Decline of the Left?

[PSOL]

1. I suppose, Youth are more predisposed to change to what they believe is right compared to their older peers. That takes the form of being against the establishment in what they see as radical.

2. Well that is a tricky answer. It really depends on the material conditions of the country. To focus on on the resurgent left right now; Nepal, Belgium, a host of countries in Africa that most notably includes Sudan, and others are seeing a resurgence of what can be described as the old school, yet also niche left. Western Europe and America are often similar, containing democratic socialist outfits growing in membership like Red-Greens, DSA, GPUS, momentum, pre-2015 Syriza, and others be present while more Marxist or Anarchist orthodox groups either stagnate or grow very slowly. Meanwhile in the East things are even more dire, but I’d say that can be blamed more on increased state suppression then in Western Europe. What’s different is that while Social Democratic ideas and organized movements are actually on the rise in the United States, they aren’t in Western Europe as either they are dying for not adapting to the times or they poisoned their own well by being austerity pushers.

3. It represents how well a combination of state suppression and cultural hegemony has over our society. Social Democracy is actually popular to many if you don’t say the words, but in America it’s socialism just the same. Meanwhile, the culture media has not appropriately supported the necessary solidarity, ideals, and methods of the left over what is accepted in Capitalism. Tell me, are strikes a common thing to see in mainstream media? Anyway, the fact that the FBI has said in the past that they work to keep progressive and socialist politicians out of government and still do is kind of a hamper on things. Same thing outside the US too.

4. Yes, as sadly many are suffering from false consciousness and a lack of class realization, unlike those who run the show now.

[PSOL]

Thanks for your response, PSOL. So would you say that the situation is more one of underlying conditions and opinions butting up against inertia-laden institutions (be it the media, the electoral system, etc.)? And if so, what's the trajectory?

Belief in the media and institutions are collapsing worldwide, and it can take a while for things to start popping up in the mainstream.

[PSOL]

The short answer is the left wing parties are in decline.

Australia, UK, and many parts of Europe have moved to the right.

And Corona-virus will accelerate that movement.

The election in November will be very interesting as you have a different situation in the US to anywhere else.

The theatre of the theatre if you will.

I disagree that this virus will make anyone shift further right. If anything, the failure to properly respond is souring or is going to sour on them going further.

I do agree that the United States is in a different situation, and there is a rise of reactionary politics in Europe, but that’s why we gotta look globally to really assess this situation.

[PSOL]

Just from the Corona-virus, it is obvious now that the US needs:

• Proper immigration policies;
• Less reliance on China;
• Less useless global institutions that look good on CNN;
• More US money spent in the US

What the hell do those things, aside from perhaps reliance on China, have anything to do with corona?

What is obvious is the need to replace Trump and develop public health strategies and capabilities to deal with future crises.

The problem is that the best optimal care and infrastructure in place to deal with pandemics on this scale require massive investment and time, something that doesn’t bode well for most of the people who own enough money to influence politics far exceeding some average individual and even huge sections of the population at times. We’ve seen that Trump and many other nations dismantle and privatize key areas in their healthcare systems for a conservation of these ultra-Rich’s taxdollars.

Anyway, for many people looking onward and seeing that the status quo isn’t working out well for the vast majority of people in the worst of times, I’d say that would push the majority of people to the left instead of the right, as the right in most cases have dismissed these concerns entirely while bubbling up the response to the pandemic, or have blamed poor migrants while bungling the response in the same way.

[PSOL]

The thing is that the culture war matters less, and is a subset of, the war of hierarchy against the current class and caste systems guiding the world. It is ultimately much more harder to crack, even basing itself as a culture war is meaningless. That’s why movements like #metoo or racial justice haven’t penetrated as hard or noticeable the exclusive clubs of global finance, as the elite have immense sway to freeze time in place or revert it, as we’ve seen with the failure of women to penetrate STEM fields due to structural barriers. Then there is the issue of class and caste in America draped and intersecting as a woman’s or marginalized ethnic issue making the problem clear

[PSOL]

S/O to deadoman for correctly pointing out the woke left is catching up to the true right, the libertarian right on social issues. Wow we were ahead of our time with gay issues, civil liberties, drug legalization, criticizing the relationship between government and corporations, and opposing censorship!

Now if we can only stand with rand in 2024-infinity

Well, the ACLU was initially a broad front of Leftists and liberals way back when. Gay rights in the US political scene actually goes back to the Communist-oriented Mattachine society in the 50s and the Left as a whole got socially progressive as we now know it in the 60s with the WWP and Black Panthers. Drug legalization got its start with the Yippies.

The Libertarian Party got there late to the party in the 70s, and it still was very socially backward with battered wife-wannabe Rand and Rothbard’s social conservatism.