I feel like I understand communist theory pretty well at a basic level, and I believe in it, but I just don’t see what part of it requires belief in an objective world of matter. I don’t believe in matter and I’m still a communist. And it seems that in the 21st century most people believe in materialism but not communism. What part of “people should have access to the stuff they need to live” requires believing that such stuff is real? After all, there are nonmaterial industries and they still need communism. Workers in the music industry are producing something that nearly everyone can agree only exists in our heads. And they’re still exploited by capital, despite musical instruments being relatively cheap these days, because capital owns the system of distribution networks and access to consumers that is the means of profitability for music. Spotify isn’t material, it’s a computer program. It’s information. It’s a thoughtform. Yet it’s still a means of production that ought to be seized for the liberation of the musician worker. What does materialism have to do with any of this?
I’m really curious how you would explain the emergence of vegetarians and vegans who were not raised to be one in your belief system.
For instance, my partner and I were never exposed to anyone not a meat-eater till we were adults, yet we came to the belief that eating animals is wrong and now eat a predominantly vegan diet without that decision coming from social pressure.
isn’t a fundamental change to one’s habits or traits
I’d really like an example then of the sort of changes you are talking about. To be clear, my partner and I didn’t just start “buying vegan options at restaurants” but have fundamentally switched behaviors to eating more simply and at home vs a largely take-out lifestyle. The Covid lockdown was very conducive to making the switch, but it has been a large change in behavior, not just buying patterns.
