Everyone’s a Leftist Until it’s Time to Do Leftism

Maybe this is true of every DIY house, but something I love about Incubator is that it attracts leftists. 

Either way, now that we’re trying to form into a collectivist organization and move away from capitalism, some of the most outspoken anti-capitalists are having hesitations.  

It seems some people are having trouble visualizing a DIY space becoming more than just that.

There’s an appeal to being a rag tag group of bohemian artists on the fringes of mainstream society. There’s a certain kind of honor in being the underdogs.

Many leftists have an aversion to making money because for as long as we can remember, succeeding means stomping on someone else to get there. 

Getting something means it was taken from someone else unjustly. 

But as a community, we can experience long term abundance without sacrificing our beliefs. 

We can be not just a collective, but a collectivist organization that uses a shared ownership model and democratic methods to ensure equitable outcomes for every member. 

Leftism doesn’t have to be just theory. It can be something we do.  

Modern American leftism mostly takes the form of protest. It’s a rejection of capitalism and the status quo, but what does the alternative look like in 2026 and beyond? What can life under leftism look like? 

It looks like a self-governing community. Like rotating committees and shared ownership. 

It doesn’t have a permanent leadership class. Members take turns leading.

It doesn’t distribute wealth in away that creates an upper class. Everyone has an equal share. 

If we allow people to cordon off certain resources for themselves and claim private ownership over anything the community did, that’s when the hording begins and we end up in yet another capitalist nightmare.

Let’s do leftism and use it to beat the capitalists at their own game.  Socialist organizations are more efficient than normal businesses. Let’s prove it. 

We all have that voice of internalized capitalism in our head telling us to “get yours” because that’s been the only way to survive. 

But now we’re embarking on a collective project and that type of individualistic thinking is harmful to our collective success.

If we’re a collective, let’s do collectivism. 

More importantly, let’s do something. Not just reject the status quo. Let’s build an alternative.

We’re not socialists protesting. We’re socialists participating… in capitalism and beating them at their own game… for our collective benefit. And I think that’s the most DIY thing there is.