Trump is back baby!

[How bad boy]

The left not even the far left are the nearest thing we have here to religious fundamentalists. There’s little enough I don’t agree with them on but there’s no nuance and no practicality on first steps and bringing people along with you. My own pet peeve is the insistence on electric when PHEV was a great way to get far more people out of petrol/diesel/methodone petrol and into practical electric. These are the same people who wanted us all driving diesel 20 years ago.

On the other hand, the centre left tend to be too soft and captured by conservatism tbh. I think the left is best led from the left tbh and let the centre left be a moderating influence pushing for practical solutions.

Conservatives are happy with stagnation sure so it’s easier for them to have a muddied consensus that goes nowhere because they don’t want to go anywhere.

What it means to be a conservative has changed utterly in the past 15 years.
It use to mean a respect for tradition and institutions, quite often with blinkers on to their systematic failures. Quite literally conserving the status quo and existing power structures they believe delivered for them. It meant preserving culture, often to the exclusion of outsiders, support of a strong military, limited government, etc...


The famous "End of History" victory of liberal, free market capitalism following the fall of communism, both in Russia and China, taught conservatives that "Negative Liberty" is the only liberty worth fighting for, that people should be free from government control, regardless of their situation. Of course, that's a fiction, it's only liberty for certain people*.

The idea of positive liberty has been neglected, that government can and should be a force for good in people's lives, that it should positively shape society in specific directions. People haven't been given a future to believe in, they've been given, at best, a future to fear with specific technocratic solutions (e.g. the green agenda). When you combine that with the rise of China suppressing middle and working class salaries in the west, while benefitting those who own the offshoring, then you've got a recipe for disillusion.

In America, Trump has tapped into that with his vague but brilliant "Make America Great Again", the idea that tearing down the government and existing institutions will free America from its shackles imposed by the left.
They're nothing like traditional conservatives, the centre left now are the conservatives. It's why I'm fairly certain that there will be a reemergence of left wing positive liberty, the "eat the rich" reaction which has its logical consequences in something that's probably a form of neo-Marxism.

Every revolution creates its own counterrevolution.

* rich people

 

[KolaKubes]

What it means to be a conservative has changed utterly in the past 15 years.
It use to mean a respect for tradition and institutions, quite often with blinkers on to their systematic failures. Quite literally conserving the status quo and existing power structures they believe delivered for them. It meant preserving culture, often to the exclusion of outsiders, support of a strong military, limited government, etc...


The famous "End of History" victory of liberal, free market capitalism following the fall of communism, both in Russia and China, taught conservatives that "Negative Liberty" is the only liberty worth fighting for, that people should be free from government control, regardless of their situation. Of course, that's a fiction, it's only liberty for certain people*.

The idea of positive liberty has been neglected, that government can and should be a force for good in people's lives, that it should positively shape society in specific directions. People haven't been given a future to believe in, they've been given, at best, a future to fear with specific technocratic solutions (e.g. the green agenda). When you combine that with the rise of China suppressing middle and working class salaries in the west, while benefitting those who own the offshoring, then you've got a recipe for disillusion.

In America, Trump has tapped into that with his vague but brilliant "Make America Great Again", the idea that tearing down the government and existing institutions will free America from its shackles imposed by the left.
They're nothing like traditional conservatives, the centre left now are the conservatives. It's why I'm fairly certain that there will be a reemergence of left wing positive liberty, the "eat the rich" reaction which has its logical consequences in something that's probably a form of neo-Marxism.

Every revolution creates its own counterrevolution.

* rich people

AI is all about old fashioned ownership of the means of production. The wealth hoarding class aren’t happy with having to pay solicitors, computer programmers, engineers salaries to have them produce nerdy stuff and letting them go home in the evening. They want their own slave brains that are better that they can own.

I think it’s horseshit myself so hopefully they’ll get a right kick in the bank balances but more likely ordinary people will suffer while these guys are just down to half billion status.

 

[How bad boy]

AI is all about old fashioned ownership of the means of production. The wealth hoarding class aren’t happy with having to pay solicitors, computer programmers, engineers salaries to have them produce nerdy stuff and letting them go home in the evening. They want their own slave brains that are better that they can own.

I think it’s horseshit myself so hopefully they’ll get a right kick in the bank balances but more likely ordinary people will suffer while these guys are just down to half billion status.

Bout captures it

 

[Dr. Aaoouh]

What it means to be a conservative has changed utterly in the past 15 years.
It use to mean a respect for tradition and institutions, quite often with blinkers on to their systematic failures. Quite literally conserving the status quo and existing power structures they believe delivered for them. It meant preserving culture, often to the exclusion of outsiders, support of a strong military, limited government, etc...


The famous "End of History" victory of liberal, free market capitalism following the fall of communism, both in Russia and China, taught conservatives that "Negative Liberty" is the only liberty worth fighting for, that people should be free from government control, regardless of their situation. Of course, that's a fiction, it's only liberty for certain people*.

The idea of positive liberty has been neglected, that government can and should be a force for good in people's lives, that it should positively shape society in specific directions. People haven't been given a future to believe in, they've been given, at best, a future to fear with specific technocratic solutions (e.g. the green agenda). When you combine that with the rise of China suppressing middle and working class salaries in the west, while benefitting those who own the offshoring, then you've got a recipe for disillusion.

In America, Trump has tapped into that with his vague but brilliant "Make America Great Again", the idea that tearing down the government and existing institutions will free America from its shackles imposed by the left.
They're nothing like traditional conservatives, the centre left now are the conservatives. It's why I'm fairly certain that there will be a reemergence of left wing positive liberty, the "eat the rich" reaction which has its logical consequences in something that's probably a form of neo-Marxism.

Every revolution creates its own counterrevolution.

* rich people

Fortunately (or unfortunately) I have living memories of the 1950’s, the era that MAGA seems to think was the last Golden Era of God fearing white people and happy compliant darkies. Their fantasy is nothing like how it was.

But the fantasy in turn looks like a 1980’s movie picture of the 1950’s. In fact, the whole Trump-MAGA idea of how things should be looks like a movie set with manly looking soldiers and tough individualist businessmen, overlaid with some half baked libertarianism.

In short, it’s a bunch of Boomer bullshit.

The labor movement collapsed in the 1970’s, and now seems dangerous to workers because it sounds like Da Jooz and Da Commies. So we see the very strange thing of libertarian billionaires being seen as the Worker’s Friends.

Jesus wept.

 

[keamoresouth]

https://bsky.app/profile/motherjones.com%2Fpost%2F3m5gwcsnhgk2u

 

[El Guapo]

Lenin and Stalin had no problem with it.
The problem lies within the massively fragmented 'left' movement itself.
Is it pro women or pro trans.
Is it against anti semitisim or against Israel.
Is it pro trade union or anti.
Is it pro nationalisation or anti.
Pro immigration or anti.
Etc etc on infinite issues it tears itself apart over.
The right has a much clearer idea in general what it does and doesn't stand for.

I don't agree with that at all.

Firstly Casually linkng, A nominally Social Democrat/Centrist really Starmer to Lenin and Stalin is fuckin Bogus.

Also this assertion that to be Left leaning means you need to sign up to all vaguely left leaning concepts is bollocks.

That to desire improved services over reduced taxes and a progressive social outlook does not mean you need to sign up to any vaguely left leaning cause also is a complete nonsense you can recognise that collective bargening by trade unions has led to improved conditions for their members and wider society and be broadly frustrated when it boils into old lads with service not doing their job..

You can be pro women or pro trans or anti women or anti trans whatever those terms mean and be a right winger or a left winger.

You can recognise the benefits of immigrant labour and a respinsibilty to help those in need and also be concerned about unrestricted migration for economic reasons

I don't accept the assertion that the right is a unified counter point to the left. The mystery of Trump's obvious appeal to Christian Fundamentalists is evidence of that. They hold different beliefs but get on with it but the left can do that too. They do it all over the world, in the UK and in Ireland.

Sure they fuck up embarrassingly but so do the "Right"

These debates are almost never absolute, the required balance changes and it's those who recognise that and respond hold onto power

 

[an liathroid beag]

https://bsky.app/profile/motherjones.com%2Fpost%2F3m5gwcsnhgk2u

Epstein had a camera in each of the bedrooms of his Manhattan town house--little wonder that Trump said "nothing to see here" when he did his about turn on releasing the tapes. Pam Bondi had reviewed the tapes and apparently she told Trump that he featured in them. This is going to be fun!

 

[Browser Brody]

Maybe they just played cards for a few hours?

 

[Bwana_Dik]

Maybe the just played cards for a few hours ?

Purely platonic.

 

[Browser Brody]

Purely platonic.

Wealthy Middle aged men hang out with young ladies who are involved in sex trafficking for hours on end all the time !!