this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2024
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Are you an American? Because the only Americans who call people "leftist" are using it in a pejorative sense.
I call myself a leftist, thanks. But it's messy and complicated, because there's a lot of pragmatism mixed in there from the time I've spent in groups that have an anarchistic bent, since I've noted that they have a very, very hard time agreeing on action; great for debate, bad for decisions.
Cursed with the burden of eternal introspection, versus the fascist who can be content to act without thought.
This is the entire issue on the left and why they can never actually organize and run real candidates. While the left is busy arguing about the best way to organize the workplace the right just says "this guys (cold, lifeless) heart is in basically the right place" and pulls the lever.
Wish you were wrong, but you aren't. Leftists, in general, allow 'perfect' to be the mortal enemy of "better than what we have now", "good enough for this election cycle", and even "stop the worst monster to run for public office in the last century".
...Which is exactly why we have so many leftists refusing to vote for Biden; yeah, he's not great, and he's not even good on a most things, but refusing to vote for him makes it much, much more likely that a person that's exponentially worse ends up getting elected. I don't want to wake up the day after the election and face my trans friends and say, "Yeah, I'm sorry that you're probably going to be murdered, but I had to send a message about funding genocide, and now the genocide is going to increase in pace, but you're going to be killed in solidarity with Palestinians, so I guess that's okay."
The only people who think leftist is a pejorative are conservatives. Hmmmm....
Call me a liberal though - and I'll probably ignore it because it's not worth explaining the difference to most people who will do so. But in my head dem's fighting words. And ironically, I think there are many who also identify as leftists who would think I'm not left enough to call myself a leftist.
Signed, a Leftist.
You're right. The only people who use the term "leftist" are conservatives, or people who have studied European politics, because it doesn't actually define anything in American politics. There is no "leftist" party and there are no "leftist" political groups. "Liberalism" is far more common because it describes an amenable approach to social issues, but also a laisez-faire approach to economic and foreign policy issues. I get not wanting to be called a liberal, or worse a neoliberal, but we do not have a proper labour party, or a communist party, or anything else even remotely resembling the "left." It would be nice if we did, but the far right has done an excellent job of demonizing the very idea of it.
That's what I was referring to, which is why I assumed you might be a European, where such parties and ideologies exist out in the open.
I meant no offense.
It was the as a pejorative part that was significant to me, not use of the term itself. If someone is calling me a leftist with a sneer - that person is a conservative.
No offense taken, but I did wonder because of your seeming assumption that it would be pejorative. (Also please note I'm not OP)
I disagree that those two things are requirements for leftist to have a meaning. I'm also quite sure we have many leftist political groups, even if they have little political power.
The term is only used in a pejorative sense because the only people who use it are conservatives who use it as an insult.
I'm a unicorn I guess.
"Liberal" is the only political pejorative I know
Generally people usually it as a pejorative will include "radical", like any MF who wants people to have healthcare is out here doing kick flips and grinds.