User:Redstar2000

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Note: I have convinced this character to join wikipedia after the quite unexpected appearance of an article on him here. I have done this in order to have a place to temporarily store the article in its expanded form until its fate is decided. He is not very technologically literate (sorry redstar :P), so he will never likely post here or do anything at wikipedia. Thus, I will delete this page if the article is decided to be worthy and he has already told me he doesn't know why he's here and wants his account deleted too later.--Che y Marijuana 08:06, Sep 3, 2004 (UTC)

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Image:Redstars Smoking Skull.gif
Redstar2000's signature smoking skull
Redstar2000's better-known raging smiley
Redstar2000's better-known raging smiley

Redstar2000 is the alias of a controversial Marxist writer well known amongst radical leftist communities on the internet. He has been criticized for his unconventional approach to Marxism and his virulent rejection of the Leninist trends in the Marxist movement.

Redstar takes a position that is considered both interesting and confusing by many, that Marxism and Anarchism are on an inevitable course towards convergeance. His thinking and observation of historical events has led him to believe that the state has no role as the 'transitional worker's state' toward communism. It is a view he defends with a body of collective experience that he claims proves State-Socialism has run its course. His opponents view this as un-Marxist and a denial of Leninist experience not grounded in reality. He has been dismissed by many as "utopian".

Contents

[edit] History

Born in 1942, Redstar2000 was a member of the Students for a Democratic Society for a large period of time, and saw its demise and concluding split in 1969. Experiences such as this, as well as meetings with Che Guevara and Fidel Castro while with a group of students in Cuba in 1964, give weight to his writings amongst those who share his ideas. He is not without his detractors however, and often finds himself at odds with many people including established and experienced activists.

[edit] Theories

A simple general explanation for most of his stances is a "no compromise" position on all aspects of Capitalist society: the state, capital and religion.

He believes in a communist society built without a state in federated collectives heavily relying on the internet for cooperative voluntary organization. Offenders and people who attempt to re-establish class society would be "voted out" by the majority, or in minor cases, simply "cut-off" from the supply of goods provided by the community.

His major contributions to the realm of ideas have been to this developing trend of Anarcho-Marxism. It is a trend that has not been present amongst the radical left in a coherent form for a long time, though Libertarian Marxism takes similar positions on many issues as Anarchism.

Many Leninists and less Libertarian Marxists consider this unrealistic, as they counter that without an established leadership, no such society could last. Coordination between collectives would become very difficult and the inevitable conflicts that would arise would be difficult to overcome without hierarchy and defined leadership.

On the economy, he believes in democratic worker's control in the workplaces and a gift economy heavily grounded in smart card technology and the internet for statistical data. He believes with such smart-cards, it is possible to see and control trends in the consumption and production habits of the general population without the need for rigid quotas that stifle individuality.

For many, this system of computer-enforced economic organization is easily corruptable and unreliable. It is precisely his belief in the development of technology to a sufficient level to achieve this that leads to the criticism that he is Utopian and un-Marxist.

As for religion, he believes that in an Anarcho-Communist revolution, as in the Spanish Civil War, the people will turn against religion as the guardian of the status-quo. He encourages the idea that churches, mosques, synagogues and all other denominational structures should either be turned into museums in the case of historically or artistically significant locations, or converted into public places of gathering for other purposes by the removal of all symbols of religious bearing. He also believes that preaching publically or attempting to indoctrinate children should be punished by the community, especially in the case of parental indoctrination.

These ideas on religion are some of his most controversial in the eyes of more moderate leftists as well as supporters of Capitalism, who see a contradiction between his beliefs on the state and his views on religion, often considered extremist and reminiscent of "mob-rule".

[edit] Criticism

He has been criticized by a range of groups amongst the left for his "heavy-handed theoretical approach" and "dogmatism". Many believe him to be "egotistical" and "self-centered" and many on the right consider him stuck in an "outdated mode of thinking". "Moderate leftists" disagree with his analyses and rejection of electoral politics and religion, while proponents of the Leninist paradigm dismiss him as an "Anarchist" using his experience and respect amongst the leftist community to spread ideas they deem "un-Marxist" and "idealistic". Many others considered him a true "armchair" revolutionary, since it seemed most of his real time with actual real politics was spent debating online rather than having any practical worth.

[edit] Web Contributions

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)
  • His website, The Redstar2000 Papers, was started in 2003 after requests from many youth to document and collect his thoughts.
  • A regular poster and official administrator of the online Revolutionary Left Community, with a membership of over 11,000.
  • A contributor to the RCP's Another World Is Possible boards (Revolutionary Communist Party (USA)). He was a moderator until September 2004 when his critical views of the RCP and Bob Avakian led to his resignation after a former RCP member's questions were repeatedly deleted by other moderators.
  • Criticized by the Maoist Internationalist Movement for rejecting all forms of State Socialism.
  • Criticized again by the Maoist Internationalist Movement for being an "idealist" and saying 'what if'.

[edit] External Links