Hey Y'all

[The Real American Thinker]

New here. I'm a social democrat/libertarian socialist from the great state of Tennessee.

What's the leftist scene like here? Heh...abysmal, sadly, but I'm working on it. By abysmal, I don't mean there aren't any. The groups we have are fantastic. But most non-Republicans are really just Democrats, rather than actual leftists.

[Q]

Welcome :)

If you have political questions, you can ask them in the Learning forum. That's why it's there after all!

If you have questions about your account, don't hesitate to send me a PM or ask here.

Could you explain your views a bit more? "Social-democrat" means "liberal" to many here, in the sense of the Labour Party (UK), the German SPD or, perhaps, the leftwing of the Democrats in the US: All maintainers of capitalism.

[The Real American Thinker]

Thanks. I'll explain. I look at social democracy as a sort of transition between the overwhelming right-wing capitalist system and a leftist one. Social democracy is anti-right, but only pseudo-left, in that it is the true center, in my opinion. Right-wing capitalists hate the concept of social democracy, because rather than just leaving the poor out on their own to survive or rot on their own (as long as they keep supporting the lives of the rich capitalists), social democrats step in and say that the rich capitalists are going to help fund and maintain programs to level the playing field so that the poor have an equal opportunity and better social and economic mobility to reach equal status with the rich capitalists.

It's not my ideal system, but it's at least more tolerable than the "screw the poor!" system that would exist without it, the kind of system that allowed the exploitation of children and the poor during the Industrial Revolution.

[Q]

Thanks. I'll explain. I look at social democracy as a sort of transition between the overwhelming right-wing capitalist system and a leftist one. Social democracy is anti-right, but only pseudo-left, in that it is the true center, in my opinion. Right-wing capitalists hate the concept of social democracy, because rather than just leaving the poor out on their own to survive or rot on their own (as long as they keep supporting the lives of the rich capitalists), social democrats step in and say that the rich capitalists are going to help fund and maintain programs to level the playing field so that the poor have an equal opportunity and better social and economic mobility to reach equal status with the rich capitalists.
I can understand such a realpolitik approach, but is it any solution?


It's not my ideal system, but it's at least more tolerable than the "screw the poor!" system that would exist without it, the kind of system that allowed the exploitation of children and the poor during the Industrial Revolution.

How do you reconcile it with being a libertarian socialist (usually synonymous for anarchism)?

[Workers-Control-Over-Prod]

New here. I'm a social democrat/libertarian socialist from the great state of Tennessee.

What's the leftist scene like here? Heh...abysmal, sadly, but I'm working on it. By abysmal, I don't mean there aren't any. The groups we have are fantastic. But most non-Republicans are really just Democrats, rather than actual leftists.

Welcome! Perhaps you consider yourself somewhat more of a "traditional" or orthodox Social-Democrat (http://www.marxists.org/history/international/social-democracy/1891/erfurt-program.htm)?

[Jesus Saves Gretzky Scores]

Hiya.

[The Real American Thinker]

Welcome! Perhaps you consider yourself somewhat more of a "traditional" or orthodox Social-Democrat (http://www.marxists.org/history/international/social-democracy/1891/erfurt-program.htm)?

Oh, nice! I didn't even know that was a thing. I'd say that would pretty accurately describe my ideology.

[The Real American Thinker]

I can understand such a realpolitik approach, but is it any solution?

Unfortunately, no, I don't believe it is. Not unless we can actually get some power and control to the workers. That's why I view it as a transitional state only, not a permanent fixture. My problem with modern social democrats is that they seem to think they've done enough and then just sit on their hands, when our society should instead be constantly in motion and constantly evolving into more and more of a socialist status.


How do you reconcile it with being a libertarian socialist (usually synonymous for anarchism)?

My position is a bit nuanced, but the short form is that I think we need to build up to the ultimate stateless society, rather than just go straight into it. To be truly anarchist, it has to be free of force, even in its inception. I think a peaceful revolution where at least most people agree to disband the state would be preferable.

[The Real American Thinker]

Hey! Welcome fellow southerner (I'm from Georgia)

Nice! I'm not sure which state is worse for our kind, Tennessee or Georgia :P We won't even talk about Texas XD