Leftist Library

Media recommendations for learning about Leftism

“In China there is freedom from violence. In the US there is freedom FOR violence.” – Because I’m Lizzy (2024)

Travel vlogs are some of the best way to get international political education and practice your media literacy. For me, it’s an amazing way to hear different perspectives directly and see the countries we are brainwashed about with our own eyes.

This YouTuber makes some fantastic points about the west’s narrative of “safety” in China. I encourage everyone to watch travel vlogs about the countries the US hates 🙂

China’s Caribbean Ties: Dominica FM Speaks (2023)

Time and time again, we hear leadership from developing countries praise China for their hands-off approach to development. Countries who work with China get competitive interest rates, no political intervention, and new vital infrastructure.

It’s important to lift the voices of developing nations US global leadership has neglected and even stifled for so many years. A new pathway has emerged that doesn’t require a leader. China is showing how it’s possible to lead with win-win deals that honor both parties’ interests and autonomy, and they’re leading with action not ideology.

Also, this interview in particular struck me as wholesome and enjoyable! These two had so much success and national friendship to celebrate!

Why We Fight – China (1944)

This documentary on China is a propaganda film produced by the US for WWII and is a part of a series of films meant to show soldiers and the public why the war was important.

However, a decade after this film was released, the CIA was training terrorist Tibetan separatists at Camp Hale in Colorado to fight China in what would be a failed armed rebellion.

Tibet – The Truth (2013)

This documentary really opened my eyes to the complex history of Tibet. I really appreciated learning how serious the threat of imperialism was to the region leading up to its reunification with China. Also, the part beginning at 37:39 clearly explains the conflict that occurred during reunification. However, I encourage readers to watch from the beginning to see the context for why reunification was so important.

Democracy in China (2022)

My latest TikTok video on China’s economy got an outpouring of critical comments about “worker ownership” in China. People are very concerned that state owned enterprises are not a form of socialism but rather something called “state capitalism.”

But I think we can all agree that if the state is actually representative of the workers, then state ownership is worker ownership.

Here is a video describing the recent history of China’s emerging “consultative democracy,” showing ways the central leadership is embracing the power of democracy.

Please keep an open mind as I tell you now that China has the best “Democracy Perception Index” of all countries surveyed. This index is found by polling citizens of how democratic they feel their society is and subtracting that from how important they feel democracy is to their future.

Their 2022 report can be downloaded here.

F. William Engdahl on “The Lost Hegemon” (2016)

I recently came across F. William Engdahl while watching a CGTN (Chinese state news) program he was a guest on. His analysis was refreshingly factual, so I went to his website that has really great pieces he’s written despite its old-school, not compatible with mobile design layout.

Here’s a now 6-year-old interview promoting his book “The Lost Hegemon.” I have yet to read any of his books, but in this interview alone, I felt parts of the un-compelling Western narrative being peeled off from my lens. Simply moralizing the enemies of the US as bad, hateful, and terroristic because of blindly destructive motives never satisfied me. In this interview, we can start to investigate the origins of conflicts of power and see them as ongoing, not sporadic outburst events floating in history.

I am only beginning to form my own historical analysis of the middle east, understanding how powers like Nazi Germany, The US, and Saudi Arabia propping up the far-right anti-communist groups. And Engdahl has been helping me to navigate the region’s confusing, conflicting history.

Last, I want to point out the spot-on analysis of the conflict in Ukraine here. Coming from 2016, to criticize Obama for having no plan for Russia other than to demonize its president is prescient to say the least. When Henry f—-ing Kissinger says you’re being reckless, you know it’s bad.