I wrote this in 2019 and revisited it recently. Its relevance remains striking, particularly given the heightened contradictions evident today, notably with the enactment of the foreign influence law and the extensive protests that engulfed Georgia for two months. These dynamics extend beyond the local context and hold true for broader post-socialist countries, where divisions along nationalist-conservative and nationalist-EU lines are becoming increasingly evident.
Post-communist countries have awakened to capitalism as an alien, all-powerful and unassailable force. They don’t know it’s capitalism. The stagnation in the development of genuine political and social movements aimed at overthrowing capitalism can indeed be attributed, in part, to the propagation of false ideologies. These ideologies, whether intentionally or unintentionally spread, serve to mislabel and obscure the true sources of societal discontent and inequality.
Either they disseminate the lie those post-communist countries are culturally backward and weren’t able to implement “true” capitalism a la Europe and the US, or the poor results come from Russian influence and intervention. Hence the petty bourgeoie designated itself as the “whip” seeking to mold the rest of the population into conforming to European norms and values as a prerequisite for "properly" practicing capitalism. This process extends beyond mere economic restructuring to include cultural assimilation, with European capitalism idealized as the pinnacle of societal success. Moreover, they receive implicit approval from Europe, which equates being European with animosity towards Russia and China. In the early 2000s, there was a wave that integrated anti-communism into European identity, prompting the petty bourgeoisie to prioritize initiatives like erecting museums and implementing bans on communism. However, their focus has since shifted towards Russia and China in addition to anti-communism. Consequently, part of their approach involves fostering fervent anti-"Eastern" sentiments among the populace, further solidifying their commitment to European ideals and their own place within the capitalist hierarchy.
While conservatives have added a variation that faults all problems associated with capitalism on the spiritual degradation associated with perceived anti-family European agenda like gay rights and feminism of liberal democracy. With no alternative socio-economic model to capitalism, conservatives concentrate on lessening its adverse impacts by strengthening traditional institutions such as the church and family. They aspire to cultivate a community that upholds their values by curtailing the influence of perceived outsiders (e.g. gays) and fortifying their cultural norms and codes. This functions as spiritual departure from capitalism, where individuals engage in capitalist practices while maintaining a belief in a Christian community.
These false ideologies serve to obscure the true nature of capitalism and hinder efforts to mobilize meaningful socialist resistance against it. By misdirecting public discourse and perpetuating misconceptions, they contribute to the preservation of the existing power structures and inhibit the emergence of genuine alternatives.
Despite their inane and reactionary solutions, the more conscious elements of the population turned out to be the conservatives since they recognize that it is the West that is somehow to blame, unlike the liberals who keep pouring gasoline on an already burning house thinking it will save their home - everything Western is a priori good! But then again, liberals don’t need a home, they are most comfortable as tourists in Europe.
Luckily there are others who have recognized capitalism as the social relation that is turning everything sacred into profane, but they don’t have a solution, and often end up doing the liberals work for them. They couldn’t possibly be associated with bigots and homophobes (that’s cultural suicide), so they turn to working with the lesser of the two evils, social and economic apartheidists - liberals. The left often operates within the cultural hegemonic framework established by liberalism. Despite ideological differences, liberal values and norms heavily influence mainstream discourse and societal structures, creating a dominant cultural paradigm. As a result, even movements and individuals on the left can find themselves constrained by this prevailing liberal cultural hegemony. This dynamic can pose challenges for effectively challenging and reshaping the status quo, as it requires navigating within the boundaries set by liberal norms and narratives. So their socialist or progressive politics are relegated to the realm of “thought” or “discourse” while their practice is strengthening liberals.
The restrictions imposed by liberal cultural hegemony and de-industrialization, precarity, migration, and inchoate national bourgeoisie have made the working class seem unlikely as the core actors of history,1 yet without the working class in politics, all attempts to ally with the politically marginalized - ethnic/sexual minorities and feminists turn into a liberal project aimed at civil rights (and in this case being uncritically pro-EU and protecting western financing and intervention) in an unequal material world and class society with no end in sight.
The Georgian working class aren’t even fully located in Georgia but are spread all over Europe and Russia.
South Africa may be on the other side of the world, but we came out of the Cold War the same time. 30 years of corruption because it's so easy for foreign powers to buy our leaders who we don't elect. Then some like to make the excuse that young democracies make mistakes, as if our democracy will count more in 100 years when we're dead (but it won't, if we look at the USA as example). Money shit, word shit. No one pointing out the fact that if there was assistance instead of manipulation, we'd be much better off.