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When are self-identifying lefties going to acknowledge the evils of far-left ideology?
They will not.
To the modern Left, every form of extremism is far right…
Authoritarianism (more rules)? Far right.
Anarchism (no rules)? Also far right.
Plutocracy (rule by the few)? Far right.
Populism (appealing to the masses)? Also far right.
Pro-religion (Christianity)? Far right.
Anti-religion (Islam)? Also far right.
Pro-life? Religious far right.
Anti-life? Inhumane far right.
Pro-police? Totalitarian far right.
Anti-police? Anti-society far right.
Not enough government spending? Selfish far right.
Too much government spending? Crony far right.
Socially conservative? Racist far right.
Socially progressive? Neo-liberal far right.
Economic nationalism? Reactionary far right.
Economic globalist? Neo-liberal far right.
Even though they are opposed to extremism, Lefties who hold to these positions cannot really be identified as “moderates” either, because there is no consistency on which the modern Left apply their principles: Anything that suits their preferences is “moderate left” or “left of centre”; and anything which they oppose is “right-wing”. Some more examples…
On liberty:
When people oppose criminalisation of psychoactive substance abuse? Left-wing.
When people oppose criminalisation of hate speech? Right-wing.
On government intervention:
When government intervenes and things go well? Left-wing.
When government intervenes and things go badly? Right-wing.
On philanthropy:
When rich people/organisations give to a cause that they support? Left-wing social responsibility.
When rich people/organisations give to a cause that they oppose? Right-wing subversion of democracy.
On wealth:
Rich philanderers who portray themselves as “hip”? Progressive man of the people. (think Elon Musk, Richard Branson, or just about any Hollywood heart-throb)
Rich philanderers who don’t pretend to be “hip”? Slimey old men embodying the patriarchy. (think Donald Trump, Bernie Ecclestone, or any ugly but successful businessman)
The Left imagine themselves as the “good guys”. Most of the Left consider themselves “compassionate liberals”, but they are far from compassionate, nor are they liberal toward those who disagree with them. They have plenty of compassion toward those they perceive to be victims, but they express very little compassion or empathy toward those who do not openly express their suffering, who instead choose to bear their burden in silence.
I cover in another article how the modern Left are far from liberal: If they could get their way, self-identifying Lefties would prevent those whom they disagree with from having their way. As a true liberal once expressed: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. The principle was expressed by Voltaire, a true progressive liberal. Unfortunately, modern lefties would rather promote anti-hate speech legislation, in order to protect sensitivities from being offended.
The Left is no longer guided by principles or by ideology. They are guided by impulsive feelings. Thus they are not even able to identify their own ideologies when they are taken to their logical extremes. To the modern emotionally driven Left, all perpetrators of evil deeds are far right by definition. They cannot conceive of the idea of a right-winger who means well.
To answer my opening question: The modern emotionally-driven left will never be able to condemn far-left extremism. This is because they believe such an idea to be logically impossible, an oxymoron.
This is what it means to the emotionally-driven modern Left:
Left-wing = GOOD
and
BAD = Right-wing
I deliberately expressed those definitions assymetrically. If a modern lefty thinks something is left-wing, they will think it is good. But if they see something is bad, they will automatically identify it as right-wing. And never the twain shall meet.
Modern lefties have, in their own heads and hearts, fundamentally redefined the left-right spectrum of political principles. If they see something good coming out of the right, it will be identified as right-wingers practicing left-wing ideas; If they see something bad coming out of the left, they will identify it as a lefty practicing right-wing ideas.
Many lefties who read this article would have already condemned me as a far right apologist. They will not realise that I am socially liberal and economically progressive, the principles of which are evidenced in what I write. Traditionally, that would have placed me on the Left of the political spectrum. Unfortunately, modern lefties are driven by emotion – they are not able to receive criticism of their own position without taking offense and retaliating in anger.
Let me be clear on one more issue. I am not defending the Right as beyond reproach. There are undoubtedly many right-wingers who are driven by self-interest, but all the activists who give up their time and money to promote right-wing causes by and large do it because they genuinely believe it will benefit society, whether or not you and I agree with them.
This post was originally published by the author on his personal blog: https://hoongwai1984.wordpress.com/2019/02/21/to-the-left-everything-disagreeable-is-far-right/
Nicely put.
The real puzzle in recent times is why Extreme Internationalism is backed by the Left. We have the daily paradox of Left wing politicians pleading for the rights of Renault Nissan and BMW to operate Just in Time industrial production and to gain maximum advantage in terms of low wages and working conditions from their UK operations. These have always historically been labelled as Right Wing objectives by the Left but now they openly support them.
I sometimes wonder if money buys the Left. See http://gbm.7e9.mywebsitetransfer.com/comment/who-is-paying-for-remain-and-peoples-vote-the-european-movement-open-britain-ltd-and-best-for-britain/