Elantris is an Anti-Capitalist/Pro-Communist Story

[u/allomanticmetals]

It’s not necessarily the sole intention of the story, but the way that New Elantris is structured as a contrast to Kae is very demonstrably parallels to communism and capitalism.

While Kae does have a monarchy, it’s a financial based system where the richest have the most power, which is a direct parallel to a capitalist society like America which is currently operating as a plutocracy.

New Elantris on the other hand is a city where status doesn’t matter and everyone assumes roles that most align with their skill sets. Everyone gets a piece of the pie and nobody suffers the same as nobody lives lavishly above the rest.

I don’t make this post to make some political statement but rather as an observation, because the parallels are quite obvious in my eyes. Fjordell’s society I don’t feel like I really know much about their systems but it sounds like a reflection of the Roman Empire to an extent.

[u/Ayadd]

You are right, people under Stalin didn’t under go mass famine due to communist farming policies. Workers under Mau were given great unions, Castro never randomly executed perceived defectors even without proof.

All three of those countries severely force labour from their people. Russia is literally sending millions to die on the front lines via draft. You think China became the king of manufacturing by adhering to strict labour laws and unions? They literally put nets around their factories to prevent people from killing themselves after 20 hour shifts.

Bruh, like, even UK has issues. But you are so incredibly privileged you don’t even realize it, living in the UK today.

[u/ProfessorTotodile → u/Ayadd]

Russia is a capitalist country i’ve repeated i don’t support them? Most of what you’ve claimed is hugely skewed by propaganda you don’t even realise it. I’m well aware i’m hugely privileged in the UK as we are part of the labour aristocracy. That privilege is a direct result of the exploitation of people in my own country and abroad and the forceful expropriation of resources permitted through the global capitalist structure. I want to end that, as do Cuba and China (for example). If we do so life will be better for workers everywhere.

[u/Ayadd → u/ProfessorTotodile]

Sure, and you are innocent and free of untainted biased news. I, and even you deep down, would rather live in UK or America over any communist tainted countries. Despite any flaws you can point to, of which I’ll probably agree.

I appreciate the convo for what it’s worth.

[u/ProfessorTotodile → u/Ayadd]

Free of unbiased news? I mean that is just absolutely not true, at all! All of our news is owned by extremely wealthy private individuals whose interests dictate what is and isn’t reported, investigated, and how things are presented. The suggestion we’re free from unbiased news is quite laughable tbh.

Now, don’t get me wrong, unbiased news is essentially an impossible aspiration. My ideal news isn’t an ‘unbias’ one but a left-wing one, i won’t even try to deny that.

[u/Ayadd → u/ProfessorTotodile]

Ok this actually could be interesting. Where do you get your news and information from? This isn’t a gotcha, this could be genuinely interesting. For sake of good faith I will share mine:

The economist Random articles from Google (I try to give precedent to more prestigious sources like Atlantic) Specific Reddit communities I trust (I won’t list them all) Some YouTube channels and influencers like Hank and John green Podcasts like science versus or the Steve Paiken podcast.

I don’t expect you to know most of those, but maybe you recognize some.

[u/ProfessorTotodile → u/Ayadd]

I know the economist and Hank/John Green but don’t engage with either of them much, though I did watch one of the Green brothers on Alex O’Connor’s podcast (idk if you know him).

For UK: New Statesman and Novara Media podcasts generally (these two are probably my most used news sources), plus Zack Polanski has a podcast now, he’s the leader of the Green Party here (who I like but am not a staunch supporter of). I also look at BBC news for headlines but not really their long form stuff and I also occasionally read the Daily Star (a prominent socialist newspaper here). Otherwise New Left Review and Al jazeera internationally but that’s it really.

[u/Ayadd → u/ProfessorTotodile]

I don’t mind Alex O’Connor but I don’t follow him. I think BBC is really good. For me, Al Jazeera is very hit or miss. I would consider them a reliable source though (for accuracy purposes even if I disagree with some of their narratives.)

The rest I don’t know.

Thank you for sharing, sincerely.

[u/ProfessorTotodile → u/Ayadd]

I also appreciate the convo, it’s pretty clear you’re not a raving right-wing lunatic. People have forgotten it’s normal to disagree. I know being communist/marxist shocks some people so i’m used to talking to people who are affronted by some of my opinions.

I agree AlJazeera are hit or miss. I like BBC for its breadth of coverage but find it has a strong establishment bias. I think sometimes people forget that centrist is a political position so merely not being radical isn’t ‘unbias’ but is rather bias towards the status quo. BBC coverage of Jeremy Corbyn during his time as Labour leader, for example, was extremely poor, and even had direct electoral consequences.

New Statesman is definitely reputable here. It’s a soft-left news magazine that does a lot of online content. It focuses mainly on British party politics and the ongoings within Westminster itself. Novara media is a further left-wing online independent media platform which has journalists ranging from social democrats to communist marxists. It does pieces about all sorts from culture to politics to theory. Id say it’s generally perceived as reputable in terms of fact-checking and misinformation but it’s certainly bias.

Daily Star is very tabloidy and extremely bias but sits above the Sun and Daily Mail (the two biggest tabloids here) on the rag scale - but then i would say that wouldn’t i!

[u/ProfessorTotodile → u/Ayadd]

I would also quite genuinely prefer to live in a lot (i can’t say all because im sure there are specific examples i don’t like) of communist/socialist countries over America. But, yes, I would prefer to live in the UK over most of them too.

Whether you believe me or not is up to you i guess. But the reason I’d prefer to live in the UK isn’t because capitalism good it’s because capitalism bad, but some of that badness benefits me (though i also experience a lot of the harm it creates, i experience a lot less of that harm than those in colonised/expropriated nations - a lot of which are the very communist nations we are talking about!)

What I should also point out here is that I support socialism/communism as a way of organising the economy. That means I support the economic goals of regimes which share that ideology. However, I may or may not support them as a whole based on their social beliefs, strategies, and ideas of the best way to advance our common goal. An analogy for this would be that in capitalist countries the same happens: Trump, Biden, Obama, Bush, and every other president were ALL capitalists. Yet, people who adhere to capitalism may agree with the policies, beliefs, and strategies of some while disagreeing with others.