The two kinds of Left wing movements emerging to combat Right wing populism

[Technocracy Timmy]

I see a certain global trend with left wing movements in western countries that are forming to stop right wing populism and it looks like it comes in two forms. There's obviously overlap between the two groups and few people fall squarely into one category or another, but there does seem to be this current divide on the left. I think the biggest difference between the two groups and why they push for their economic and social platforms (and they are in such stark opposition to the other group's) is due their respective geographic locations.



1. Cosmopolitan neoliberal Capitalists
Examples: Obama, Hillary, Trudeau, Macron, Cory Booker (older examples include Tony Blair and Bill Clinton).

This movement focuses more on maintaining the neoliberal economic consensus from the 80's and 90's while also believing that government intervention can be used to occasionally fill the gaps in where the free market falls short. Their coalitions are usually centered in or around cities, are multiracial, and more likely to be white collar workers. They strongly emphasize openness in trade, immigration, and liberal social values. Their foreign policy usually leans towards interventionist. They are quite flexible when it comes to austerity vs. deficit spending and are fully committed towards incentivizing automation and working with new technology to create new industries in the future. They are more open towards working with the banking sector and see monetary policy as a strong tool that can be used to curb strong economic downturns. They see nationalism as being a mixed bag and want to put the world on a path towards seeing one another as a collective global citizenry. Many within this movement see working class natives within their home countries as being too socially conservative to win over and instead believe that winning over upper income voters with centrist and fiscally sound economic policies is the path to victory.



2. Left wing Populists.
Examples: Bernie Sanders, Jeremy Corbyn, Elizabeth Warren, Podemos in Spain, Syriza, Die Linke in Germany, 5 star movement in Italy.

This movement focuses on redefining the neoliberal economic consensus in favor of much more aggressive governmental action to reduce inequality and to increase opportunity. Their coalitions are usually more spread out but generally cater more to rural working class areas compared to the cosmopolitan capitalists. Their coalitions are more likely to be blue collar and aren't as ethnically diverse. There's a very old school Keynesian mindset to these movements and a strong desire to return to the 1950's-1960's style of leftism. They'e usually more hostile to trade and globalization, and not as solidly liberal in their views on immigration and social issues. They usually lean towards noninterventionist foreign policies. They're strongly opposed to austerity and are concerned about the potential downsides of the automation economy. They have a very powerful disdain towards banks and don't think monetary policy is the best way out of an economic slump. They ultimately see nationalism as a tool in which to protect domestic markets and workers. Many do not think that winning over wealthy voters is the way to go and instead should work to win over working class voters with populist left wing economics in order to win elections.



Similarities:

-Both typically attract large numbers of young people to their movements. Although it seems like the cosmopolitan capitalists do better with the youth when they have a younger candidate at the helm instead of an older candidate (Hillary Clinton) whereas the latter group doesn't need a younger candidate to excite the youth as much (Sanders, Corbyn).

-Both want to aggressively combat climate change.

-Both attack right wing populists for their anti-immigrant and racist views.



Thoughts? Which group is more likely to be the future of Left wing movements down the line? Do they need to reconcile their differences to win or are they inherently irreconcilable? Which group do you believe will be better at combating Right wing populism now or in the long run?

[Technocracy Timmy]

2. Left wing Populists.
Examples: Bernie Sanders, Jeremy Corbyn, Elizabeth Warren, Podemos in Spain, Syriza, Die Linke in Germany, 5 star movement in Italy.

This movement focuses on redefining the neoliberal economic consensus in favor of much more aggressive governmental action to reduce inequality and to increase opportunity. Their coalitions are usually more spread out but generally cater more to rural working class areas compared to the cosmopolitan capitalists. Their coalitions are more likely to be blue collar and aren't as ethnically diverse. There's a very old school Keynesian mindset to these movements and a strong desire to return to the 1950's-1960's style of leftism. They'e usually more hostile to trade and globalization, and not as solidly liberal in their views on immigration and social issues. They usually lean towards noninterventionist foreign policies. They're strongly opposed to austerity and are concerned about the potential downsides of the automation economy. They have a very powerful disdain towards banks and don't think monetary policy is the best way out of an economic slump. They ultimately see nationalism as a tool in which to protect domestic markets and workers. Many do not think that winning over wealthy voters is the way to go and instead should work to win over working class voters with populist left wing economics in order to win elections.

Without looking deep into it, even though Sanders did well in white, non-Southern rural areas, big city cosmopolitans were still the vast majority of his base. Can't comment too much on the examples from other countries. Otherwise, your analysis seems fine to me.

I meant to say that their base is generally more rural and working class when compared to the cosmopolitan capitalist base.

[Technocracy Timmy]

Okay there's clearly a big fuss over the fact that the first group didn't "emerge" and it does turn into a chicken or egg scenario.

Putting that aside, are these the two main ideological groups from the left that's facing right wing populism? Is it a fairly accurate depiction?

[Technocracy Timmy]

So far the first group is performing better globally and here in the United States. We'll see how it plays out in the long run. Ultimately, the nature of our two Party system and how rural areas are represented in our system will require that both of these groups must synthesize their visions to create a winning Democratic coalition moving forward and beyond.