The reason a dude like engles can be as rich as he was while being committed to communism, is because he was intelletually curious and committed to the truth, he wasnt satisfied with taking the easy way and coasting, you have to demand of yourself to never get intellectually lazy, and demand yourself that you keep studying, so set study goals and timetables and stick to them, form a reading group to keep each other on track and to advance your understanding and dont stop, when you get lazy youre cooked.

In general, working people at any income stratum flatter their economic positions when they think they’d be worse off under socialism.

There are two ways my income privileges me: what I consume and what I have.

I consume space in a building, food, clothes, furniture, electronics. Nothing we can’t make available to everyone. Some of my things are nicer, but then they get worse and need to be replaced due to planned obsolescence. Under socialism, this wouldn’t be a thing – every chair can be a nice chair that will last decades and if demand for chairs drops, good; everyone’s sitting comfortably. What I’m getting at is that nice bougie shit, precluding ostentatious chandeliers filled with rare gems and gold-plated lambos, could be the floor for what we provide people. Or even briefer, we can do LGC right now.

Then there’s what I have, which is a six-figure ball of investments designed to sustain a future me who, for whatever reason, doesn’t have the well-paying job nor access to a social safety net. This shouldn’t be necessary and it’s horrifying that so many people in my country are walking a tightrope without that circus net. So fuck my portfolio, I’d gladly give it up for the revolution.

by how much i fucking hated the job (other than the pay), to the point that i quit bc the depression and desire to self harm it tried and succeded to induce wasn’t worth the money

Death to America

I make more money than ever and it hasn’t stopped my leftist ideals. If anything, it’s only emboldened my resolve.

But here’s the straight dope: I live a very isolated life. My friends lower on the economic totempole see me differently. Not necessarily negatively, but I noticed as I “made it” that relations started to change. I’ve had a buddy of mine confide in me that he feels embarrassed to hang out because he’s been so unsuccessful. I suspect my other working-class friends feel similarly.

And because I can’t relate to the Libshits around me at work and in the burbs, I have like maybe 2 friends I can sort of hang with and even then, their bad takes on the world are incredible. Meanwhile I’m constantly minding my “financial freedom” in paying bills, saving for college, figuring out taxes, figuring out insurance… which is fucking exhausting. Tangent: I’d rather have money than not have money in this hellscape (who wouldn’t) but minding your shit after a certain level of income is basically another fucking job.

So yeah. Wife and I made it (whatver bullshit that means) and I might as well go live on an island. Which only proves to me how atomized we really are. If I had no money I’d strive for financial stability and have that consume my thoughts and motivations. Now I have money and the parts of life that matter most (friendship, piece of mind, personal fulfillment, etc) are unobtainable.

Which only makes me more of a Leftist.