what the hell is the Radical Left?

[onethatcares]

I'm at a loss for understanding this term but the rwnj's shout it at every opportunity.

Does it have to do with taxes, voting, clean air and water or what?

[RAB910]

1. anyone that doesn't share Trump's hatred for Americans and the American way

[Fix The Stupid]

2. Easy stuff...

Defund the police.
All white people are racist.

Stuff along those lines...

But you probably knew that...

[obamanut2012]

7. uh huh

[ck4829]

16. Also on the George Soros payroll and servants of the who is it now...

USSR - Muslims - Je- er, globalists - China - Martians - I don't know.

[winetourdriver01]

3. "Radical Left"

That particular animal went extinct in this country a LONG time ago.

[eShirl]

4. The Radical Left consists of strawmen.

[Dirty Socialist]

5. Anyone to the left of Rush Limbaugh

The extreme right (most of the GOP) is either projecting their extremism or has lost all perspective

[obamanut2012]

6. I saw it used by a DUer over the weekend

In all seriousness. I was like wtaf.

Sometimes this place slays me.

on edit: a very long-time DUer.

[leftieNanner]

8. Me?

[nycbos]

9. I'll give you an example.

Democratic Socialists of America call on the US to withdraw from NATO

https://democraticunderground.com/100216412430

The far left believes Russia is a victim of "imperialism."

There are many elements on the far left that support Russia. Russia by no means the only issue far left and the far right have in common.

It's one of the issues that gives a lot of credence to the horseshoe theory of politics.

What Republicans have done though is linked these assholes to us and convinced many Americans they are the same thing as progressive Democrats. What we as progressive Democrats have failed to do and need to start doing is making it loud and clear that these idiots are by no means on our team.

[betsuni]

12. +1

[Caliman73]

13. I don't think they support Russia as much as they are against Imperialism by anyone.

The DSA condemned the Russian invasion and called on Russia to completely withdraw from Ukraine.

They blame Imperialism by NATO to a large extent, for Russia's decision to invade, but they do not support what Russia is doing.

By framing the issue as you did, you are also doing the job of the right wingers for them.


The far left and far right have "Tactics" in common. Methods of communication, but their goals are very different.

What we need to do is making our case better as to why our approach is better than either the far right, the right, or the far left.

[Crunchy Frog]

22. IMO they effectively support Russia by effectively saying that Ukraine has no right to defend itself

and that other parties (NATO) have no right to provide assistance to them.

Effectively saying that Russian invasion bad, but Ukraine and the world need to just lay down and accept it.

I'm not able to work out any other interpretation.

[Hav]

23. What are examples for imperialism by Nato?

I'm far from an expert but I think that is where the DSA uses a bogus talking point that is also used to a degree as an excuse for Russian aggression.
Nato members joined voluntarily and they should have the right to make that decision.

[Gaugamela]

10. There is no "radical left" in this country. The Weather Underground ended half a century ago.

The left in this country want an inclusive democracy. They want a seat for everyone at the table. Moreover, the policies they support, like parental leave and Medicare for All, are enjoyed by every other economically advanced democracy in the world. In the rest of the world our “left” is considered centrist. The only radical faction in this country is the fascist right who want to impose a dictatorial Christian Nationalist mafia state.

[Caliman73]

11. It is how the Right Wing uses language to advance their agenda.

I do not think that ANY Republican/Conservative would be able to define "Radical Left" in any cogent way.

There is a radical left. People who would be considered the "Radical Left" in political and academic circles are people who want to disrupt the current paradigm of government and economics from a more communal (Communist/Socialist/Anarcho Syndicalist) perspective. The "radical left" wants to do away with Capitalism and maybe even representative forms of government in favor of co-operatives or direct democracy. This is obviously WAY WAY oversimplified, but it is more accurate than you will get from any conservative.

The reason why it is more accurate is because right wingers DO NOT CARE what the "Radical Left" is. Much like CRT and PC before it, and "Liberal" before that, the point is to define the term as ANYTHING BAD. Anything that opposes a right wing ideology. Anything that makes White People uncomfortable about American History is "CRT" and it is bad and will destroy the fabric of society. Anything that makes a bigot/sexist/racist/etc... have to think about what they say before they say it, is "PC" and it is bad and will destroy society and culture.

The real "radical left" does want to disrupt Capitalist society because they think that the accumulation of Capital (money and the means of production) is what drives most of not all of the problems we are experiencing. The real "radical left" is TINY and has ALMOST ZERO chance of gaining power in the United States. The goal of the right wing is to conflate Democratic or Standard Liberal ideology with the radical left in order to SCARE "normies" (White people who don't really pay attention to politics) into supporting their ideas.

Conservatives have ABSOLUTELY ZERO policies that help anyone who is not Wealthy. They cobbled together a coalition of White Supremacists and Christian Dominionists, but that is still not enough to remain politically viable so they have to scare others in to paralysis while keeping their base angry and motivated. This is why they lie about the "radical left".

[ck4829]

17. "radical left" is just their "Emmanuel Goldstein"

[mathematic]

14. You're conflating liberal ideas with the radical left, an error you attribute to the Right.

No, the radical left has nothing to do with taxes, voting, clean air, or water in any sense that democrats advocate for those things.

On the internet I see a lot of "Oh are all these reasonable things the radical left I must be the radical left? Who's with me?" And then 5 actual radical leftist come out of nowhere, agree, and then say NATO is an arm of western imperialism and should be disbanded.

This is like the motte and baily fallacy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motte-and-bailey_fallacy

The motte-and-bailey fallacy (named after the motte-and-bailey castle) is a form of argument and an informal fallacy where an arguer conflates two positions that share similarities, one modest and easy to defend (the "motte" ) and one much more controversial (the "bailey" ).[1] The arguer advances the controversial position, but when challenged, they insist that they are only advancing the more modest position.[2][3] Upon retreating to the motte, the arguer can claim that the bailey has not been refuted (because the critic refused to attack the motte)[1] or that the critic is unreasonable (by equating an attack on the bailey with an attack on the motte)

RL: Oh no, I'm not against the liberal world order, I'm against imperialism.
Everbody: Yeah, me too.
RL: [Proceeds to justify Russian imperialism]

RL: I'm for democracy in all it's forms! I'm for more democracy.
Everybody: Yeah, me too.
RL: That means workplace democracy and resource democracy.
Everybody: Uh, ok...
RL: We must seize the means of production so that we may have true democracy.

For the record, I'm not saying you're doing this. Lots of people get caught up in the rhetoric and don't even realize this sort of thing is happening.

[ck4829]

20. Admirable. Too bad you can't say "Informal fallacy!" and conversations have to start over

In the time it took you to write that post and the time it took me to read it, I can practically guarantee you there were parallel conversations going on in Breitbart or Gateway Pundit or whatever other cesspools there are now where they are all agreeing and nodding with each other that basic concepts such as not acting like a psycho are now "radical leftwing" ideas.

[ck4829]

15. Hi there, radical leftist speaking

The idea that people go bankrupt from medical bills, our infant and maternal mortality rates, and billionaires becoming multi-billionaires while wages remain stagnant are all policy failures.

[Dirty Socialist]

24. Same here

Perhaps you are more mainstream than you think?

[Caliman73]

29. The difference isn't in the acknowledgement of the problem, but the attribution and solution.

As a member of the "radical left" you have to know this.


The liberal solution is to regulate capitalism and change some voting rules to get to a solution.

The radical left solution is to destroy capitalism and create more democratic means of governance.

The ideas about what may be wrong with the system may be "mainstream" but radical leftists tend to lose everyone when they start talking about the solutions.

[ck4829]

30. Caliman73 mentioned in the reply about destroying things...

and I think certain institutions should be destroyed.

Portfolio Recovery Associates should be regulated out of existence.

We should wean ourselves of our "need" of billionaires (Because we don't need them) through a top tax rate and maybe even maximum income.

[Crunchy Frog]

18. Any Democrat that isn't Manchin or Sinema.

[JHB]

19. "Everything not them" is the most succinct summation

It's this weird fog of anti-Americanism that apparently Democrats and liberals breathe, but no "real American" does.

[Chainfire]

21. Anybody with a heart?

People who stand up for justice? Anyone who does not buy the rightwingnut bullshit.

[Initech]

25. Anyone who uses the phrase "radical left" needs to look up the definition of the word "radical".

We're not the ones threatening and harassing school board members or blocking overpasses with flags saying "Fuck Biden" and "Trump Won".

[doc03]

26. Everyone to the left of Manchin and Sinama. nt

[onethatcares]

27. thanks for the answers so far

as a member of the "radical left" I haven't seen near enough radicalism in a socialist bent. (?) I get tired of hearing from the rwnjs that we want to take over America with policies that to me should be welcomed with open arms by the citizens. They'd be not limited to a living wage, affordable healthcare, guaranteed income, policies that benefit both the young and the elderly, common areas belonging to all, a decent education and the ability to practice our civil rights as defined by the constitution.

again, thanks for the input.

[jalan48]

28. Without a radical left bogeyman the right wing center will be exposed for what it is.

[radicalleft]

31. It's me...

Sorry