this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2026
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askchapo

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Do liberals adopt leftist personas to avoid confronting the consequences of liberalism? (hexbear.net)
submitted 1 day ago by yunqihao@hexbear.net to c/askchapo@hexbear.net
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This might be a silly question, so I want to preface it with an apology in advance and if you think there is a better place to ask please let me know.

I’ve come across a large number of self-described “anarchists” or “non-communist leftists,” or the like, mostly online,thanks to where I live (谢天谢地). But whenever you look a bit closer, the pattern is the same: underneath the aesthetics and language, it’s just liberalism. Pro-NATO positions, contempt toward the global periphery, and extremely reactionary responses when imperialism or capitalism are seriously questioned.

So my question is: Is adopting these leftist identities a kind of defensive mechanism (an attempt to distance themselves from the real-world damage caused by liberal ideology) or am I misunderstanding what’s actually going on?

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[–] hello_hello@hexbear.net 28 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Its the difference between understanding dialectical materialism and not understanding it.

I have a liberal relative who agrees with all my shared insight, but then gets fooled by anti-korean atrocity propaganda against the DPRK. Someone who will read about materialism but then righteously declare that morality is an innate human trait, telling me that materialism isnt correct because theres no argument against idealism that convinces him.

Mostly they are "true crime" enjoyers. They enjoy leeching off of "woke" political literature because it makes them feel better but won't make the emotional work to actually internalize themselves in it. These people are emotional vampires who feed off the misery and the iconography.

But mostly its just that they're terrified of seeing the world. It all comes back to their fear.

[–] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Someone who will read about materialism but then righteously declare that morality is an innate human trait,

I usually hit these types with "Oh, I didn't take you for a christian" (if I know they're not)