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I disagree. I think the left has been on a killer run of cultural victories (as opposed to political and economic) in recent years . In my view, this lawsuit in

I disagree. I think the left has been on a killer run of cultural victories (as opposed to political and economic) in recent years . In my view, this lawsuit in particular is a "heads I win, tails you lose" for the left. Labor protections are a major plank of the left and should Damore win it would further help enshrine those labor protections in tort and give the left firepower to say "Look, these laws protect conservatives too! Just look at Damore!" The right, historically, prefers an environment where employment is fully at-will and at the discretion of the employer: this lawsuit undercuts that view. I think some see this as the left being "hoisted by one's own petard" but it's not like liberals are going to turn around and abandon labor rights as a reaction to Damore... quite the contrary. I see Damore's lawsuit as a byproduct of the diminished political conviction of the contemporary right. As a self-described classical liberal, Damore should, in theory, treat his employment as at-will as that is consistent with his stated political ideology. This is in large part why the left continues to win, and why the right acts more and more like the left: When faced with adversity, the right adopts left-wing views to score modest Pyrrhic victories, thus normalizing left-wing views. The one area where the right isn't doing this stuff is abortion: an area where the right seems to be gaining ground. Women's access to abortion has been declining (unfortunately, IMO) in many states. I wish Mr. Damore the best of luck in his endeavours. Employment discrimination lawsuits are really difficult to win in court, even if it seems "open and shut" to a layperson. Complicating matters, it looks like Google's lawyers are raring for a fight... many businesses just settle even if they feel they'll be cleared in court.

forapurpose 9y ago
> the left has been on a killer run of cultural victories in recent years That's hard to see in the U.S., with the Republican's shift far to the right and overwhelming political domination (control of the White House, both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court, and in over 30 state both houses and the Governor's mansion), and with neo-fascism and white nationalism, once way beyond the pale, now trendy. Also it's hard to see in Europe, where neo-fascist and white nationalist parties actually have seats in national legislatures, even run some executive branches, and include the Foreign Minister of the UK.
- spamizbad 9y ago
  Is that rise due to people's genuine connection to those right-wing ideas or a reaction to all the externalities of neoliberal economics? I would argue Europe's neo-fascists are largely gliding on a cloud of resentment left over from austerity measures, combined with the general disarray of many left-wing parties. In the US things are more complicated: we have gerrymandering which keeps the house Republican despite Democratic candidates winning more votes overall. We have governors that were largely propped up with corporate money. The supreme court is large a side-effect of those structural issues (Obama would have picked a liberal judge of the dems had the house in '16)
  - forapurpose 9y ago
    I don't agree with your reasons, but it's irrelevant to the question of whether "the left has been on a killer run of cultural victories in recent years".

forapurpose 9y ago

> the left has been on a killer run of cultural victories in recent years That's hard to see in the U.S., with the Republican's shift far to the right and overwhelming political domination (control of the White House, both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court, and in over 30 state both houses and the Governor's mansion), and with neo-fascism and white nationalism, once way beyond the pale, now trendy. Also it's hard to see in Europe, where neo-fascist and white nationalist parties actually have seats in national legislatures, even run some executive branches, and include the Foreign Minister of the UK.

spamizbad 9y ago
Is that rise due to people's genuine connection to those right-wing ideas or a reaction to all the externalities of neoliberal economics? I would argue Europe's neo-fascists are largely gliding on a cloud of resentment left over from austerity measures, combined with the general disarray of many left-wing parties. In the US things are more complicated: we have gerrymandering which keeps the house Republican despite Democratic candidates winning more votes overall. We have governors that were largely propped up with corporate money. The supreme court is large a side-effect of those structural issues (Obama would have picked a liberal judge of the dems had the house in '16)
- forapurpose 9y ago
  I don't agree with your reasons, but it's irrelevant to the question of whether "the left has been on a killer run of cultural victories in recent years".