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We aren't going to "get" a new left wing anytime soon. The neoliberal turn that most left-wing parties took was a direct result of the collapse of social democr

We aren't going to "get" a new left wing anytime soon. The neoliberal turn that most left-wing parties took was a direct result of the collapse of social democracy and citizen involvement in he 1970s, which resulted in the neoliberal market politics commonly attributed to Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. If you want a new left wing, make it happen. Join a local board. Run for local office. Take part in your community. Be a part of something. But don't expect reading news or commenting on forums to change anything. After all, the shift from active citizen to passive consumer is what got us in this mess in the first place. Adam Curtis has several phenominal documentaries regarding this shift over time. Particularly, "Century of the Self", "The Trap", and most recently, "HyperNormalization."

eli_gottlieb 10y ago
>The neoliberal turn that most left-wing parties took was a direct result of the collapse of social democracy and citizen involvement in he 1970s, which resulted in the neoliberal market politics commonly attributed to Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. Oh come on. We all know that's not true. The citizens didn't turn neoliberal or particularly apathetic; the politicians did under the advice of economists who pushed neoliberalism as the solution to the oil crisis. >If you want a new left wing, make it happen. Join a local board. Run for local office. Take part in your community. Be a part of something. But don't expect reading news or commenting on forums to change anything. This I can agree with! Not just that, but provide names of organizations pushing a more "Old Left", social-democratic agenda. I belong to the first two of these as a dues-paying member and a volunteer, and we've been gaining hundreds of new members since the election. It's honestly like waking up from a bad dream: all of a sudden, the bread-and-butter issues (wages, housing, health-care, civil liberties) matter again, and the culture wars are getting sidelined. * Democratic Socialists of America * Our Revolution (started by Bernie Sanders) * Socialist Alternative (more "party-line", worse at returning people's calls) * The Berniecrats Network * /r/Berniecrats and facebook/Berniecrats * Jacobin magazine and its associated reading groups For those looking for a more decent right-wing as well, I recommend Reason magazine, the Washington Monthly (especially this one, it's a hidden gem of a magazine), the Libertarian Party, the works of Henry George, and GK Chesterton's "distributivism".
- chillwaves 10y ago
  Socialist Alternative seems like an overall self-defeating org (due to ideological purity) and powerless outside of the Seattle area and a few other metropolitan hubs (speaking as a former member). I find Our Revolution and former Bernie organizers to be the most practical and promising group for affecting change.
  - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
    I'm a dual-listed DSA and Our Revolution member, and I can kinda agree with that. My personal politics are left enough for DSA, and it is a multi-tendency organization that's willing to include ideological social democrats. But if you don't have enough detailed political education to say, "I'm a social democrat or a socialist and I know why", but instead just think, "Inequality is too much, there are too many people homeless, hungry, or without health-care for such a rich country, and I wish the politicians would respond better", you should maybe stick with Our Revolution. I also definitely have a bone to pick with the people claiming we're gonna totally obtain third-party electoral successes Real Soon Now. Yes, the Democratic Party has been rubbish to us. It has been the "graveyard of social movements". But we've also run a hell of a lot of social movements (like Occupy Wall Street, for instance) that had a whole ton of radical spirit, chic, and ideology, but had zero power analysis and zero affirmative program. Our Revolution and Bernie's rejuvenation of social democracy through taking over the Democratic Party, while it's lost its back-bench, from the bottom up, does actually promise a strategy for obtaining real power that's suited to our historical moment. Just my thoughts. Don't mind me. I'm no longer sober.

eli_gottlieb 10y ago

>The neoliberal turn that most left-wing parties took was a direct result of the collapse of social democracy and citizen involvement in he 1970s, which resulted in the neoliberal market politics commonly attributed to Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. Oh come on. We all know that's not true. The citizens didn't turn neoliberal or particularly apathetic; the politicians did under the advice of economists who pushed neoliberalism as the solution to the oil crisis. >If you want a new left wing, make it happen. Join a local board. Run for local office. Take part in your community. Be a part of something. But don't expect reading news or commenting on forums to change anything. This I can agree with! Not just that, but provide names of organizations pushing a more "Old Left", social-democratic agenda. I belong to the first two of these as a dues-paying member and a volunteer, and we've been gaining hundreds of new members since the election. It's honestly like waking up from a bad dream: all of a sudden, the bread-and-butter issues (wages, housing, health-care, civil liberties) matter again, and the culture wars are getting sidelined. * Democratic Socialists of America * Our Revolution (started by Bernie Sanders) * Socialist Alternative (more "party-line", worse at returning people's calls) * The Berniecrats Network * /r/Berniecrats and facebook/Berniecrats * Jacobin magazine and its associated reading groups For those looking for a more decent right-wing as well, I recommend Reason magazine, the Washington Monthly (especially this one, it's a hidden gem of a magazine), the Libertarian Party, the works of Henry George, and GK Chesterton's "distributivism".

chillwaves 10y ago
Socialist Alternative seems like an overall self-defeating org (due to ideological purity) and powerless outside of the Seattle area and a few other metropolitan hubs (speaking as a former member). I find Our Revolution and former Bernie organizers to be the most practical and promising group for affecting change.
- eli_gottlieb 10y ago
  I'm a dual-listed DSA and Our Revolution member, and I can kinda agree with that. My personal politics are left enough for DSA, and it is a multi-tendency organization that's willing to include ideological social democrats. But if you don't have enough detailed political education to say, "I'm a social democrat or a socialist and I know why", but instead just think, "Inequality is too much, there are too many people homeless, hungry, or without health-care for such a rich country, and I wish the politicians would respond better", you should maybe stick with Our Revolution. I also definitely have a bone to pick with the people claiming we're gonna totally obtain third-party electoral successes Real Soon Now. Yes, the Democratic Party has been rubbish to us. It has been the "graveyard of social movements". But we've also run a hell of a lot of social movements (like Occupy Wall Street, for instance) that had a whole ton of radical spirit, chic, and ideology, but had zero power analysis and zero affirmative program. Our Revolution and Bernie's rejuvenation of social democracy through taking over the Democratic Party, while it's lost its back-bench, from the bottom up, does actually promise a strategy for obtaining real power that's suited to our historical moment. Just my thoughts. Don't mind me. I'm no longer sober.