| Are you a true lefty? 10:35 - Jun 10 with 21559 views | DJR |
People often say on here that the forum is dominated by lefties (or pinkos as they were once disparagingly known).
This begs the question, what constitutes a lefty?
For my own part, I believe a true lefty in this country is someone who has never voted Tory or Liberal Democrat (or any of its former incarnations). And in every election since 1979, I have voted Labour, apart from in two local elections where there was no Labour candidate and I voted firstly for the Ecology Party and secondly for the Greens, both of which I would regard as left-leaning parties..
My hunch is that there is only a handful on TWTD like me, and it would be interesting to know who falls into the category, or if anyone else has their own definition of a lefty.
In all this, I am ignoring the fact that some people (myself included) might not regard the current Labour Party as truly left wing.
[Post edited 10 Jun 2024 13:02]
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| Are you a true lefty? on 09:31 - Jun 14 with 944 views | DJR |
| Are you a true lefty? on 16:48 - Jun 10 by Clapham_Junction |
I don't think civil servants don't vote Tory because of the turkeys voting for Christmas angle – I think it's because they have more insight into how government and public services function and see for themselves on a daily basis that Tory policies don't work (and have to deal with the often disastrous consequences of them).
In the interests of balance, there are a few policies from the last Labour government that were also incredibly bad - PFI being one of them that is still impacting public services and will into the 2030s in some cases. |
Post edited as replied to wrong post. [Post edited 14 Jun 2024 9:41]
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| Are you a true lefty? on 09:36 - Jun 14 with 925 views | unbelievablue |
Yes. Remain unapologetically left wing.
In my youth more so - Leeds Uni Marxist Society.
Labour party member until I wasn't. |  |
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| Are you a true lefty? on 09:43 - Jun 14 with 903 views | DJR |
| Are you a true lefty? on 16:49 - Jun 10 by DJR |
Interesting. I was going to describe myself as a left libertarian but realised that encompasses things like anarchism. Perhaps I would have been better to describe myself as a left wing person who is socially liberal. [Post edited 10 Jun 2024 17:49]
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Talking of libertarian socialists, sad to read the news that Noam Chomsky is not long for this world.
https://www.medialens.org/2024/a-message-about-noam-chomsky-an-update/ | | | |
| Are you a true lefty? on 09:45 - Jun 14 with 892 views | unbelievablue |
Could do a 10 pager on Noam I suspect, although it'll be littered with bad faith stuff. | |
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| Are you a true lefty? on 09:51 - Jun 14 with 849 views | DJR |
| Are you a true lefty? on 09:45 - Jun 14 by unbelievablue |
Could do a 10 pager on Noam I suspect, although it'll be littered with bad faith stuff. |
He's what one would call a polymath, and I can't pretend to have read his non-political works.
This from Wikipedia
He is known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is a laureate professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona and an institute professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Among the most cited living authors, Chomsky has written more than 150 books on topics such as linguistics, war, and politics. Ideologically, he aligns with anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism. [Post edited 14 Jun 2024 10:11]
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| Are you a true lefty? on 09:57 - Jun 14 with 827 views | Ryorry |
| Are you a true lefty? on 09:51 - Jun 14 by DJR |
He's what one would call a polymath, and I can't pretend to have read his non-political works.
This from Wikipedia
He is known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is a laureate professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona and an institute professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Among the most cited living authors, Chomsky has written more than 150 books on topics such as linguistics, war, and politics. Ideologically, he aligns with anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism. [Post edited 14 Jun 2024 10:11]
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He was extremely influential when I started doing my OU degree in 1979! |  |
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| Snap on 09:57 - Jun 14 with 834 views | Dyland |
| Are you a true lefty? on 10:26 - Jun 11 by Churchman |
I’m a bit of a fence sitting political mongrel really. Sort of centrist that leans a bit to the left. I see no practical alternative to capitalism that actually works, but then I don’t like capitalism which by definition moves money to those who have most of it already.
I voted for all of them over the years. The last time the tories got my vote was when kinnock fell in the sea. Blair, Thatcher, Gordon Brownshorts, the liberal mob, you name it I’ve voted for it. I wish Count Binface would stand where I live. He’d get my vote.
Do I have any principles? No, it’s just the way I walk. Seriously, key beliefs for me are equal opportunity (education) and society. We are competitive beings but are also social animals so I believe in society and all that goes with it..
I am bitterly opposed to the class system, privilege, monarchy etc. in fact anything with an ‘ism’ on the end (racism, sexism, ageism, you name it. Universal healthcare and public ownership of key utilities? Of course.
I guess I’m a bit of a mixed up cop out merchant beyond wishing for the total obliteration of Norwich City and the crushing of Delia’s BMW. [Post edited 11 Jun 2024 10:28]
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I believe, or hope, that we are legion.
We haven’t had anything like a left leaning let alone left wing government since before Thatcher, which is crazy really. The socially minded centrist vote has always been split innit. If our system was like the USA we’d see far more left leaning centrist governments.
The Tories have finally imploded, and I have plenty of family and friends who were lifelong Tory voters who now can’t stand them and won’t vote for them. |  |
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| Are you a true lefty? on 10:50 - Jun 14 with 775 views | WeWereZombies |
| Are you a true lefty? on 13:49 - Jun 11 by lowhouseblue |
well virtue is a good but often subjective thing. lots of people on here do very good things in the real world and it's nice when they post about them (and they unfailingly do it in a humble and self-depreciating way). but the performative curation of opinions so as to manufacture an online 'left' identity is an entirely different thing. it's also often very know it all and the opposite of self-depreciating. this isn't really an observation about twtd because on here it is really much milder than on lots of social media, but is a very interesting sociological phenomena of our age. the policing and labelling of other opinions and the othering of people who don't agree is all part of the manufacturing of identity. |
Performative is a difficult and unwieldy term, perhaps even pejorative in the way that you have used it there (depending on whether my understanding of the term, which is at its worst just putting on an act, coincides with yours.) But I wouldn't disagree that virtue ethics can be difficult to judge, in both their intent and their effectiveness. |  |
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