The website seems to have a big problem with trying to at least show the link of the video (please search on Youtube for “David GRAEBER: We are already communists”). Which is unfortunate because it does kind of explain in directly what communism is about (in short, its not what you think)
Jonathan856:
... but the danger with that is communist control.
State power is not communism. In fact communism, as a theoretical concept, has nothing to do with goverment per se. This can be easily illustarted by the existence of anarchocommunism, again as a theoretical concept (which brings the question, if communism is about state ownership and anarchism is about abolishing permanent relationships of unequal power, the state being the biggest example of this, then what could an anarcho-communist system possibly be? A state, which has been abolished, to own the means of production? Of course thats not what it is!)
There is an understandable reason why people confuse communism to mean, favoring state power over private power, and that has mostly to do with the cold war. In the context of which, the 2 largest propaganda machines in the world (that of the United States and that of the Soviet Union) were trying to portray the USSR as a communist country for oposite reasons. And then, of course people would use that word in order to identify countries with similar countries. I think this meaning of the word should be discarded, since not only it is not particularly useful, but its actually discouraging people from exploring what this seemingly scary thing is about. In fact, there are videos on Youtube where some communists in discuise go around in a Trump rally and ask Trump supporters if they agree with a number of points, without telling them that these are communist points (which they were!). The irony is that most people there agreed with it! Thats to illustrate the confusion around this topic.
Mind you, im an anarcho-communist myself, im familiar with all that.
Anyways, i wanted to say a few things about your points which i find interesting.
You say you want to plant stuff. I assume you live in a house in the typical american suburbia, do correct me if im wrong. This means you propably have a fair amount of ground-room in your property. But furthermore, your Neighbors propably also do! I would encourage you then to try your best to organized them all in some sort of community and turn whoever-is-ins' gardens into farms of all short.
If i were in your position i would love to do this kind of thing. Unfortunately though i live with my parents, and although we have a balcony, they refuse to do anything good with it. Its just emtpy..
If you can do this, it might be a good idea to get a bicycle (and modify it so it can carry some stuff, a basket on the front, maybe two baskets left and right of the back weel). If the roads are safe enough, and the distances you usually go, within reach, you will save, possibly a thousand dolars a year! The negative side of this is that in order for it to work, it requires a level of fitness that might make you struggle at first, but with exercise you will overcome it fairly quickly!
And i mostly agree with you, that the goverment isnt really the answer. Although for seperate reasons, propably.
I think the causes you listed in your reply do boil down to the corporations' profit motif and the general dependence on markets to which the population is subject.
I would like to drive one of your points further too! We all have some power. And if this power is combined into collective power, miracles can happen! A lot of grassroots organizations exist already, although it might be extremely hard to find them if you start from skratch. Usually they can be found through ansrchist cycles. If you connect with some local ones, they will definetely be a great boost to your efforts.
Lastly i want to mention permaculture. It is extremely useful when it comes to anything like farming and gardening, and everything in between! There is a large Youtube channel about permaculture called “Andrew Millison”, i strongly recomend to you, and anyone else who is interested in gardening and/or self-sufficiency! 🙂
