The Tragic Death of the Democratic Party
11-18-2016
, 08:07 PM
11-18-2016
, 08:16 PM
11-18-2016
, 08:16 PM
11-18-2016
, 08:18 PM
11-18-2016
, 08:21 PM
11-18-2016
, 08:47 PM
11-18-2016
, 08:55 PM
Quote:
Since the 70s the left has conceded ground again and again to the right on the economic case.
Post war till the 70s, tax and spend, growth in welfare state, redistribution of wealth and unionisation of workforce was the centre.
Then after the 70s the right regrouped and has been on a rampage, the left barely if at all stands by any of the above, it has conceded the economic argument, leaving identity politics its only crusade left to fight.
Thing is though, the technocrats of the right, were ready to concede on identity politics. Any cultural legacies remaining from gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation are irrelevant to the logics of their system, neo liberalism, they are irrelevant in regards consumption, if anything they are vectors for consumption. No one wants negative cultural overhang getting in the way of $.
For example, David Cameron ex Tory Prime Minister cites his proudest achievement in office to be the legalisation of Gay Marriage.
The rub is that the right has cultural hang ups that can not be simply dissolved by capitalism. Authority, religion (which overlays sexual orientation) and race.
Their was a huge dissonance between right base and right political representatives over culture.
Its this dissonance that created the alt-right and ultimately made Trump possible.
Now the left has to consider its postion.
Soul crushed.
Lost the economic case.
Lost the culture war.
Lost.
Those two loses are not unrelated, they are indeed intimately linked.
If you give up the economic argument, if you accept and indeed internalise the arguments of the right as can be seen in Bobmans "no way can we tax the rich", almost elevating them to transcendental truths, then the game is being played deep in your half all the time, pretty much on the ten yard line, the opposing team hardly has to push much to score a game winning touchdown and take home the whole enchilada.
The centre has been shifted so far to the right, that you only have to move the arrow a little off centre to arrive at crazy town. Which is were we are now, absolute ****ing crazy town.
This is why the left has to come up with a new economic mythos that rejects neoliberalism, which is itself just a mythos, don't let people tell you its a transcendental truth.
Not because Trump voter is economically anxious, but because the whole framing of the debate has to be moved way,way,way,way back from where it is now, the game has to be move to the middle of the pitch, away from the ten yard line.
The only way to do this is with an economic and social argument that rejects or at least challenges the compromises of the last 40 years.
The left has spent the last 40 years letting the right carry the ball up the field.
There needs to be a renaissance.
Post war till the 70s, tax and spend, growth in welfare state, redistribution of wealth and unionisation of workforce was the centre.
Then after the 70s the right regrouped and has been on a rampage, the left barely if at all stands by any of the above, it has conceded the economic argument, leaving identity politics its only crusade left to fight.
Thing is though, the technocrats of the right, were ready to concede on identity politics. Any cultural legacies remaining from gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation are irrelevant to the logics of their system, neo liberalism, they are irrelevant in regards consumption, if anything they are vectors for consumption. No one wants negative cultural overhang getting in the way of $.
For example, David Cameron ex Tory Prime Minister cites his proudest achievement in office to be the legalisation of Gay Marriage.
The rub is that the right has cultural hang ups that can not be simply dissolved by capitalism. Authority, religion (which overlays sexual orientation) and race.
Their was a huge dissonance between right base and right political representatives over culture.
Its this dissonance that created the alt-right and ultimately made Trump possible.
Now the left has to consider its postion.
Soul crushed.
Lost the economic case.
Lost the culture war.
Lost.
Those two loses are not unrelated, they are indeed intimately linked.
If you give up the economic argument, if you accept and indeed internalise the arguments of the right as can be seen in Bobmans "no way can we tax the rich", almost elevating them to transcendental truths, then the game is being played deep in your half all the time, pretty much on the ten yard line, the opposing team hardly has to push much to score a game winning touchdown and take home the whole enchilada.
The centre has been shifted so far to the right, that you only have to move the arrow a little off centre to arrive at crazy town. Which is were we are now, absolute ****ing crazy town.
This is why the left has to come up with a new economic mythos that rejects neoliberalism, which is itself just a mythos, don't let people tell you its a transcendental truth.
Not because Trump voter is economically anxious, but because the whole framing of the debate has to be moved way,way,way,way back from where it is now, the game has to be move to the middle of the pitch, away from the ten yard line.
The only way to do this is with an economic and social argument that rejects or at least challenges the compromises of the last 40 years.
The left has spent the last 40 years letting the right carry the ball up the field.
There needs to be a renaissance.
11-18-2016
, 08:56 PM
11-18-2016
, 09:14 PM
11-18-2016
, 10:57 PM
11-19-2016
, 12:07 AM