I thought they would be all for boycotts because it would attack the capital assets of the bourgeois. But I was told that boycotts hurt the small people “so don’t do them” without suggesting other actions unironically even when they’re complicit in crimes. Why not direct your money to supporting smaller businesses so they can poach the workers with better pay and working conditions when the corporations fire them due to there being less revenue in that quarter. We can break apart corporations such as Loblaws or Nestle if we stopped buying their products even in situations where they’re have the regulatory capture as the source of their moneymaking scheme would be completely cut off. It will become less and less excusable in the public’s eyes that the governments of the world are subsiding and allowing price gauging to go unchecked. They will pay a massive political price and will be quickly on the way out alongside the corporation.
Tankies aren’t about communism, they’re about authoritarianism. Boycotting is collective action against authority, and thus inherently antithetical to tankie ideology.
Taking tankies out of the picture, in cases of union actions, you should follow their lead on boycotts. Sometimes, a boycott causes the business to say “sorry, we’re losing money now and couldn’t possibly raise wages”.
Before a strike takes place, a union may or may not call for a boycott. Let them make that call.
Tankies are against good things, because good things make the world more pleasant, and if the world becomes more pleasant then the people are less likely to want to destroy it.
How do I switch instances?
Sounds to me like you had an argument that didn’t go great and you’re taking it here instead.
If you want a ML perspective, ask MLs. You’re on lemmy.world so here I, a wandering anarchist, turned up. I’m just an Egoist, anti-civilization post-leftist. We don’t speak for each other. But I can say this:
Boycotting should really be thought of as more like background activism. Don’t spend your money at evil businesses, sure, got it. …but everyone’s evil, more or less, and we’re all broke, so… yeah imma shop at Walmart if I got to.
Your one single alternative was “shop at small businesses” as if global hegemony, late stage capitalism, the internet, etc aren’t all huge complex problems. You said Nestlé? You think you can boycott Nestlé effectively? Do you have any idea how many different businesses that means? And do you honestly expect the average working person to care enough to try to learn them??
You can’t break apart corporations by boycotting them. You break them up by intervening with the State when they’re too big to ignore.
These companies are FAR too resilient to crumble to grassroots boycotting.
Idk man I mean have you thought about this even at all
Ahh here it is the one trying to protect capital at all costs while discouraging one form of activism.
You can’t break apart corporations by boycotting them. You break them up by intervening with the State when they’re too big to ignore.
Are you really an anarchist when you’re asking for state intervention.
You said Nestle? You think you can boycott Nestlé effectively? Do you have any idea how many different businesses that means? And do you honestly expect the average working person to care enough to try to learn them??
Nice strawman there buddy. Keep yelling at the rooftops that opposing Nestle is pointless to protect their assets. There’s plenty of small independent companies you buy products from instead.
…but everyone’s evil, more or less, and we’re all broke, so… yeah imma shop at Walmart if I got to.
Are you really arguing the “all sides are equally bad” as Walmart the one who does balant unionbusting and seriously calling me the one who didn’t think much about the topic.
Walmart is not the only cheap place (before they raise the prices after driving out the game in town) you can shop at farmer’s markets, ethnic stores, Aldi, Costco…
Your initial question was valid but this response is naive and arrogant.
Hate to break it to you, but you don’t have that much power.
By all means boycott Nestle, everything you buy from someone else is a few bucks they won’t get, but they won’t care.
Even if you count ALL the people who hate Nestle AND know what brands they own, it’s not enough to end them.
Yes, every little bit helps and nobody is telling you not to boycott, but in reality, these things are rarely if EVER big and organized enough to amount to any more than a negligible drop in revenue.
There’s that defeatist mindset that won’t achieve anything. Nestle is nothing without the workers, customers and suppliers. We can inform more people about the scandals of nestle and of the alternatives.
And I fully support that. Keep fighting the good fight!
I’m just telling you why you might not get the excitement you’re looking for the next time you suggest a boycott.
They will boycott anything that isn’t run by a white dude…
