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this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2023
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Showerthoughts
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.
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Left and right are two stupid categories built up by propaganda, get them out of your head and start to think on your own terms
The main thing I don't like about these categories is how they try to lump both moral and political issues into one group as either right or left. They're two different things. Societies do legislate morality, but as far as defining a person's overall views I think it's a poor metric. Personally I have some left views politically, but some right views morally.
I think it can be expected people participating in the Fediverse are somewhat anti-capitalist. We come here to get away from corporate driven media. That being the case I think it's not erroneous to say Lemmy is more left politically and I appreciate that. However that does not mean I agree with all left views. There are some moral issues I may not agree with, but I don't engage since I'm not interested in debating morality in these forums.
Finally words of wisdom. The rest of the comment section is a dumpster fire.
Amen. I wish more people would do this.
This. There an infinite number of ideologies that you could have, but our first past the post voting system (in the US) only allows for two candidates, so an infinite spectrum gets funneled into two camps.
Left/right isn't an exclusively American concept, it is used all over the world regardless of the political system of the country.
I think that's what they're saying: in most of the world it's used as a gradient/spectrum, just a few countries consider it absolutes (you're either left or right).
Yeah, that's why I specified US, there are plenty of places where it's more of a gradiant, or where left and right are just two of many options. although unfortunately fptp is the norm in most of the world. The US is unusually polarized even among fptp countries, but countries that have better voting systems that allow for more than two parties are the exception, not the norm.
Are you sure about that? I have no numbers to back it up, but at least here in Europe many countries have more than two parties to choose from, and the winning parties form a governing coalition (alliance).
Unless by beter voting system you mean something like Ranked voting etc, in which case I agree, that is unfortunately very rare.
Nah, it's a fairly good way to differentiate between collectivist and individualistic ideas.
It's a whopping two sides of a scale, which doesn't unambiguously refer to "individualism" or "collectivism", also referring vaguely to associations with dozens of other issues. So it's actually a worse way of describing those ideas than saying "individualist" or "collectivist", because you're no longer even specifically saying that. And "individualist" vs. "collectivist" is already a terrible way to categorize all political ideas. What does abortion have to do with collectivism? How about zoning laws, or environmental protection?
This is the issue...left vs. right has nothing to do with any one issue, in fact it actually serves completely to distract people from the specifics of issues, because instead of actually figuring out the nuance of something, people fall back on their group identity and go, "well if the leftists hate it, then it must be good, because fuck the left!"
Environmental protection is collectivist. It's what is best for everyone. (Including future generations).
But abortion is a good exception.
But what's best for every individual is what's best for everyone...
It's pretty meaningfully different when one side wants to fix the climate and create social and economic policy that benefits the majority, while the other wants to concentrate wealth into the hands of the few at the expense of everyone else, and the climate, and is creating propaganda aimed at the dehumanization of LGBTQ+ and perceived-non-Americans (even when they're citizens).
Any party that label themself as left or right is applying the same politics that benefits those in power and lie about it to the public.
It think it's more that, like with everything to do with Politics, the words have been repeatedly redefined by people who wanted to obtain the support of pre-existing tribalists emotionally bound to one or the other as "tribe" markers, and what is now said to be Left and Right is the product of a lot of such manipulation.
As I see it there is definitelly a range between the pure selfish "I do what's best for me and fuck everybody else" thinking and acting and the entirelly selfless "think of everybody else" one and somewhere in between sits a vague border one side of which can be thought of "left" and the other "right".
Sure, I'll just make up my own political philosophy outta nothing, without the benefit of other's experience, and then use it to classify and understand all the political thought I encounter which has not been informed by my pet philosophy, that'll go GREAT
I'm not gonna start using niche political terms on a daily basis. Yes, I know that Democrats and Republicans are basically the same but nobody outside a small group of people cares. See that I put both in quotation marks as well.
I couldn’t help but notice the lack of “quotation marks”
to be fair, you wouldn't say that Democrats or republicans are the same if you happen to be part of the groups the Republicans are currently advocating death for. There is a difference between NeoLiberal shill and "America should be a white ethnostate"
Wait, is "advocating death for" the evolution of "right to exist"? That sure escalated quickly.
I mean, sure one could argue that the Rights attacks on trans and LGBTQ people, calling them all pedophiles that need to be exterminated can be seen as a "right to exist" argument, in the same way that “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” can be seen as a "right to exist" statement...
Very nuanced take, I like it.