Why do Marxist Leninists talk about opportunism so much? A thread.

Opportunism is a bigger threat to the left even than fascists, because we all know to fight fascists but many new communists dont know how important it is to fight opportunism. 1/10

Opportunism is basically when you twist revolutionary theory to:
1) not really challenge capital
2) route revolutionary energy away from doing something productive
3) be as confusing as possible. 2/10

“I thought opportunism meant taking advantage of someone else’s trouble for your own benefit?”

Yes. Almost always the revolutionary opportunism mentioned above comes with the benefit of either a fat paycheck from capitalists OR freedom from challenging fear of revolution. 3/10

Opportunists crop up in a lot of ways but usually they:
1) use revolutionary language but deny that violent revolution is necessary
2) usually want to “reform” the gov and blame social ills on bad people in the system, not the system itself
3) talk shit on revolutionaries

4/10

“Whats the big deal? Cant you ignore them?”

No. Whether they realize it or not, they help fascism. This is key: peace movements, law reformers, and non profits may HELP fascism. They make potential revolutionaries waste a life’s energy on BS and turn THEM into opportunists. 5/10

“Why dont you focus your energy on REAL fascists? Why divide the left?”

We will always fight the real fascists. We have energy for both. If we let opportunists go unchallenged they will win because they have the backing of capital and fear. It’s scary to be a revolutionary. 6/10

“Who is an opportunist?”

I used to be one, you might be one. The ones we fight the most are the ones that get popular or are in power. AOC is an opportunist - using the aesthetic of the Black Panthers and denying their revolutionary history is classic opportunism. 7/10

Opportunists exist in communist spaces as well. Specifically, racial opportunists who spread class reductionism are a big problem. Their benefit is in social capital by maintaining their position of white privilege. Other bigotry and privilege are around too. 8/10

Class reductionism is saying all problems boil down to class and deny that any other problems like bigotry need to be addressed now too. Sometimes these types are actual FBI but sometimes theyre just implicit racists. We must fight them as they too ruin revolutionary energy. 9/10

It’s also the right thing to do. Communists have to be moral, bold, knowledgeable, and hardworking. Opportunists undermine each of those and doing so undermine the whole movement. 10/10