Does anybody remember the Left?

[bread_and_roses]

83. Much of that is "Liberal" - not "Left" (not that I don't thank you...)

I thank you for the thread ... it's a good reminder, but I wouldn't call those stances "Left" - at least not with a "Capitol L." They strike me as more or less classic Liberalism - and, for that matter, in polls, when divorced from political connections, most people agree with many of them.

I could go down the list, but will suffice myself with noting that "Left" is not "when the government regulates the excesses of the rich and extends a helping hand to those at the lower margins of society, guaranteeing a chance at a decent life for all, rather than clamping down on the poor and helping the rich." The Left does not seek to ameliorate the differences between rich and poor, it seeks to eradicate them.

I'm left. I consider most "liberal" proposals sops and disguises to make sure the Oligarchy is secure from the rest of us. I consider that to be the function of Liberalism. Most humans just want to be reasonably comfortable and secure - give them that, and they won't start to wonder who should own the means of production, or question the Police State, or worry too much about the mostly invisible outliers like those in poverty in inner cities or deep in rural country (look at the 50's for a reasonably good example of what I mean).

Nonetheless, I thank you for the thread ... a good reminder of what the D Party used to at least nominally stand for, and where it is now.