General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI don't understand. I have been following politics for the past 4 years..
No matter how many news articles I come across...
The only thing I understand is that Republicans hate socialists, oppose abortion, support too many gun rights, and are covering up for a criminal. That's it
BUT..
I can't for the life of me understand what a socialist or a capitalist is or why they tick the other side off so much. I don't understand the concept or "the right" or " the left"
I don't get it.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)There are, for example, Wikipedia articles that might help.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics
The political terms "Left" and "Right" were coined during the French Revolution (17891799), referring to the seating arrangement in the French Estates General: those who sat on the left generally opposed the monarchy and supported the revolution, including the creation of a republic and secularization,[5] while those on the right were supportive of the traditional institutions of the Old Regime. Use of the term "Left" became more prominent after the restoration of the French monarchy in 1815 when it was applied to the "Independents".[6] The word "wing" was appended to Left and Right in the late 19th century, usually with disparaging intent and "left-wing" was applied to those who were unorthodox in their religious or political views.
Kurt V.
(5,624 posts)unblock
(52,253 posts)Foxnews and Donnie in particular have turned such terms into jokes. The right wing knows their policies are unpopular, so they operate by confusion and distraction.
They imbue terms associated with their party with goodness and terms associated with Democrats with badness. They care vastly more about the emotional content in communication because the logic is squarely against them.
For example, in any discussion about tax rates, they'll decry any tax hike on rich people as "socialism" and "redistributive" because such terms generally have negative connotations in America, a holdover from the Cold War, even though such concepts had next to nothing to do with our conflicts with the ussr.
Meanwhile, they insist any tax cut for rich people is "capitalist" because that's our system.
Of course, it's idiotic to go about screaming that a tax rate if 38% is socialist while a tax rate of 35% is capitalist, but that's the state of political discourse in America, thanks to right-wing propagandists.
Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)Think of a wedge.
You stick the thin pointy end under the door, the wedge holds the door open, and then everything else can come in the door.
They use these emotional issues (abortion, socialism, immigration) to keep their voting base firmly with them. As long as they legislate with their base in mind on those issues, the base stays with them. Then they can do whatever they want on other issues (like robbing the Treasury).
pansypoo53219
(20,981 posts)betsuni
(25,539 posts)The side that doesn't want Democrats in power because they are the progressive party. They spent eight years calling President Obama a socialist or a Trojan horse Republican. Now they're calling Democrats either a socialist or a capitalist. They want Republicans in power.
ck4829
(35,077 posts)JHB
(37,161 posts)...what's NOT socialism is anything conservatives like. Anything they don't like is "socialism".
muriel_volestrangler
(101,322 posts)they see who they're against, and then declare them socialists.
Dirty Socialist
(3,252 posts)I am for some national plans, but I am mainly a Capitalist. However, my right wing brother calls me a socialist anyway, hence my nic.
Cons today call anyone to the left of Rush Limbaugh socialist. Truth is a forgotten word for many in today's GOP.