Saw FWA's attendance numbers and after looking through attendance numbers of other large fur cons I had some thoughts
https://fxbsky.app/profile/lumincity.bsky.social/post/3mlm2o7xx522o

Furries who complain about "inequalities" within the fandom and who make their fandom the fixation of their struggle against the system err profoundly. In doing so, they engage in a narrow-minded and idealistic form of lifestylism. That is cringe.

As Marx demonstrated, the tendency of capitalism is to commodify everything; the commodity is the elementary form of capitalism. This drive toward commodification means that, all that can be commodified will be— from children's toys to human empathy. (see "Part I: Commodities and Money" in Capital, Vol. 1).

This commodification exists in the fandom, as do the inequalities so many whine about, precisely because the fandom does not exist in a vacuum. It is part of the same superstructure to which all of modern society belongs to. The social relations which exist under capitalism are merely mirrored within the subculture.

You will not change these inequalities by combatting a supposed furry bourgeoisie, nor by appealing to the "better nature" of those in the fandom with material wealth and power. That was the path of the Utopian Socialists, who tried and failed. Marx and Engels critiqued this perfectly in the Communist Manifesto:

They want to improve the condition of every member of society, even that of the most favored. Hence, they habitually appeal to society at large, without distinction of class; nay, by preference, to the ruling class.

Just like the "economists" of Lenin's day, those choosing a highly localized, particularist struggle in a "hobby" rather than engaging society at-large are confining the struggle to a subculture; one might even call this "furry economism." This tactic is wholly unwise and ignorant of the universal struggle of class.

Chairman Mao explained well that indulging in private criticism, rather than engaging in revolutionary work through an organization, is irresponsible. It is a manifestation of liberalism— one that prioritizes personal feelings over collective action that addresses the root of society's ills.

By focusing inward, you are doing nothing more than engaging in a spectacle of idealism. You are attacking the symptoms rather than the disease. This particularist struggle is meaningless noise, one that hinders rather than aids change. This rally against fandom inequality is simply an intoxicating and alluring slogan, akin to the "revolutionary phrase" of armchair radicals Lenin fought against.

Only by focusing on combatting commodification, alienation, and inequality in society at-large— and thereby working to change the economic base— will you transform the superstructure that affects all socially-organized communities, both online and offline.

[Link]

Society if NIMBYs protested data center construction instead of affordable housing public transit &/or renewable energy:
https://fxbsky.app/profile/lumincity.bsky.social/post/3mltpmatixc2s

Wake up babe Bernie dropped 61 downballot endorsements across the country
https://fxbsky.app/profile/lumincity.bsky.social/post/3mlw5lmbmwk26