4 ms·

I think that it's more the authoritarian movements that are especially immature and of course that's orthogonal to left/right classifications. As a lefty mysel

I think that it's more the authoritarian movements that are especially immature and of course that's orthogonal to left/right classifications. As a lefty myself, I find that right/capitalist politics to remind me of the toddler stage when kids are claiming things to be their own ("mine!") and exaggerating all of their accomplishments (e.g. Trumpism). Lefties tend to have more of a notion of sharing and trying to be emphatic with others, but there's certainly a breed of self-righteous, angry lefties too (c.f. Linus Torvalds' angry outbursts). Edit: Another thought - is the infantilism better associated with populism? i.e. to appeal to a large demographic, it's best to keep slogans simple (e.g. "Get Brexit Done" from the UK Tories) and having simple ideas that can appeal to people despite the ideas not actually being practical (e.g. "Eat the rich")

mordae 3y ago
I feel that "Eat the rich" reaction is simply an outcome of when people realize that they are in fact being exploited. Many were feeling similar in USSR. "Who does not rob the state, robs his own family" was a pretty popular slogan back in those days. About the "immaturity", I don't have a good grasp of what it's supposed to mean. Maybe we should stop using it altogether (outside of biology) and concentrate on specific skills.
- ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
  > About the "immaturity", I don't have a good grasp of what it's supposed to mean. I interpret it as an infantile reaction to when events don't go your way. A classic example here in the UK is Boris Johnson's reaction to the just released "Partygate" report. A mature reaction to criticism would be to either dispute it if it's inaccurate or to acknowledge your own shortcomings otherwise. His reaction is more akin to a tantrum though that could be related to his narcissism. Nowadays, I'm thinking that a lot of modern politics are becoming like a scene from Lord of the Flies. (I wonder if climate catastrophes will make "Eat the rich" a popular slogan)

mordae 3y ago

I feel that "Eat the rich" reaction is simply an outcome of when people realize that they are in fact being exploited. Many were feeling similar in USSR. "Who does not rob the state, robs his own family" was a pretty popular slogan back in those days. About the "immaturity", I don't have a good grasp of what it's supposed to mean. Maybe we should stop using it altogether (outside of biology) and concentrate on specific skills.

ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
> About the "immaturity", I don't have a good grasp of what it's supposed to mean. I interpret it as an infantile reaction to when events don't go your way. A classic example here in the UK is Boris Johnson's reaction to the just released "Partygate" report. A mature reaction to criticism would be to either dispute it if it's inaccurate or to acknowledge your own shortcomings otherwise. His reaction is more akin to a tantrum though that could be related to his narcissism. Nowadays, I'm thinking that a lot of modern politics are becoming like a scene from Lord of the Flies. (I wonder if climate catastrophes will make "Eat the rich" a popular slogan)