Re: [marxmail] Mamdani-Trump meeting

[Travis Reid via groups.io]

I wonder how Mamdani could accomplish what he needs to accomplish occupying one office in one city without any support from political leaders in higher offices who hold the purse strings.  Just getting the tax money for his agenda will be a huge challenge.  In my view, he’s trying to show that Democratic Socialists can get things done.  If he doesn’t do that, he risks alienating the American electorate, who realistically cares little about socialism or Marxism and will drop us if he fails to deliver.  At some point, American socialists either need to take action or throw in the towel, and our youth is taking action right now, even if a complete revolution never comes.  Even if they fail altogether.  We Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers have spent too much time talking while the capitalist system hums along.  I don’t want to die without seeing concrete accomplishments being made in favor of the American working class.  Mamdani is seeking change by bending the system to his priorities, and he will likely succeed.  It may not topple the entire system, but it will show what a truly democratic approach to change looks like. On Nov 21, 2025, at 21:32, Marv Gandall via groups.io <marvgand2=gmail....@groups.io> wrote:  If socialists seek to govern at any level under capitalism, they quickly learn, if they hadn’t already, that it's only possible to win such reforms as the ruling class is willing to concede.  Mamdani and most of his DSA base almost certainly understand this, and that the masses only turn to revolution in extraordinary circumstances of social collapse.   I believe his meeting with Trump had a dual aim: 1) To simultaneously consolidate and leverage the support he received from pro-Trump voters in NYC and 2) To publicly signal his readiness to compromise with the bourgeoisie in order to obtain continued essential funding from the federal and state governments and the cooperation of Wall Street. He likely made progress in both without grovelling to Trump as more powerful politicians have done. Mamdani was uncharacteristically stony-faced and Trump was unusually conciliatory to the man he had before today labelled a “lunatic Communist".     Anarchists have abstained from electoral politics because it has always involved compromise and does not fundamentally alter the status quo and arguably reinforces it. Revolutionary Marxists who encourage and join reform movements have historically been divided over strategy - specifically over when it becomes productive rather than sectarian to aggressively confront and agitate for the replacement of a popular leader like Mamdani. His meeting with Trump today may begin that debate.  _._,_._,_ Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#39414) | Reply to Group | Reply to Sender | Mute This Topic | New Topic POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. Your Subscription | Contact Group Owner | Unsubscribe [arch...@mail-archive.com] _._,_._,_