10 Word/Concepts that are Completely Misunderstood in the U.S.

 Mass confusion has always been and continues to be a primary weapon utilized by the capitalist system to ensure the necessary interference and distraction is always prevalent to keep people focused on any and everything except the corruption and oppression coming from that system.  A fundamental example that illustrates how common and normalized confusion is in this society is how little people are encouraged and/or required to study and present comprehensive analysis to support their opinions.  Instead, any half-backed theory with absolutely no prepared analysis is acceptable because truth and justice have absolutely no connection to material reality within the capitalist system.  In other words, according to capitalism, its perfectly fine for you to claim one plus one equals 40 because doing so is “your truth” and no one in this individualistic driven society has the right to invade upon “your truth.” 
To demonstrate the foolishness of this thinking, we will showcase 10 words/concepts here that are commonly spoken about in this society and we challenge those reading to think through what level of unquestionable understanding you have regarding these words/concepts.  What we already know is most people, as high as 85 to 90% of those reading, will truly have no concrete analysis to accompany not even 50% of these 10 words/concepts.  What this “experiment” should clearly reveal to us is how much work needs to be done because no human progress has ever existed when ignorance and arrogance are the foundation from which a society permits itself to function.

1.  Capitalism

Regarding defining the dominant economic system in the entire world today, most people if asked could not provide even a plausible definition of what capitalism is, where it started, how it started, and how its mechanisms manifest themselves on a day to day basis today.  This is true for even the most rudimentary elements of capitalist operations i.e. what drives pricing for products in this society or how trade is managed internationally.

1. Imperialism

Vladamir Lenin, a leader of the Bolshevick uprising in Russia in 1917, called imperialism the highest manifestation of capitalism in his classic book “Imperialism.”  Capitalist economies like the U.S., Canada, Europe, Israel, etc., are dependent upon imperialism to maintain their wealth and control internationally.  In other words, without imperialism, the U.S. would not have the wealth it boosts today, yet most people within capitalist countries would struggle to explain what and how imperialism operates, what its relationship is to people’s day to day lives within capitalist countries and exploited countries, and what life would look like in capitalist countries once imperialism is eradicated.

1. Fascism

This term is being bandied about constantly in the capitalist media.  There is so much confusion around it that the surreal reality exists today where people are calling anti-fascist activists = ANTIFA (which is exactly what ANTIFA means – anti-fascist) terrorists, while the white supremacists attempting to discredit ANTIFA are openly wearing clear fascist messaging celebrating the holocaust and parading around with swastikas and confederate flags, the poster child examples of fascism.  Meanwhile, most of the people throwing the term fascism around couldn’t tell you what it means.  Even the most well meaning folks are using the U.S.’s role in entering World War II in 1941 (after the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii – 8 years after Hitler first started instituting fascist policies throughout Europe) as anti-fascism.  How could that be true when the U.S. during the 1940s was and is today a fascist society.  During the time of that war, millions of Africans in the U.S. were subjected to racist Jim Crow segregation laws in the U.S., the epitome of fascism.  Indigenous people were subjected to being forced on reservations, an equal epitome of fascism.  Yet, there is so much confusion about this word/concept that most people see absolutely no contradiction with this type of paradox of analysis existing and thriving throughout the discourse in this society.

1. White Supremacy

Despite repeated efforts by forces everywhere to properly define white supremacy as an institutional system of oppression, this term/concept as well as other derivatives like institutional racism, etc., are commonly thought to be defined by individualistic and unscientific interpretations.  For example, its very easy to find people who will tell you with a straight face that it is not possible for a European (white) person who is clearly subscribed to racist ideology to be racist because they have a partner from a colonized community.  This thinking is as absurd as my saying it would be impossible for me to abuse and oppress women because my mother and daughter are women.

1. Patriarchy

Further from the last example, patriarchy is so commonly misunderstood that its difficult to find people who have the political understanding to separate patriarchy as a form of institutional oppression from traditional cultural practices.  For example, many African people are confused and believe practices like polygamy, forced marriage, the inability of women identifying people to divorce, etc., are traditional African cultural practices when in reality these practices are manifestations of the institutionalization of patriarchy as a dominant practice under the development of feudalism during that systems period of economic dominance.

1. Scientific Socialism

Being the antithesis of capitalism, socialism is possibly the most widely repeated, yet most commonly misunderstood, term in the English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and all of the colonial languages that dominate communication today.  You don’t have to go far to find people who will tell you confidently that capitalist countries in Europe or Canada are socialist countries because those societies have social welfare programs brought upon because of the people in those societies pushing for socialist policies, even when those people don’t know it and consider themselves opposed to socialism.  An example in the U.S. is people who would commit insurrection if their postal service was eliminated or if their government healthcare was stopped while at the same time, those people will die on the cross in their denouncing of socialism.  No where within this confusion is there any requirement for people to at least identify the characteristics of the implementation of scientific socialism principles and practices.  Its as if its perfectly acceptable for anyone to give themselves a label and/or anyone to pin a label on anyone and anything.  As a result, its now acceptable for that label to become defined solely based upon what that entity tagged with the label is doing regardless of whatever objective criteria exists to define what that label actually should mean.  As incredible as this is, the basic history of economics in the world is virtually unknown and most people believe, in error, that capitalism has always been here and it will always be here.
 

1. Organization and Mobilization

Most people, even those who consider themselves actively involved in activist work, cannot provide even a workable analysis of the difference between these two approaches.  In fact, many people don’t even understand that there is a distinct difference between the two concepts.  Anyone who thinks there is no difference or that the difference isn’t significant, is without question operating without a clear focus and we guarantee you that as a result, the efforts those folks make to engage oppression are consistently going to be met with frustration, confusion, and a further lack of productivity.

1. Revolution

I can never stop chuckling when I remember one of my very favorite rollercoasters located at the amusement park close to where I grew up in San Francisco.  That rollercoaster was named “the Revolution” and what was intriguing to me about the title was the operation of that rollercoaster was to use high speeds to send the coaster circling up and down, multiple times.  In other words, the motion of that ride went nowhere, symbolizing going in circles and standing still.  Of course, the basis is the concept of revolutions which means a circular motion that generates speed based on circling over and over at an increased momentum.  Clearly, that scientific definition of “revolutions” has absolutely nothing to do with the correct definition of mass and organized efforts by humanity to replace one political, economic, and social order with another one, the actual political definition of revolution.  Yet, most people you encounter, if you simply ask them, a clear understanding and definition of revolution will be something that escapes you in frustrating fashion.

1. Anarchism

Another word/concept that is thrown around constantly.  And, the sad truth about this term/concept is the majority of people’s understanding of it is based not on anything analytical, but how they understand the fictional television show about the motorcycle gang and similar focuses on people existing in a reality where there is no organization.  In truth, this is the opposite of what anarchism actually means, but good luck finding people who can provide you a comprehensive definition of it, including many of the people who claim this term/concept as an ideology and lifestyle.

1. Nationalism

This term/concept is adversely impacted by white supremacy where the entire perspective of the world is defined through the experiences of Europe and its descendants.  Since nationalism in Europe has been defined by hegemony and oppressive dominance like that of the Third Reich in Germany, this has become the working definition of nationalism despite the fact born out through Sekou Ture’s analysis that the histories of Europe and Africa, the Western Hemisphere, etc., are uniquely different and complex.  Nothing is totally bad and nothing is totally good.  A more balanced and correct analysis is that everything has good and bad and what’s in question is what degree of dominance each phenomenon brings to the table.  Despite this being unquestionably true, and nationalism being a legitimate tool for colonized communities (something that even Lenin acknowledged in “Imperialism”), most people today could not decern the difference between the narrow chauvinistic and reactionary nationalism of white supremacy with the anti-colonial liberating nationalism of Africa, Asia, and Central and South America and the Caribbean.
 
I would jump up and do flips if anything stated in this piece could be proven inaccurate because doing so would mean we are much farther along on these critical topics/concepts than we actually are, but I know better.  If anything, the ignorance around these questions is understated in this piece.  And, although we only included 10 examples, we could easily include another 10, another 100.  Another 500, etc.  The solution to this is the institution of organized political education.  That means us moving away from the criteria for analysis being having internet access, a keyboard, and a subjective opinion, to where it should be; engaging in constant study of the history and conditions that impact us and working with each other to learn how to use that history to properly interpret those conditions so that we can work together to effectively make the necessary changes.  As Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) was fond of saying, “if you are sick, you take medicine.  Why when you are ignorant don’t you read a book?”  We would add why not read a book with others in a consistent and ongoing basis?  We assure you that if you do so, the rest will slowly, yet surely, begin to take care of itself.