3 ms·
No, the topic is US politics. I don't think it's even remotely controversial to observe that the US uses "liberal" differently than other countries with less in
by woodruffw 2y ago
No, the topic is US politics. I don't think it's even remotely controversial to observe that the US uses "liberal" differently than other countries with less insane politics do.
That's why Australia is being brought up: the way they use "liberal" as a conservative political demographic has as much to do with how the US uses it as European countries do. Which is to say zilch.
- Jensson 2y agoI am not criticizing the use of liberal here, I am saying that American liberals are very left wing since it isn't the right wing kind of liberal the rest of the world has.
- lanstin 2y agoI don't get this. Most of the rich world has universal health care, strong unions, shorter work weeks, longer paid vacations, uni seats for most anyone who can benefit, mass transit, even union reps on company boards, birth control, all that sort of lefty stuff.
- smackeyacky 2y agoOutsider here. Democrats are largely regarded as “Center right” outside of the US. I.e not very “left” at all.
- trealira 2y agoI really don't think they'd be regarded as center right anywhere in the world. People said that the Democratic Party was centrist during Obama's years, during which period many Democratic senators were closer to Joe Manchin than Bernie Sanders in terms of policy alignment. Today, the Democratic Party today is economically left-wing: they're in favor of funding welfare, pro-union laws, protectionist economic policies (such as tariffs), rent control (not universally), and workplace safety regulations. They're socially left-wing: they're in favor of criminal justice reform (including abolition of the death penalty), racial equity, LGBT rights, a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and access to abortion. There's not a thing about them that's center-right.
- setopt 2y agoNorwegian here. We consider Democrats center-right and Republicans far-right compared to our parties. Most of the things you listed are supported by most mainstream parties here, even the ones considered right-wing. In addition, both US parties are economically far to the right compared to all major parties here. Our largest far-right party uses the US as a role model for economic policy.
- trealira 2y agoSomehow I missed your comment 4 days ago. Thanks for the counter example. I really didn't think the Democrats would be center right anywhere, but I guess they are in Norway.
- kiitos 2y agoIt is a pretty uncontroversial and commonly understood fact that the US Democratic party is center-right in the context of world politics.
- wredcoll 2y agoThe word you're looking for is "meme", as in a commonly repeated opinion that propagates through a population. It's never been particularly accurate. Anything as large as the modern democrat party is going to have all sorts of opinions, which is one thing a lot of, uh, twitter style opinions, tend to miss. Ocassio-cortez and Manchin were both technically part of the democrat party at the same time, for example.
- kiitos 2y agoNo, it isn't. And it's not the "democrat party" -- your colors are showing.
- trealira 2y ago> uncontroversial and commonly understood Among whom? In what country would their policies be center right?
- defrost 2y ago> American liberals are very left wing barely left wing, please. There's a reason not-America makes jokes about blinkered vision, American Exceptionalism, and Manifest Destiny.