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Better tip - 99% of America would without hesitation agree with a statement like "The Democrat party is the main left-wing party in America". (Similar with 'ri

Better tip - 99% of America would without hesitation agree with a statement like "The Democrat party is the main left-wing party in America". (Similar with 'right' and 'Republican'). Would the terms "left" and "right" have the same meaning in all parts of the world at all points in history? Of course not. But when people make a statement without context, you can assume they mean the terms as the majority of their contemporaries use them.

icebraining 13y ago
I'm not in America, I'm on Hacker News, which despite being composed mostly of Americans, is its own community with its own context. I don't see why we should accept the American's ignorant definition of Left any more than we accept their definition of 'hacking'.
- ImprovedSilence 13y ago
  Left and right are relative to where you are standing. I wouldn't call America's definition of left ignorant, as it is clearly left of center for America.
  - icebraining 13y ago
    I disagree with the idea that wherever the majority lies it's automatically the center.
- cmccabe 13y ago
  Hacker News, if anything, is probably to the right of most Americans, due to the number of libertarians and entrepreneurs. Also, referring to "the Left" as if it were a single thing qualifies you as the "ignorant" one. Even back when the USSR existed, there were differences of opinion. You can look up Marshall Tito and the differences of opinion between Mao and Stalin if you're curious.
  - icebraining 13y ago
    I'm not referring to the Left as if it were a single thing, on the contrary. It's exactly because it combines hundreds of different schools of thought that saying that the "sufficiently left" support the state is ignorant. But they're still all part of the Left. Where I live, we have a Communist Party (Stalinist) and a Left Bloc party (merger of Trotskyist and Marxist factions) both in Parliament. They still call themselves part of the Left, even though they effectively refuse to do any kind of coalition. This is not to mention the smaller parties and movements, such as the Reorganizing Movement of the Proletarian Party (MRPP) and, of course, the various Anarchist groups. Hacker News, if anything, is probably to the right of most Americans, due to the number of libertarians and entrepreneurs. Just one more reason for them to be aware of ignorant labeling. Or do Libertarians enjoy being considered fascists?
djur 13y ago
Actually, a lot of that 99% would respond "it's called the Democratic Party".

icebraining 13y ago

I'm not in America, I'm on Hacker News, which despite being composed mostly of Americans, is its own community with its own context. I don't see why we should accept the American's ignorant definition of Left any more than we accept their definition of 'hacking'.

ImprovedSilence 13y ago
Left and right are relative to where you are standing. I wouldn't call America's definition of left ignorant, as it is clearly left of center for America.
- icebraining 13y ago
  I disagree with the idea that wherever the majority lies it's automatically the center.
cmccabe 13y ago
Hacker News, if anything, is probably to the right of most Americans, due to the number of libertarians and entrepreneurs. Also, referring to "the Left" as if it were a single thing qualifies you as the "ignorant" one. Even back when the USSR existed, there were differences of opinion. You can look up Marshall Tito and the differences of opinion between Mao and Stalin if you're curious.
- icebraining 13y ago
  I'm not referring to the Left as if it were a single thing, on the contrary. It's exactly because it combines hundreds of different schools of thought that saying that the "sufficiently left" support the state is ignorant. But they're still all part of the Left. Where I live, we have a Communist Party (Stalinist) and a Left Bloc party (merger of Trotskyist and Marxist factions) both in Parliament. They still call themselves part of the Left, even though they effectively refuse to do any kind of coalition. This is not to mention the smaller parties and movements, such as the Reorganizing Movement of the Proletarian Party (MRPP) and, of course, the various Anarchist groups. Hacker News, if anything, is probably to the right of most Americans, due to the number of libertarians and entrepreneurs. Just one more reason for them to be aware of ignorant labeling. Or do Libertarians enjoy being considered fascists?

djur 13y ago

Actually, a lot of that 99% would respond "it's called the Democratic Party".