more Ukrainians were fighting on the side of the soviet union.

I tried to explain away my motivations because I am not about to put a target on my back with the school.

don’t you already have a target on your back by writing about donbas and being openly marxist with some professors? i mean to say that you might be more open with your politics than you give yourself credit.

very cool! always glad to see Leslie Feinberg’s writing shared around

is it not allowed to put up posters or flyers? if it’s a notice board then students are usually allowed to use it

I really like her vids. This one is a pretty good distillation of the main points from the book A Decolonial Feminism which I also recommend.