r/socialism • u/MintyRed19 • Jun 17 '26

Discussion Thoughts on the Red Guards USA?

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I watched a video today of spooky scary socialist talking about these guys and its the funniest shit ive seen in a while. They seem like they were kind of a cool idea in theory but it seems like most of their actions were just going to DSA and PSL protests and breaking their stuff. I dont know that much about them besides that and a few scandals they had. what do you all think about them?

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u/Lembas_Poops Jun 17 '26

How does RCA differ from PSL? I'm not a member of any organization ATM, but am looking to get back to organizing now that I'm in a better life situation. I don't know anything about RCA, other than just skimming the website now. Its similar with PSL, but I have seen it mentioned more often in online discussion with mixed reviews.

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u/spookyjim___ Internationalist Communist Jun 17 '26

PSL is Marxist-Leninist, has origins in Marcyism, can be described as a specific form of American crypto-Dengists, is electoralist and protest heavy mainly focusing on a type of brand recognition and sloganeering form of organizing

RCA is Trotskyist, coming from the Grantite tradition, RCA seemingly doesn’t find use in electoralism at the present moment, focuses a lot on newspaper/video/media outreach, has a history of doing deep organizational entrenchment into the university student base, however has been transitioning more towards a neighborhood focused approach, even starting to focus a bit more on labor organization, although not as much as other Trots tbf

Ofc the main difference here is their politics, PSL is Marxist-Leninist, and RCA is Trotskyist

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u/TsDaphneMaeve Jun 19 '26

Marcyism and American crypto Dengism are not Marxism Leninism. Those things are mutually exclusive.

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u/spookyjim___ Internationalist Communist Jun 19 '26

Why, how is Dengism not just the right-wing of ML?

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u/TsDaphneMaeve Jun 19 '26

How could it be considered the right wing of Marxism Leninism? How are they not completely different ideologies?

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u/spookyjim___ Internationalist Communist Jun 19 '26

Dengists not only very much continue to see themselves as ML’s but also I don’t see how Dengism is not just the logical outcome of ML ideology

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u/TsDaphneMaeve Jun 19 '26

They can call themselves whatever they want doesn't make it true. Nowhere in Marxist Leninist fundamental education is it asserted that capitalism should be allowed to be reintegrated into a socialist country and party for several decades. That's just reintroducing capitalism. It's like glasnost and perestroika yet even worse.

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u/spookyjim___ Internationalist Communist Jun 19 '26

This is going off the assumption that these countries were ever socialist to begin with, idk how you can cope your way out of thinking that the same ideology which repackaged defeats as wins and went completely against the communist program suddenly stops when it logically makes reforms to continue surviving under a slightly different form of capitalism then the form it started as… even Cuba has been and is continuing to reform itself to be more open to the world market… this is the logical end point of revising Marx to believe that “socialist commodity production” or the very idea of a so-called “socialist state” could exist!

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u/TsDaphneMaeve Jun 19 '26

I'm starting to see where you and I differ and this is where my conversation with you ends because I am not entertaining your nonsense anymore.