“One of the problems with traditional anti-capitalist thought is that it defines capitalism as a totality, which encourages us to imagine another totality, socialism, which we can try to replace it with. This totalizing perspective has colonized the imagination of anti-capitalism and left us waiting for a revolution we can never have.” TryingProblemLeftWaitingImaginationImagineRevolutionPerspectiveCapitalismSocialismTraditionalCapitalistTotality Author:Cynthia Kauffman
“In Marxism there are some very unhelpful ideas about the need to push for a revolution that will overturn all of society. Marx gets that from Hegel, and it leads to some very bad politics, such as the hope that things must get worse because that will then turn into the antithesis and get better from there. A kind of wishful thinking then grows out of not seeing a realistic path forward.” ThinkingNeedsKindIdeasTurnsGrowsPathSeeingRevolutionGet BetterRealisticMarxismWishful ThinkingAntithesisHegelBad Politics Author:Cynthia Kauffman
“There is a cultural norm on the left of being afraid to declare victory, which is related to the binary of reform/revolution. Whereas reformists are winning small gains, revolutionaries don't want people to be satisfied with those small victories because they worry this will lead to acceptance of the bigger picture of capitalism domination, and so they find a way to turn every victory into a defeat. In the book, I call for a culture of declaring victory wherever we can.” PeopleWayWantBookTurnsCultureWinningLeftWorryAcceptanceRevolutionVictoryCapitalismGainsBiggerDefeatSatisfiedReformRevolutionaryRelatedNormDominationBeing AfraidDeclaringBinaryBigger PictureSmall Victories Author:Cynthia Kauffman