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What's up with the term "baizuo"? (hexbear.net)
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by BeamBrain@hexbear.net to c/askchapo@hexbear.net
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I know that it's Chinese and it translates roughly as "white/Western left." Looking it up on the Chinese wiki, Google translate gives me... well, this:

It is used to describe people who support policies such as the abolition of the death penalty , [ 3 ] animal protection , environmental protection , body equality , skin equality , LGBT , feminism , vegetarianism , marijuana decriminalization , euthanasia , abortion and immigration , that is, people with cultural leftist ideas in the European and American world.

This paints baizuo as something akin to American conservative terms like "woke" or "SJW." On the other hand, I've seen baizuo on Hexbear a few times, but in those contexts it seemed to mean something closer to "succdem" or "Western chauvinist" rather than the definition above. Obviously, a term used to insult feminists, LGBT people, and environmentalists would be incredibly out of place on this site, hence why I'm asking about it rather than taking a machine-translated Wiki article at face value.

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[-] HammerAndSickle@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 1 month ago

Global South need some way of making fun of people from far right countries larping as socialists.

These people can't build working class power (and social levelling would threaten their privilege) so they just aim to be moralists on the internet to make themselves feel good.

Western leftism isn't leftism, it's the thing that killed it.

[-] Lemmygradwontallowme@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Western leftism isn't leftism, it's the thing that killed it.

Oh, would you shut up? Did you forget the Marxism that came with Marxism-Leninism? (Admittedly, Marx and Engels would've had some western brainworms to deal with; I understand if yer referring to modern-day leftists who align with western foreign policy)

Oh and speaking of

Global South need some way of making fun of people from far right countries larping as socialists.

Apparently, it comes from one of those damned Chinese reactionaries that China should've cracked down more upon

Communication researcher Fang Kecheng believes that the term first appeared in an article published by a Renren user, right-wing libertarian and market fundamentalist named "Li Shuo" titled "The Pseudo-morality of Western White Leftists and Chinese Patriotic Scientists", criticizing Western leftists who sympathize with Communist China (citing Chomsky and Yang Zaohanchun ), mainly referring to the left wing in economic and political thought [ 5 ] [ 7 ] [ a ] .

cringe

After evolution and conceptual transformation, the term "left" now only refers to the left and right on social issues, and has nothing to do with the left and right in economic thought. During the 2016 US presidential election , "white leftists" began to be widely used by Chinese netizens [ 8 ] .

This is like the evolution of the Terry Davis term, used to refer to feds, starting with 'glow' (Ctrl + 4)

[-] queermunist@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

"Western Marxism" can be distinguished as a discreet ideology because it's literally Marxism with only Western thought. Marx was carried forward by so many non-Western thinkers into a more revolutionary and more complete theory, but Western Marxism avoids all those yucky extremists so it can be taught in Western Universities.

It's where you get so-called Marxist who support every failed revolution but who denounce actually existing socialism.

[-] Awoo@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's where you get so-called Marxist who support every failed revolution but who denounce actually existing socialism.

The only people I know that call themselves marxist but fit this description now are either trots(not all of them though) or r/ultraleft.

[-] Lemmygradwontallowme@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

"Western Marxism" can be distinguished as a discreet ideology because it's literally Marxism with only Western thought.

I apologize, it's a gut reaction, I'm just uncomfortable with now using the term "baizuo", when it has such reactionary brainworms... you know

I am opposed to western leftism, due to its anti-AES, idealist tendencies, and pro-western foreign policy, but I don't like it when homegrown reactionaries use the term to not only bash them but us as well...

[-] queermunist@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

That's why Western Marxism or Western leftism is actually the best thing to call it. Leaves no room for confusion for reactionaries to use for their cryptofash bullshit

[-] frauddogg@hexbear.net 2 points 1 month ago

I've been partial to 'settler-leftism' as a term for it.

[-] SocialistDovahkiin@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago

Yes, but that's clearly not the only use of the term.

this post was submitted on 24 Nov 2024
54 points (100.0% liked)

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