The spectre of communism is haunting the US

[Incredibale]

Ah, America, where anything slightly left of extremely far right is considered communism.

The left is moving further left at breakneck speeds, even moreso their nutbar constituents. From their warped perspective, the right is moving further to the right, even when it has moved left over the years, at best standing still. The idea that the dem party in this country is, especially now, a diet republican party is a monumentally FUCKING STUPID idea.

[JohnBrown1917]

The left is moving further left at breakneck speeds, even moreso their nutbar constituents. From their warped perspective, the right is moving further to the right, even when it has moved left over the years, at best standing still. The idea that the dem party in this country is, especially now, a diet republican party is a monumentally FUCKING STUPID idea.

What do you smoke to even believe this? Not much changed in europe, and the US has no big left wing parties.

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Communism gets awfully little criticism in MSM considering its kill count being vastly higher than Nazism's. Maybe it's because the left in the west has more in common with it than they admit to?

Watch out, you're getting too paranoid.

[Xeones]

The left is moving further left at breakneck speeds, even moreso their nutbar constituents. From their warped perspective, the right is moving further to the right, even when it has moved left over the years, at best standing still. The idea that the dem party in this country is, especially now, a diet republican party is a monumentally FUCKING STUPID idea.

I suppose when you're taking a nosedive off the political right cliff it might seem like the left is moving left, but they aren't. They are moving right too, just not as fast as you.

[Glorious Leader]

The left is moving further left at breakneck speeds, even moreso their nutbar constituents. From their warped perspective, the right is moving further to the right, even when it has moved left over the years, at best standing still. The idea that the dem party in this country is, especially now, a diet republican party is a monumentally FUCKING STUPID idea.

Not really. Eisenhower couldnt get elected as a republican today. Thats how far right the republicans have moved.

[Wyrt]

The left is moving further left at breakneck speeds, even moreso their nutbar constituents. From their warped perspective, the right is moving further to the right, even when it has moved left over the years, at best standing still. The idea that the dem party in this country is, especially now, a diet republican party is a monumentally FUCKING STUPID idea.

What in the fucking hell?

[Incredibale]

What do you smoke to even believe this? Not much changed in europe, and the US has no big left wing parties.

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You need to come back to reality -> gay marriage, Obummercare, single payer gaining support, a socialist gaining significant dem voter support, the fruitcake SJWs and professors, all dems, running academia, common core, etc. Gay marriage ALONE was almost unthinkable among dems when I was a child.

If you tell me the dems have not moved left then you are lying through your teeth.

Watch out, you're getting too paranoid.

Outright Marxists who have no shame for their cult's 100M+ death count are tolerated and treated as run-of-the-mill in academia and left wing circles.

[Xeones]

You need to come back to reality -> gay marriage, Obummercare, single payer gaining support, a socialist gaining significant dem voter support, the fruitcake SJWs and professors, all dems, running academia, common core, etc. Gay marriage ALONE was almost unthinkable among dems when I was a child.

If you tell me the dems have not moved left then you are lying through your teeth.

And yet the nominee was a corrupt sack of shit who only belonged to the corporations and was willing to fight only for what she was paid to.

[Wyrt]

You need to come back to reality -> gay marriage, Obummercare, single payer gaining support, a socialist gaining significant dem voter support, the fruitcake SJWs and professors, all dems, running academia, common core, etc. Gay marriage ALONE was almost unthinkable among dems when I was a child.

If you tell me the dems have not moved left then you are lying through your teeth.

Apparently not discriminating against people is now left wing. At least you admit the right wing is full of bigots I guess.

[Zarc]

The Washington Times is ridiculous on a Fox News level. So who cares what somebody over there writes in an opinion piece?

The United States doesn't have "God-given" freedom. It was fought and won by people like Thomas Jefferson, arguably a Christian atheist, who went on to set up a representative democracy based on the principles of classical liberalism. Abraham Lincoln once lead the early Republican Party by those same principles. Today those principles have been successfully ousted, through a long but accelerating effort by people like those at the Washington Times, culminating in the tragedy of a party we have today that are home to authoritarian nationalists and paleoconservatives. It should be no surprise to anyone that this article is a ridiculous propaganda piece, and it makes me sick the way these people have claimed the mantle of freedom.

Bernie Sanders and Occupy Wall Street are further from totalitarian Communism on the extreme far-left than the Washington Times and Trump Republicans are from Fascism on the extreme far-right. Which doesn't necessarily say much, as the political spectrum is long and the lunatic fringes have more in common with each other than with the center. The fact that they would equate Bernie Sanders and those who support him with communists is laughable and exposes this opinion piece for the propaganda bullshit it is. Bernie Sanders isn't even the democratic socialist he proclaims himself to be, judging by his policy positions he is a social democrat with a somewhat populist rhetoric. That's a center-left ideology that has shaped many Western European countries for much of the 20th century.

Right-wing propaganda outlets like this one has as much to do with the fact that young Americans have more favorable attitudes to "communism" as anyone, since they equate any government intervention or redistribution of wealth with communism or as being a socialist economic system. So when people who agree with any such policies are told those policies equate to communism, they will simply conclude that they view communism more favorably. You did that. Congratulations.

But the choice is not either capitalism or socialism (a planned economy, no private property). There are many types of capitalism, such as

• Nordic capitalism
• Rhine capitalism

These are the economic models Bernie Sanders is about. It's sad that these are to be confused with socialist economic systems, both by Bernie's supporters, himself and by the right-wing media, because it's inaccurate. It's not a binary choice. But, I guess, as long as both sides understand each other, use whatever words you like.

[Incredibale]

Apparently not discriminating against people is now left wing. At least you admit the right wing is full of bigots I guess.

Your post is obviously bait to get a rant started on gay marriage. But my point stands, the dems moved leftward, and anyone who denies that is a liar.

Not even all of the EU accepts gay marriages. That'a another dent in the idea that the dems are some rightwing party by whatever standard.

[Realitytrembles]

Not really. Eisenhower couldnt get elected as a republican today. Thats how far right the republicans have moved.

Well said. If someone with Eisenhower's military accomplishments and his political positions ran as a Republican today, I'd consider voting for him.

[Wyrt]

Your post is obviously bait to get a rant started on gay marriage. But my point stands, the dems moved leftward, and anyone who denies that is a liar.

Not even all of the EU accepts gay marriages. That'a another dent in the idea that the dems are some rightwing party by whatever standard.

I'm still confused why not discriminating against people is left wing.

[Lothar from accounting]

Not even all of the EU accepts gay marriages. That'a another dent in the idea that the dems are some rightwing party by whatever standard.

Because the entirety of the EU is, by definition, left?

[Underverse]

This refusal to interrogate or even conceive of a ruling class of elites reflects the once prevalent—and still lingering—belief that ideological conflict ended after the Cold War. Without a critique of the dominant ideology, the distinct class consciousness and interests of the elite seem to disappear. If there is no critique of the general political consensus, then there is no critique of the political elite, for it is that elite which constitutes and defines the larger society.

But a politics that sees itself as non-ideological is always politics at its most ideological. Apparent political consensus is not the end of all ideologies but merely the temporary triumph of one. Now that the intellectual and political consensus of the last few decades is visibly crumbling, the managerial elite begins to reemerge as a class and managerialism as an ideology. Thus what is commonly seen today as the “rise of populism” is just as much—or rather, in fact, primarily—the decline of the elite.

We get it, you are not one for critical inquiry of power.

Who believes that ideological conflict came to an end after the Cold War? Some people might claim that certain ideological conflicts came to an end, but ideological conflict in general? No. Not at all. So from the start, you're mischaracterizing political context. Contemporary politics is incredibly ideological, whether you're left, right, or up. Moreover, it's a common thought that elites of some sort rule our society - specifically, people have long pointed to the so-called 'managerial elite' as economic and political powerhouses, though sometimes also referred to as leeches. You're not breaking down any philosophical barriers here.

To expand on this a bit, 'managerial elite' as a class is not a recent invention. Economists and philosophers have long debated and observed the slide of productive capital markets into financial markets driven mainly by financial institutions that simply move money around, which is not compellingly distinct from what you (and others) describe as managerialism. Managerialism, while not necessarily logically exclusive with technocratic principles, is not related to technocracy and arguments conflating the two are tortured and confused.

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The left is moving further left at breakneck speeds, even moreso their nutbar constituents. From their warped perspective, the right is moving further to the right, even when it has moved left over the years, at best standing still. The idea that the dem party in this country is, especially now, a diet republican party is a monumentally FUCKING STUPID idea.

Radicals at the forefront are racing left, yes. Don't confuse these radicals for the general population. Most on the left are afraid to speak against the radicals, for now. But that doesn't mean they agree.

[Zarc]

Your post is obviously bait to get a rant started on gay marriage. But my point stands, the dems moved leftward, and anyone who denies that is a liar.

Not even all of the EU accepts gay marriages. That'a another dent in the idea that the dems are some rightwing party by whatever standard.

The Republican Party moved significantly to the right with Ronald Reagan, as he and George H W Bush dismantled much of the New Deal. The Democrats eventually followed suit, using the rationale that it was necessary to compete, choosing with Bill Clinton to not reverse the dismantling of the New deal, and even continue it in some regards as with the suspension of the Glass–Steagall regulation for banks. Leading to the United States basically having a center-right party and a right-wing party. Of course the Republicans has moved further right sense... the Democrats occupies the center-left (Sanders), center (Obama) and center-right (Clinton) while the Republicans are right-wing (Ryan) to far-right (Trump).

Gay marriage is 1 issue, hardly the defining factor of where a party ends up on the political spectrum. Though, many European countries have center-right parties supporting gay marriage. Like, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland, France, Span and Portugal I believe.

[Elegiac]

I honestly thought people stopped saying that childish bullshit when they graduated high school. Guess I was wrong.

Do we need another hundred million dead so you can obtain your beloved true communism?

What on earth makes you think I hold true communism as 'beloved'?

I'm a socialist; pure communism is utopian garbage from my perspective.

[Underverse]

Your post is obviously bait to get a rant started on gay marriage. But my point stands, the dems moved leftward, and anyone who denies that is a liar.

Not even all of the EU accepts gay marriages. That'a another dent in the idea that the dems are some rightwing party by whatever standard.

The idea behind most left-wing ideologies (and I'm not talking about regressives) is progression. Progression requires change. I'm not sure it's a reasonable characterization to suggest that supporting these changes moves one further to the left with each successive change. Rather, it is the degree to which one supports deviation from the norm (or new norm) that determines how far to the left you really are. So, for example, if gay marriage becomes accepted as a norm, that is the new center.

Otherwise, we have to take into account all historical context when drawing boundaries. That's just not possible, as there have been dramatic shifts in who is considered progressive or conservative over time.

[Adam Jensen]

The problem with the US, is so many Americans view Democrats as "hard left" and "communist." Truth is, we don't have a hard left and true American communists have zero political power.

[Xeones]

Your post is obviously bait to get a rant started on gay marriage. But my point stands, the dems moved leftward, and anyone who denies that is a liar.

Not even all of the EU accepts gay marriages. That'a another dent in the idea that the dems are some rightwing party by whatever standard.

I wish mainstream democrats were moving left. I legitimately do. But to claim they are is lying.

[JohnBrown1917]

gay marriage

Not left wing.

Obummercare

No idea where this abomination would fall under, but it sound more like a comprise than a solid left wing thing.

a socialist gaining significant dem voter support,

No popular socialist politician exists in the US.

the fruitcake SJWs and professors,

We are talking about politicians.

all dems,

Liberals are not left wing

If you tell me the dems have not moved left then you are lying through your teeth.

Outright Marxists who have no shame for their cult's 100M+ death count are tolerated and treated as run-of-the-mill in academia and left wing circles.

Marxism has its root in many left wing idealogies, not all related to communism.

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Apparently not discriminating against people is now left wing. At least you admit the right wing is full of bigots I guess.

Even our 3th most extreme right wing party is not against gay marriage, it was never a left vs right issue here(that I know off, it was legalized when I was a child).
The SGP(our version of the Irish DUP, with the terror links) and FvD(alt right) however....

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Your post is obviously bait to get a rant started on gay marriage. But my point stands, the dems moved leftward, and anyone who denies that is a liar.

Not even all of the EU accepts gay marriages. That'a another dent in the idea that the dems are some rightwing party by whatever standard.

No idea what your point is.