Has the right wing won in the mainstream?

[RadioRaheem84]

Once there was a scope to where people could see that leftism and socialism were ways of connecting with the masses on a level that could never be reached by capitalism. That day is all but finished in the era.

1.)The reviews I read for films like South of the Border, the reaction to Chavez, whether you like him or not, seem to be aligned with bourgeois propaganda, Che is treated like a murderer today, capitalism is championed as democracy while socialism as the anti-thesis to it.

2.) I mean right wing libertarian buzzwords like statism, collectivism, socialism = anti-democracy, etc. have entered the mainstream lexicon. It's almost bonkers to suggest that the US is involved in imperialism.

3.) Market solutions to everything!

4.) What's considered the "left" is a skiddish centre-right third way-ish neo-liberal watered down version of progressive social democracy.

5.) The internet is saturated with right wing libertarian and conservative propaganda. As is the media and radio.

6.) A whole swathe of the working class is immersed in right wing NWO conspiracies that believe socialism = fascism.

I could go on and on but libertarianism has really seeped into the mainstream with full force and it's beyond annoying to see history become twisted to such a grotesque end.

I don't want to throw in the towel here, but what can we do? I mean the situation is dire and it seems like leftism is in a real heap of trouble with the public in developed nations. It's no longer admirable to be anti-establishment and seems almost crass to talk against the status quo. Reform is the issue of the day and even then reform should never entrench upon the interests of capital.

How did it get like this? How can it be reversed?

[durhamleft]

Once there was a scope to where people could see that leftism and socialism were ways of connecting with the masses on a level that could never be reached by capitalism. That day is all but finished in the era.

1.)The reviews I read for films like South of the Border, the reaction to Chavez, whether you like him or not, seem to be aligned with bourgeois propaganda, Che is treated like a murderer today, capitalism is championed as democracy while socialism as the anti-thesis to it.

2.) I mean right wing libertarian buzzwords like statism, collectivism, socialism = anti-democracy, etc. have entered the mainstream lexicon. It's almost bonkers to suggest that the US is involved in imperialism.

3.) Market solutions to everything!

4.) What's considered the "left" is a skiddish centre-right third way-ish neo-liberal watered down version of progressive social democracy.

5.) The internet is saturated with right wing libertarian and conservative propaganda. As is the media and radio.

6.) A whole swathe of the working class is immersed in right wing NWO conspiracies that believe socialism = fascism.

I could go on and on but libertarianism has really seeped into the mainstream with full force and it's beyond annoying to see history become twisted to such a grotesque end.

I don't want to throw in the towel here, but what can we do? I mean the situation is dire and it seems like leftism is in a real heap of trouble with the public in developed nations. It's no longer admirable to be anti-establishment and seems almost crass to talk against the status quo. Reform is the issue of the day and even then reform should never entrench upon the interests of capital.

How did it get like this? How can it be reversed?

I think much exploitation has moved from the rich in the west exploiting the poor in the west, to the west generally exploiting LEDCs. I think the third-world countries will be where the next revolution begins.

[RED VICTORY]

It's an accurate observation that the right is dominating especially in the U.S. The press, schools, everything.....we are immersed in capitalist deception. But let them take more from us....let them hoard the wealth....let them bail-out banks and industrial capitalists...let the division between them and us grow....let our anger build...let our class conciousness grow....When they have taken all they can and saturated every market in the world,as they may have during global economic crisis, and created a global proletariat.....we will be waiting for the right moment.

[Rusty Shackleford]

I am convinced that currently the right is mainstream but mostly amongst older people.

the left is making a comeback amongst the youth and a few unions. it just needs to cross the age gap because a long time ago the trend was older people were as easily radical as younger people. as we all know, the 60's seemed to be a more youth-centric movement.

[XxKrebsxX]

I am convinced that currently the right is mainstream but mostly amongst older people.

the left is making a comeback amongst the youth and a few unions. it just needs to cross the age gap because a long time ago the trend was older people were as easily radical as younger people. as we all know, the 60's seemed to be a more youth-centric movement.

And the youth are largely apathetic and do not vote.

[Rusty Shackleford]

And the youth are largely apathetic and do not vote.
voting wont change much by itself in a bourgeois society. even electing communists wont bring about revolution in said society.

youth are becoming less apathedic because of the budget cuts. the last school year was a great blossoming of the student movement. its not strong enough yet but it sure is growing.

[XxKrebsxX]

voting wont change much by itself in a bourgeois society. even electing communists wont bring about revolution in said society.

youth are becoming less apathedic because of the budget cuts. the last school year was a great blossoming of the student movement. its not strong enough yet but it sure is growing.

As long more and more open their minds then I am happy. As to anything may come from it? I'm not holding my breath.

[Lacrimi de Chiciură]

I think much exploitation has moved from the rich in the west exploiting the poor in the west, to the west generally exploiting LEDCs. I think the third-world countries will be where the next revolution begins.

Western workers are exploited because, like all proletarians, we receive only a fraction of the wealth that we create while the property-owning class extracts a profit from that wealth that we created. Imperialism does not change that! Imperialism does not alleviate the exploitation of workers. The exploitation of western workers is only getting worse as we pay more for wars and lose out on education and health care. The rich are still getting richer while the poor are getting poorer, even in "the West."

[Lyev]

For an analysis of right wing dominance (or hegemony) over the mainstream media, internet etc. we need to consult the theory cultural hegemony. I might be getting mixed up here with the names of things, but regardless of whether my actual analysis is called "cultural hegemony" (i.e. as expounded by Gramsci), I think it's a reasonably sound theory anyway.

So, basically as I see it, the ruling class have the money and therefore ownership over most mainstream media outlets and therefore they have power. With this power they can puff their chests out, and make room for themselves - create a monopoly over most of the media and such. And this process is self-perpetuating; it generates its own momentum. I mean, how is a proletarian going to have the wealth to buy their large media outlet and push Marxist ideas, in the mainstream?

I don't think it's coincidence, at all, that the ruling class -- those who own the means of production, incl. broadcasting agencies and such -- have the most wealth in society. Having ownership over such assets is in direct correlation with the amount of capital, and therefore wealth, the bourgeoisie can accumulate. And with the wealth that the bourgeoisie have, they tighten and tighten their grip and control on the media.

With this power that is gained from wealth and ownership, the bourgeoisie use this to put their ideas -- their class interests -- to the forefront. Bourgeois ideas, thoughts, analysis and bias becomes the mainstream. There are no other contending viewpoints. So, basically, I think that's cultural hegemony, I might be wrong, but at any rate, what I said seems alright anyway.

Edit: I think someone mentioned Che. Che is also an example that links in with this discussion: he was a revolutionary, but in the eyes of most people, the mainstream, is now completely nonthreatening. He has been commodified, with his face on shirts, flags, walls, lighters, etc. etc.; he has become meaningless. His rebellion against capitalism could perhaps have inspired people, it was threatened, so the rebellion has now been completely dulled by the endless recycling of him as an icon. He's just a fashion accessory now; he has been soaked up into capitalism. I think I mentioned this in another thread, but I think this i similar to how the anarchy "A" is used a fashion label or even with the recent film The Trotsky. These are (or perhaps were) threatening things; but now their commodification has turned them on their heads.

[Raúl Duke]

Once there was a scope to where people could see that leftism and socialism were ways of connecting with the masses on a level that could never be reached by capitalism. That day is all but finished in the era.

1.)The reviews I read for films like South of the Border, the reaction to Chavez, whether you like him or not, seem to be aligned with bourgeois propaganda, Che is treated like a murderer today, capitalism is championed as democracy while socialism as the anti-thesis to it.

2.) I mean right wing libertarian buzzwords like statism, collectivism, socialism = anti-democracy, etc. have entered the mainstream lexicon. It's almost bonkers to suggest that the US is involved in imperialism.

3.) Market solutions to everything!

4.) What's considered the "left" is a skiddish centre-right third way-ish neo-liberal watered down version of progressive social democracy.

5.) The internet is saturated with right wing libertarian and conservative propaganda. As is the media and radio.

6.) A whole swathe of the working class is immersed in right wing NWO conspiracies that believe socialism = fascism.

I could go on and on but libertarianism has really seeped into the mainstream with full force and it's beyond annoying to see history become twisted to such a grotesque end.

I don't want to throw in the towel here, but what can we do? I mean the situation is dire and it seems like leftism is in a real heap of trouble with the public in developed nations. It's no longer admirable to be anti-establishment and seems almost crass to talk against the status quo. Reform is the issue of the day and even then reform should never entrench upon the interests of capital.

How did it get like this? How can it be reversed?

Most of the negative that you list is how the media projects it to people.

The only people using libertarian buzzwords are a few econ majors/minors, libertarians, and few conscious republicans in my university; most people don't use the terms.

The media might be presenting market solutions as a solution to everything, but I think across the spectrum of the population there's skepticism towards this idea.

I've not seen evidence that a plurality of workers believe in NWO conspiracies nor are they right-wing.

This reminds me of some stuff I read, perhaps out of a Chomsky book (or maybe Naomi Klein?), that the media presents you all these right-wing perspectives in a way that it makes them seem like the majority (when in reality it isn't) and that this creates an effect of demoralizing those who think differently, whether slightly or radically, from the propaganda and in essence is one form of manufacturing consent.

I personally take what's on TV with a grain of salt.