Straight forward question. Been trying to gauge the man’s politics and I think he leans more toward being an anti-colonial nationalist rather than an outright socialist. Still based and deserving of critical support, but maybe not the next Thomas Sankara; not that he needs to be, but it’d be cooler if he was.
Oh joy another westerner purity testing a anti-imperialist revolution.
I haven’t once heard him talk about culture, ethnicity or homeland. Those are the hallmarks of nationalism. I’ve heard him go on dialectical historical rants to explain things.
People in Burkina Faso call him the next Sankara and they would know.
You are right of course, but let’s not be uncharitable here. I think it’s a fair question to ask and it opens up the opportunity to learn. I always appreciate posts like this because they offer a chance to really delve into what is really important from a socialist and anti-imperialist perspective and help newer comrades understand what rhetorical traps not to fall into.
A 2 day old account who’s only post or even comment is to criticize a revolutionary government? yeah I’m going to be uncharitable.
I see what you mean. Yes, it’s good to be careful with new accounts that display suspicious behavior, but we also have to try and balance that out with still being reasonably welcoming and open to newcomers and “baby leftists”. Everyone has to start somewhere.
I thought that this post was not necessarily so much criticizing as asking a legitimate question. This “X anti-imperialist leader/government is not actually socialist, just nationalist” is a talking point that is often heard in western leftist circles, particularly those of the ultra-left variety. And it’s to be expected that some of the newer comrades who come here have heard these sorts of criticisms, they don’t quite know what to make of them, and are really looking to understand if these criticisms are legitimate and how to respond to them.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, for me the most important thing is that a person is coming into this space with humility and genuine intention to learn rather than preach. Then i am much more inclined to be forgiving toward misconceptions and a lack of knowledge.
Maybe i’m being too charitable, maybe i’m wrong and this person is not engaging in good faith. Time will tell. For now it can’t hurt to give an honest response.
Keep up the good work. I don’t think shutting people up is a good thing, and even reinforces a common trope of authoritarian communists who can’t engage against criticism, especially from people coming from other circles (liberals, demsocs). I think we should only curb this kind of behavior if we see a lot of activity of the same kind of questions and comments, in a way that undermines the main purpose of this community.
I’m not “purity testing”; it was an honest question because I couldn’t pin where he was at politically.
There is an important distinction between Left-wing Nationalism (which is progressive & anti-colonial) and Right-wing Nationalism (which is reactionary & chauvinistic). The two are distinct practices which use differing language and have differing goals. Left-wing Nationalists don’t talk about culture, ethnicity, or homeland - they talk about anti-imperialism & anti-colonialism. They are often socialists but this isn’t always the case and even if they aren’t socialists outright they still deserve critical support in their struggles against imperialism/colonialism.
I’m not looking for a reason to condemn Traoré nor a reason to support him. I already know his cause is righteous and deserves support, I just wanted to know how far along the Left path he was. There’s no need for snark, comrade.