this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2025
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Where the HELL are left-wing influentials and intellectuals!? (self.politicaldiscussion)
submitted 1 day ago by GrammarPolice to c/[email protected]
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A new study on Gen Z men revealed that Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson are among the most trusted influencers.

It also found that 52% of UK men believe a "strongman" leader is needed to improve the country. Meanwhile, this article highlights how the right has been incredibly successful at indoctrinating young men into their ideology.

Why the hell is right-wing content so much more effective at gaining support? And why do left-wing influencers consistently fail to do the same? I’ll tell you why: we decided that social issues should take precedence over everything else, and by so doing have thrown all nuance out the window in the process.

The left—and I don’t want to hear Marxists bitching about how progressives “aren’t really leftists” because this kind of in-fighting is part of the fucking problem—needs to radically rethink its approach. Right now, the priority isn’t pushing our agenda. It’s stopping the worldwide fascist takeover.

And yes, this might mean abandoning identity politics entirely, as it is largely responsible for driving people away from the left and toward right-wing populism.

We need left-wing influencers who can effectively use populist tactics. We need less extremism from the progressive left, because in our obsession with social issues, we’ve lost the plot. We need to refocus on the economic needs of the people and stop alienating those who would otherwise support us.

The clock is ticking. Germany's elections are coming up, and Elon Musk has already shown support for the AfD—the most far-right party in Europe. If we don’t correct course now, we’ll soon be living in a world where fascism dominates and equality is a pipe-dream.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

to play devils advoc—you know what nvm, full transparency I'm a moderate authoritarian so feel free to judge the following according to your own ideals

authoritarianism has colloquially come to be nearly synonymous with fascism but I don't think it should be. things like

  • "I think the government should protect citizens from price gouging"
  • "I think the freedom of expression should be protected to the maximum extent that excludes violent intolerance"
  • "I think environmental regulation is necessary to protect public health and the natural world"

are authoritarian stances because they involve control of individuals' actions by authorities

too little control by official authorities often results in power vacuums that give others (usually corporations) de facto control for the worse

I often encourage fellow leftists to reevaluate their stance on authoritarianism after taking this into account

that being said, the corrupting nature of power is an unsolved problem and governments historically described as authoritarian came by their bad reputation honestly. :[

[–] GrammarPolice 2 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

Those things you listed are just regulations though, and all leftists are for more of it. The grey area is when governments start to encroach too much on private enterprises. For example, I don't think it's authoritarian to demand that businesses pay a minimum wage to workers or adhere to environmental laws; however, I do think it's authoritarian to force forfeiture of all private assets and suppress opposition political parties which have been the hallmark of socialism and communism in the past.

Too much state control doesn’t eliminate exploitation, it just shifts it from corporations to an unaccountable government - and considering collectivisation is necessary to achieve the Marxist "dream", it doesn't make the theory any more attractive. I think decentralization and democratic institutions are better solutions to corporate overreach.