A Milestone, a Manifesto, & a Thank You

Thoughts on the Future

Last week JoeWrote crossed the threshold of 400 subscribers. While this is a modest achievement compared to other Substacks, I’m incredibly proud of it. The politics//culture genre is jam-packed, so it means a lot that over four hundred people are interested in hearing my voice.

It goes without saying that I cannot thank you — the reader — enough. Without you, I’m just another asshole on the internet, rage-posting into the electronic void.

As most of you weren’t part of the handful of subscribers I carried over from my old blog (hi Mom!), this is a good time to lay out my vision for JoeWrote, and how I plan to interact with all of you to foster a welcoming, intellectually-stimulating, and enjoyable community.

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The JoeWrote Manifesto

JoeWrote exists to explain and explore Socialism with real examples and simple words.

My goal is that after reading my work, you walk away:

1. Better understanding how our Capitalist world operates,

2. A realization that there are superior ways to organize our society, be it economically, politically, or culturally, and

3. Having been entertained.

I started writing because I saw a glaring hole in left-wing media. While there is no shortage of pundits, authors, and podcasters who comment on the day-to-day politics of elections and bills, I noticed they seldom specify what the end goal of Socialism looks like, or its ideological basis. This left audiences with plenty of knowledge on the drama of contemporary politics, but little understanding of what we are working towards or the moral justification for the Socialist project.

If we’re going to convince America it’s time to move past Capitalism, we’re going to need solid answers to common questions, such as “how would workers run a company?” and “does Socialism mean an end to markets?” We’ll also need to explain why Socialism is a more ethical system than Capitalism, and we can’t just tell people to go read volumes of 19th-century translated philosophy.

No disrespect to Mr. Marx, but this is a lot.

To be clear, I do not see my work as an opposition to any leftist publication, journalist, or creator, but rather as a supplement to them. When people are inspired by Bernie Sanders’s pitch for Medicare For All, or feel nauseated by Jeff Bezos's space-faring midlife crisis while Amazon workers pee in bottles, I want to capture that emotion and empower it with tangible, obtainable ways to improve society.

I believe humans are naturally good. Most of us want our neighbors to live peaceful, fulfilled lives. But well wishes are not enough. JoeWrote exists to explain how our goodheartedness could be manifested into a fully democratic society, free from the evils of want, exploitation, and tyranny.

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Going forward, the majority of JoeWrote articles are going to be focused on the explanation and ideation of Socialist economics and policy. But as we need to have fun every once in a while, there will also be occasional posts on movies, TV shows, and the sporadic roast of dumb right-wingers (see below).

Reading & Roasting: Dave Rubin, Part 0

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How You Can Help

Not only can I not do this alone, but I don’t want to. The best way to help JoeWrote improve is by sharing your feedback. I’ll give free 3-month premium access to anyone who fills out the 2-minute reader feedback form (make sure you enter your email to get credit!) or feel free to shoot me a Twitter DM.

Sharing on social media gets JoeWrote in front of new readers, and is a great way to support me if you can’t swing a paid subscription.

I also want to hear when you have questions about or disagree with an article. Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments.

Lastly, the more paid subscribers JoeWrote has, the more articles I can write explaining and promoting Socialism. So if you can afford it, please support JoeWrote with a paid subscription.

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I’ve got some exciting stuff planned for the future, so stay tuned.

Cheers,

Joe