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The election that just happened in the UK seems to indicate that things are going the other way. Young voter turnout increased substantially, and they're way fu
by jrs95 9y ago
The election that just happened in the UK seems to indicate that things are going the other way. Young voter turnout increased substantially, and they're way further to the left. That age gap seems to exist in the rest of Europe & the U.S. as well.
- comstock 9y agoThe increased young voter turnout is great. But the conservatives won, and are moving further and further to the right. Corybns own party have been trying to force him out. And to be honest, the Labour Party supposed some pretty right bill legislation (the IP Bill). There maybe significant (and even growing) resistance. But it doesn't seem very effective at creating political change.
- jrs95 9y agoBut the right wing voters continue to die off at a pretty decent rate every year. So as long as the young actually bother to vote, I don't think it'll be very long for this trend to reverse itself. A lot of "left" parties do seem to ultimately answer to corporate interests though.
- new299 9y agoIt's possible. Or perhaps Corybn will be pushed out and the Labour party will take a more authoritarian stance again. And even if Labour get in, they still voted the IP Bill in. So they are pro-surveillance. So overall, I can't be convinced that "things are looking positive" from an individual liberties point of view, in the UK. Is there anywhere it's looking positive?
- jrs95 9y agoOh yeah I agree, from an individual liberties point of view, we're totally fucked...and hardly anyone seems to care because they're easily distracted by shiny things & identity politics.
- kijin 9y agoAt the same time, young people grow older, and people tend to become more conservative with age. Baby boomers used to smoke pot and rally for civil liberties. Then they got mortgages, kids, and cable TV. As people live longer and birth rates stay low, young people are increasingly outnumbered by old people in many parts of the developed world. I suspect that this demographic change has a lot to do with the right turn that many countries seem to be making these days.
- thrillgore 9y agoTrump's election has spooked rational people into action. And sadly, it's done the same to the irrational (given yesterday's shooting in DC).
- Cthulhu_ 9y agoThe extreme-left (think SJW, Antifa, etc), however, is pushing a lot of people to the right as a counter-reaction. I'm not sure if/how Obama's more centrist-left policies (minus the war stuff) influenced that move though.
- opportune 9y agoI wouldn't even call them the extreme-left. I'd call them the crybaby left. I consider myself more politically to the left than many SJW friend/acquaintances that I know, but I'm also not a whiner that likes to participate in the oppression olympics.