I’m a member of the German left-wing party and I promise we’re fighting tooth and nail against this.
Watch what we do on the left in the US and then go ahead and DON’T FUCKING DO THAT. It’s been utterly failing.
To be honest the US would be the last place next to other autocracies I’d look for in guidance for left-wing politics.
The reason is simple: Neither the center left nor the center right are delivering for the broad human populace. They both protect the ultra rich by not taxing them, which in turn creates a redistribution of wealth from the poor, the middle class AND the state to the ultra rich.
On a basal level, everyone understands that the economic status quo can not continue. Living standards continue to fall regardless of who is in power, and so it is inevitable that people will demand some sort of drastic change.
The loudest voice promising change is the alt right.
The second loudest voice is us, taxing the rich. It must be done, and we need to do all we can to become the loudest voice. We have several more years until the elections in eg. UK and Germany. Let’s do it. Let’s tax the rich.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pUKaB4P5Qns&pp=0gcJCa0JAYcqIYzv
This is no bleep. Far right authoritarianism is soon to become the new normal.
Technocratic centrism is entirely ineffective to address this. “Solving problems” while “preserving normalcy” and the “stability of the markets” is not enough. It just simply cannot beat fascism at the ballot box after a couple of cycles.
The reason is that the “normalcy” is unsustainable, untenable. Both reality and the electorates need transformation politics. The Right transformative narratives have stepped into the fray.
Only an actual Left counter, with an actual Left program for transforming society can stop this.
Hm, my take would be that rich people bought up all the free press, radio and TV stations since the 90s and streamlined them into parroting the owners and sponsors agenda. now they decide what problems we talk about and who can “solve” them.
Only an actual Left counter, with an actual Left program for transforming society can stop this.
Unfortunately they can’t, because that would financially hurt the millionaires and billionaires that own the media, so they’ll do everything they can to discriminate any left party with actual chances to get some influence and make sure everyone thinks they are bad.
I don’t have a solution. I’m just here to ask if anyone’s up for a barbecue? I can think of a few nice places for a fire.
(Joke aside, pure vandalism wouldn’t fix the underlying issue that is the perceived legitimacy of the robber barons. So long as people accept their claim to ownership, they will continue to own. It’s that claim to property that needs to be challenged.)
What the fuck is happening.
Poor education, social media and targeted Russian misinformation campaigns. The perfect mix
IDK about the education bit. Finland, once famous for it, is already governing in a neoliberal-conservative-fascist coalition.
Despite what the headline sounds like, this is not a new problem and it’s happening across Europe, not just these three countries.
I blame neoliberalism, lobbyism aka legal corruption, and the Austerity narrative.
I would say it mainly boils down that basic needs aren’t fulfilled anymore. Increasing costs of groceries, rent, public transport, healthcare and taxes to name a few meet decreasing investments (monetary and political will in general) in infrastructure, social housing, healthcare, pensions etc. @
In recent times I’ve seen a take more frequently that boosting polls far away from the elections just helps the populists. German article:
English paper (not peer-reviewed): https://www.wiwi.uni-muenster.de/loep/en/research/publications/154536
I haven’t seen a political party, which has an actual scope and vision to have a feasable plan and approach to tackle the problems we’re actually facing. The old ideals have died a while ago, and the stuff that used to bind us and keep us together aa groups, has disappeared.
This new world we live in has new unique problems and complexity, which actually can only maybe be solved in an worldy international stage. But, the priorities, cultures, educations , etc, are too divergent region wise.
In a sense a world government and a world carved up in regions or parts of regions might provide a system, to translate citizens preferences and their specific problems into a resemblance of a workable political representation.
Imo, as politicians have no clue what’s even happening, they comeup with very simple symbolic politics, simply to garner a position, and appease voters. In the end their results might be questionable at best, but we do sense something like a better or a worse choice, if you will.
Since the world has become interconnected no one ciuntry or people, can sustain a model based on self reliance. With our im& export markets we export our own problems, and naturally import other countries problems.
I think the changes of late, are too many and too quick for any sane person to comprehend. We are all spilling all the ideas, good and bad, over to each other and we just sort of choose a middle path somewhere in this chaos, while simultaneously desperately clinging to what ia perceived as a ritualism of our idea of a sane political, economical and material world.
But everyone knows it’s fake. Especially the Billionaires of these times, and Politicians they know it’s all bullshit. And we know it too, but we need a sense a normalcy, so we grab anything we can to justifify our discontent , give it a name, find a solution. Imo, humans don’t want to face their biggest fear: themselves. I mean wtf are we and who do we want to be?!
My rambling morning thoughts, but that’s what I saw after reading some good comments on the rise of the right , and hopefully the left.
Add.And, if we do want to find out who we are and what do we want to be,as tribe, region, country, freedom is 100% essential.
People are going to keep voting further and further right until someone listens to their demands on legal and illegal immigration. In most European countries it is the largest single issue polled. What frustrates me immensely is that so many centrist and left wing parties all over Europe have the opportunity to rein in record high immigration in a sensible and pragmatic way right now - but refuse to do so. They would rather lose the next election and hand over all control of this issue to the right, who will not use care and consideration. They will leave the ECHR and re-write their humanitarian laws to reject all asylum claimants and deport every single person in the country illegally. Refusing to listen to voters and compromise on such a major issue isn’t a principled stance. It just guarantees an even worse outcome.
I think my country of Denmark has a decent balance. I hope other European countries can find balance and compromise. This problem won’t go away on its own. It will get worse until leaders listen to voters. That’s how democracy works - especially if they disagree with the voters.