ThoughtSlime and Caleb Maupin are trying to reach different audiences. ThoughtSlime appeals to the BreadTube crowd – mostly young people who come from Western Middle Class backgrounds who see that capitalism isn’t going to work for them and the majority of their generation. This group tends to be more interested in analyzing current events, popular media, and pop culture through a leftist lens. They tend to be less interested in long history lessons, economic theory, and studying the economic and military accomplishments of actually existing Socialist nations. They also tend to be more hostile to Traditionalism and Social Conservatism, and the rejection of those ideologies is often what attracts them to Leftism to begin with. This group does provide some value to the left, but I do find it troubling that mainstream liberals and even some conservatives will often be more interested in discussing the economics of countries like China than this milieu of the online Left is.
Caleb Maupin appeals to the Anti-Imperialist crowd – people of all different backgrounds and ages that see the destructive role that the US and Britain are playing in the role today and want to put an end to it. This group sees the political successes of Socialists in non-Western countries being rooted in their focus on raising people out of poverty while defending their nations against Western Imperialism. They tend to be more interested in long history lessons, economic theory, and studying the economic and military accomplishments of actually existing Socialist nations. They also tend to be less hostile to Traditionalism and Social Conservatism, as they recognize that actually existing Socialist countries are not always the most socially Liberal.
I just wish both groups would have more open, cooperative dialogue. I’ve learned a lot from both groups, but honestly much more from the Maupin, Anti-Imperialist crowd. But the BreadTube crowd does have a certain degree of popularity and must be engaged with more thoughtfully. We can’t just say “they’re more interested in tearing things down while we’re more interested in building society up”. The differences have to be hashed out openly and directly. I think a direct debate with ThoughSlime, for example, where Caleb forces him to explain why he thinks Caleb is a NazBol and Caleb refutes each point would be far more powerful than this sort of response video.
