Asklemmy

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Does one have to be an iconoclast or revolutionary these days to be validly left? I consider myself to be left of center, and very much in favor of progressive policies. (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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However I find myself being disagreed with quite often, mostly for not advocating or cheering violence, "by any means possible" change, or revolutionary tactics. It would seem that I'm not viewed as authentically holding my view unless I advocate extreme, violent, or radical action to accomplish it.

Those seem like two different things to me.

Edit: TO COMMUNISTS, ANARCHISTS, OR ANYONE ELSE CALLING FOR THE OVERTHROW OF SOCIETY

THIS OBVIOUSLY ISN'T MEANT FOR YOU.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

In the United States, in the general public (not talking academia here) both 'liberal' and 'leftist' currently mean 'not conservative'. There's really not much more to it than that. Before reading Lemmy comments about it, I wouldn't have been able to name a distinction between the two terms.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yes, but OP is deliberately asking Leftists on a platform built and maintained by Communists, not the general American public.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

OP may be American and genuinely not know what answering yes to "do you consider yourself a liberal?" implies to said communists. I still don't have a firm grasp on it myself.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

What don't you understand? Liberalism is a Capitalist ideology, ergo it is right wing. Socialists, Anarchists, Communists, etc. would be left wing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, wildly different language. Here pretty much anything short of trying to put women back in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant, with the minorities out in the cotton fields, is left wing. Left-right is much more about social policy than economic, although the conservatives claim to want smaller government and lower taxes. (While building a giant military, etc.)

So 'Liberal' means 'left wing' here, and those other terms don't even have a collective word that comes to mind besides stuff like 'extremist'. (Also most of us Americans probably conflate socialism and communism anyway)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

It depends on if you're referring to the Overton Window, which is essentially a Tower of Babel sitiation, or if you're referring to global structures.