I'm sorry for not responding sooner. I never got a notification. Sometimes Medium doesn't tell me about replies, so I double check to make sure.

First off, I really like your questions. I like how you break things down and I actually think you've given me a challenging idea here.

Because you describe this idea of time as cyclical, but to my mind it's always been like a compounding thing. I see it kind of like a Mesoamerican pyramid, with new layers on top of the old. But the way you describe it is more like waves on the beach. Sort of coming and going.

And what makes that such an interesting consideration is because I never considered things being replaced, or consumed or somehow disappearing from our consciouness.

And yet, at the same time, it's perfectly plausible. Because if something disappears, then how would we know?

So all I can really say is that I think you're on to something, but I'm also not entirely sure how we could confirm it.

And I do like socialist experiments, a lot of my older stuff covers that, recently I've been studying more classical writing, hence the change of themes. But I've probably written at least a dozen articles on the Soviet Union. Here's two of the more memorable ones if you're curious:

https://medium.com/p/536e87205ac4

https://medium.com/@thumblesteen/voices-from-stalingrad-efb8a9c2d086

And the more I read the harder I find it to pin down the origins of socialism. Many cultures throughout the world have certainly discovered the principles of socialism even if they did not exist in the same historical context of class antagonism as it existed following the industrial revolution.

In fact one fascinating parallel is in the New Testament, in works such as the Book of Solomon. Because obviously it doesn't have Marxist analysis, but it is a very class conscious work.

You can see how the Romans had a very rigid class structure, and how Marx was right in how this is a very strong force of historical change and development.

I also see this class consciousness in Stoicism and the Greeks. First labour strike in recorded history happened in ancient Egypt.

So I think socialism builds upon a lot of things is what I would say. Yes, absolutely, Marx saw how the enlightenment era revolutions held great radical potential. No doubt. That was the specimen that he put under the microscope. But that specimen came from a very big ecosystem.

And as for violence? Fundamentally I think we all have the right to self defense, and I have never seen a socialist revolution that wasn't an act of self defense.

The Tsar fired the first shot in St. Petersburg. The Chinese emperor did the same thing. Batista killed thousands of people before people began to fight back.

Socialist revolutions in general are very defensive and also very tame conflicts compared to wars of imperialism. And I think the big challenge is to explain that to the general public. How, in theory, socialists aren't looking to shoot anyone. We just reserve the right to shoot back once the ruling classes begin to feel threatened by the solidarity and community that socialism builds.

To put it simple: The tragedy of Fred Hampton was not that he got raided by police. He knew that was going to happen. The tragedy of Fred Hampton was that he didn't get the drop on them.

And on a random topic? Tough question. I get that mental block you get when someone asks you to tell a joke.

But I think if you're willing to settle for a relevant topic then one very underrated and obscure book about revolutionaries is the Autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, full title: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. I think every socialist should read it. That man lived an extraordinary life and it is hands down one of my top 3 favorite books. And that's only because I can't pick a favorite between Equiano, Dark Alliance and Red Road From Stalingrad.

And only social media I am active on is here on Medium. I find the other ones to be too argumentative. People are more relaxed here, I like that. But I'll gladly give you a follow. After that thing about the cyclical nature of dialectics I'm curious what other thoughts you may have on things.