The Thread of Democrats

[Tero]

Thanks.

[Brian Peacock]

rEv doesn't do irony.

You introduced the post and then went on to talk about left, centre and right. You've totally missed the irony.

Vindicated.

[pErvinalia]

Centrist. Only anarcho-communists are the left.

[Brian Peacock]

"The Left" is a dead concept, as demonstrated by the fascists calling the liberal centre 'far left' and 'radical left' and 'socialist' etc.

[Scot Dutchy]

Those terms are dead. Left does not exist anymore and the right are all the crap.

[JimC]

There once was a musical troupe
A pickin' singin' folk group
They sang the mountain ballads
And the folk songs of our land
They were long on musical ability
Folks thought they would go far
But political incompatibility led to their downfall
Well, the one on the right was on the left
And the one in the middle was on the right
And the one on the left was in the middle
And the guy in the rear was a Methodist
This musical aggregation toured the entire nation
Singing the traditional ballads
And the folk songs of our land
They performed with great virtuosity
And soon they were the rage
But political animosity prevailed upon the stage
Well, the one on the right was on the left
And the one in the middle was on the right
And the one on the left was in the middle
And the guy in the rear burned his driver's license
Well the curtain had ascended
A hush fell on the crowd
As thousands there were gathered to hear The folk songs of our land
But they took their politics seriously
And that night at the concert hall
As the audience watched deliriously
They had a free-for-all
Well, the one on the right was on the bottom
And the one in the middle was on the top
And the one on the left got a broken arm
And the guy in the rear, said, "Oh dear"
Now this should be a lesson if you plan to start a folk group
Don't go mixin' politics with the folk songs of our land
Just work on harmony and diction
Play your banjo well
And if you have political convictions keep them to yourself
Now, the one on the left works in a bank
And the one in the middle drives a truck
The one on the right's an all-night deejay
And the guy in the rear got drafted

[pErvinalia]

"The Left" is a dead concept, as demonstrated by the fascists calling the liberal centre 'far left' and 'radical left' and 'socialist' etc.

Yes, because fascists are the authority when it comes to political ideology.

[Brian Peacock]

"The Left" is a dead concept, as demonstrated by the fascists calling the liberal centre 'far left' and 'radical left' and 'socialist' etc.

Yes, because fascists are the authority when it comes to political ideology.

Nope, because they hold positions of authority over the rest of us.

[pErvinalia]

Fascists? You are getting more and more absurd with time.

[Brian Peacock]

One day, when you finally get round to justifying your opinion rather than simply asserting it, we might be able to prove that.

[JimC]

"The Left" is a dead concept, as demonstrated by the fascists calling the liberal centre 'far left' and 'radical left' and 'socialist' etc.

The left side of politics may be less of a clear-cut position than in the past, but absurd statements by fascists (or more generally, the conservative media) do not make an objective difference to the actual politics, or cause the "death of the left", although it muddies the water for the general public.

[Brian Peacock]

"The Left" is a dead concept, as demonstrated by the fascists calling the liberal centre 'far left' and 'radical left' and 'socialist' etc.

The left side of politics may be less of a clear-cut position than in the past, but absurd statements by fascists (or more generally, the conservative media) do not make an objective difference to the actual politics, or cause the "death of the left", although it muddies the water for the general public.

Indeed, but for those reasons I think 'left' has become a pretty meaningless container. Personally I prefer to talk about things like improving the material conditions of poor and working people, promoting well-being and human flourishing, and reducing avoidable suffering. We so often end up playing the 'what we stand for' game on the economic playing fields of the 'right', where we're on a loser from the start because we basically see an economy as only a part of society and then only as a means to an end, rather than the primary objective of society and a means in and of itself. When we talk about things like improving material conditions, promoting well-being, and reducing suffering we're speaking directly and in antithesis to the requirements and consequences of 'right-leaning' politics.

[Svartalf]

problem is that now, "left" has become a blanket label for anything not archconservative... heck, here, even the party of economically liberal president macron is often classified as "left", a misnomer if I ever saw one.

[Brian Peacock]

problem is that now, "left" has become a blanket label for anything not archconservative... heck, here, even the party of economically liberal president macron is often classified as "left", a misnomer if I ever saw one.

Careful Svarty. People don't like it when you call centrists economic liberals - makes you sound like some kind of bolshie or Zapatista.

[Svartalf]

He's not a centrist, he's a fucking right winger in socialist clothing, the socialist party has been filled with those ever since 1971. Lots of right wingers denied a place in traditional rights parties became "socialists" and managed to have a political career, in spite of being SINOs... most prominent in the lot was former president françois mitterrand who launched the trend.