US Leftist Hotspots

[Joby]

Out of curiosity, were in the US is the Left the most prosperous, for lack of a better term?

Is there any metropolitan area that has a distinctively leftist bent, at least, moreso than the norm?

Were would you consider the epicenter of the American Left to be, at least, when it comes to it existing offline?

[Phalanx]

New York City, Bay Area (some parts are full of yuppies though), and anywhere in the Rust belt.

[which doctor]

I second the Bay Area, though I hear it's full of drama and petty bickering.

[More Fire for the People]

NY, Detroit, DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia), The Bay, and places associated with leftism (college towns, rezs, ghettos, barrios, etc.) However, white slums tend to be right-wing.

[IcarusAngel]

The East Coast, in the North, as well as some parts of the West Coast, also in the north.

Those areas are far more liberal. But, also, demographically, there are also more communist/anarchists/socialists in those areas as well, and things such as independent publishing, book stores, servers of leftist websites, etc.

At one time in the United States though hundreds of Socialists held governmental positions and socialist unions were all over the United States, including now "conservative areas."

However, in these "red states" most people, including the extreme poor, have bought into the line that minorities, immigrants, and other poor people are the cause of their problems, rather than big corporations and conservative government.

[More Fire for the People]

Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois used to be our most militant states. Now only Illinois remains centre-left and Kansas wants to segregate schools and teach 'intelligent design'.

[Cooler Reds Will Prevail]

From personal experience, Berkeley CA is probably the leftist capital of the US along with neighbors Oakland and San Francisco. Anti-Imperialism in particular is huuuuge in Berkeley. There are a lot of yuppies in SF, but it is overall a very progressive city... Fairly accommodating to the homeless, very minority friendly. Just like the rest of the Bay though there are big gentrification problems, especially in the Fillmore District. New York is also pretty good (really big Revolution Books store), as well as urban Los Angeles.

[Sky]

as well as urban Los AngelesLos Angeles is limited to mostly upscale bourgeois liberal White enclaves (western and coastal areas and the western SFV) and impoverished Mexican neighborhoods. Outside of the city of L.A. and its surrounding municipalities are reactionary right-wing areas such as the Antelope Valley, Riverside, and Orange County.

[Sky]

Delete.

[Schrödinger's Cat]

I've been surprised to find a large socialist gathering in the North Texas area, although - when looking at a historical perspective - it makes sense. The socialist movement was relatively powerful in the South until the 50s and 60s.

[freakazoid]

Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois used to be our most militant states. Now only Illinois remains centre-left and Kansas wants to segregate schools and teach 'intelligent design'.

Kansas was? I've never heard anything about that. The closest thing I have heard about any leftism in Kansas is when I heard about this book, This Is America?: The Sixties in Lawrence, Kansas, which I haven't picked up yet but have been planning to sometime.

And on a side note, when has Kansas wanted to segregate schools, and it isn't about "teaching" ID.

[freakazoid]

Was trying to find out a little about the counterculture in Kansas and came across this, http://www.kansan.com/stories/2005/apr/27/features_kulture_counterculture/

The ignored African-American community had an armed response in East Lawrence and student activists turned the University’s surrounding area into an armed camp. The Oread neighborhood became a true “Student Ghetto.” Students lined alleys with barbed wire and piano wire to keep the police out. From rooftops, student snipers shot the tires of police cars. “Police cars would drive through with their headlights off, and they would still get shot at,” recalls 1970s student activist Christine Smith. She says she was shocked to see her friends carrying guns. Then-Kansas Governor Robert Docking implemented a sundown curfew on all residents.
KU graduate Lorraine Hilleary-Alber remembers hearing a recording made during the riots: Her father and a friend blasted Silent Night on their electric guitars, and gunshots rang in the background.:D

I've also heard about an anarchist group in Lawrence, Kansas. Does anybody know about them?

[Ultra-Violence]

Portland oregon is big right now with anarchy too people already mentioned San Francisco,Berkely,Oakland,NY(NY), I beileve Phildelphia has a large skin head working class thing going on thier and some of L.A

[pusher robot]

Milwaukee was long an enclave of what would almost be a technocratic leftism, in fact the term "sewer socialism" was used to describe the dominant political culture. It was also a hotspot of union activity and retains a downtown park dedicated to unionism and Eugene Debs. Milwaukee had a long run of socialist mayors who focused their efforts little on ideology but on practical, "working-man" issues, like public parks, sanitation, recreation, transportation, and cooperation with industry to create jobs. Eventually, this movement lost its steam when cities depopulated and the local politics grew more ideological and hostile to industry, chasing many of the jobs away.

[Joby]

I've been surprised to find a large socialist gathering in the North Texas area, although - when looking at a historical perspective - it makes sense. The socialist movement was relatively powerful in the South until the 50s and 60s.


Didn't know you were up here, I'm in Carrollton.

Anyway, that sounds kinda suprising. I looked up some leftist sites in the area...they appeared to website-only. What groups do you know of?



Milwaukee had a long run of socialist mayors who focused their efforts little on ideology but on practical, "working-man" issues, like public parks, sanitation, recreation, transportation, and cooperation with industry to create jobs. Eventually, this movement lost its steam when cities depopulated and the local politics grew more ideological and hostile to industry, chasing many of the jobs away.


That's unfortunate. The Left really needs, in my opinion, to break it down and get back to basics when it comes to politics, especielly on the local level.

No local Socialist should lose support over his (or her) daily bashing of the "Evil American Empire," nor should they allow themselves to get caught up in these things.

I think they should start using the terms Pragmatic and Ideologue Left, to seperate those with a chance of accomplishing something from the perennial *****ers. :D



From personal experience, Berkeley CA is probably the leftist capital of the US along with neighbors Oakland and San Francisco. Anti-Imperialism in particular is huuuuge in Berkeley. There are a lot of yuppies in SF, but it is overall a very progressive city...


My friend Sam just went out there a year ago, and he says it's just the opposite. He claims there's been an infusion of LA kids (ie Valley Girls) into Berkeley...which is quite unfortunate

[pusher robot]

That's unfortunate. The Left really needs, in my opinion, to break it down and get back to basics when it comes to politics, especielly on the local level.

I guess so. The problem is that working on those kinds of pragmatic issues really is difficult, far more difficult than just blaming someone else. I think it worked in Milwaukee because Milwaukee had such a huge German immigrant population. They were able to form a sort of democratic corporatist social system much like existed in Germany, where the government facilitated grand bargains between business and labor and provided for the common welfare.

[MarxSchmarx]

Part of the problem is there is no serious American left. Wealthy liberals abound in the places mentioned (Hollywood, Northeast, SF), and there are leftists who are leftists mostly because their dominant demographic is shut out of the American mainstream (rest of LA, rural south and Midwest, Detroit, etc..). Both these groups talk a good game about wanting to do something about the capitalist problem, but when push comes to shove they are often more than happy to open their arms to "investors", "gentrification", "community partnerships", and "development". Either that or they are NIMBYs. Although some of this is changing, generally speaking these "leftist pockets" are depressingly reformist. Due to the advanced state of capitalist success in destroying working class solidarity in the U$, those that can't stand the current state of affairs frequently go after "the Mexicans", "the hillbillies", "the lazy blacks" etc... instead of adopting an inclusionary politics.

Indeed, there is no primarily "serious" leftist region in the U$. Among urban centers Portland OR comes closest, as do some rural areas of N. CA and New England. But geographically, American leftists are pretty dispersed, and so-called "liberal areas" are a joke that rarely practice what they preach.

[Bud Struggle]

Part of the problem is there is no serious American left. Wealthy liberals abound in the places mentioned (Hollywood, Northeast, SF), and there are leftists who are leftists mostly because their dominant demographic is shut out of the American mainstream (rest of LA, rural south and Midwest, Detroit, etc..). Both these groups talk a good game about wanting to do something about the capitalist problem, but when push comes to shove they are often more than happy to open their arms to "investors", "gentrification", "community partnerships", and "development". Either that or they are NIMBYs. Although some of this is changing, generally speaking these "leftist pockets" are depressingly reformist. Due to the advanced state of capitalist success in destroying working class solidarity in the U$, those that can't stand the current state of affairs frequently go after "the Mexicans", "the hillbillies", "the lazy blacks" etc... instead of adopting an inclusionary politics.

That's pretty dead on correct. I lived in Manhattan for 20 years an know a good many liberals and I must say that I have met very few if any people that come close to the political bent of RevLeft. Most liberal New Yorkers (and by extention most of the US) are socialists in a tax and spend--help the poor way. No one is interested in the disolution of property, or of true economic egalitarianism.

Most Leftists in America are "cause" orientated--ecology is maybe the major leftist cause at the present time. Maybe a bit of immigrant rights. Getting Barack Obama elected president is high on the list. Unions are passe. And that's as far as it gets.

I could say pretty emphatically that the views expressed on RevLeft are almost totally alien to the American Leftist agenda.

[More Fire for the People]

Living in Manhattan =/= Harlem, Bronx, Brooklyn, or Staten.

[Dros]

That's pretty dead on correct. I lived in Manhattan for 20 years an know a good many liberals and I must say that I have met very few if any people that come close to the political bent of RevLeft. Most liberal New Yorkers (and by extention most of the US) are socialists in a tax and spend--help the poor way. No one is interested in the disolution of property, or of true economic egalitarianism.

Most Leftists in America are "cause" orientated--ecology is maybe the major leftist cause at the present time. Maybe a bit of immigrant rights. Getting Barack Obama elected president is high on the list. Unions are passe. And that's as far as it gets.

I could say pretty emphatically that the views expressed on RevLeft are almost totally alien to the American Leftist agenda.

You confuse leftism for bourgeois liberalism. Leftists, real leftists (Communists, anarchists) rarely talk about ecology and NEVER talk about trying to elect Obama. Real leftists oppose Obama and oppose the electoral system.

[Die Neue Zeit]

No one is interested in the dissolution of property, or of true economic egalitarianism.

In my ethics class, there's a clear distinction between "egalitarian distributive justice" and "communist distributive justice," just as there's a clear distinction between "libertarian distributive justice" and "capitalist distributive justice."

[Too bad the "socialist distributive justice" wasn't addressed.]

You're confusing communism (needs only) and socialism (full compensation of one's labour) with egalitarianism (which ignores the individual value of one's labour). :(




Part of the problem is there is no serious American left. Wealthy liberals abound in the places mentioned (Hollywood, Northeast, SF), and there are leftists who are leftists mostly because their dominant demographic is shut out of the American mainstream (rest of LA, rural south and Midwest, Detroit, etc..). Both these groups talk a good game about wanting to do something about the capitalist problem, but when push comes to shove they are often more than happy to open their arms to "investors", "gentrification", "community partnerships", and "development". Either that or they are NIMBYs. Although some of this is changing, generally speaking these "leftist pockets" are depressingly reformist. Due to the advanced state of capitalist success in destroying working class solidarity in the U$, those that can't stand the current state of affairs frequently go after "the Mexicans", "the hillbillies", "the lazy blacks" etc... instead of adopting an inclusionary politics.

Indeed, there is no primarily "serious" leftist region in the U$. Among urban centers Portland OR comes closest, as do some rural areas of N. CA and New England. But geographically, American leftists are pretty dispersed, and so-called "liberal areas" are a joke that rarely practice what they preach.

I think it'll take this credit crunch, continued rises in commodity prices (oil, gold, and even food), and the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (which TomK and other petit-bourgeois elements naturally oppose) for proper class consciousness to develop.

As for "destroying working-class solidarity," consider the increasing costs of war and the continued influx of Hispanics. Modern capitalism cannot afford to have the major imperialist powers go to full-scale war with one another (too much high-tech expenses, plus the nuclear factor). I think that the Hispanic section of the US working class has the most potential for being the engine for working-class consciousness in the country.

[Robert]

Real leftists oppose Obama and oppose the electoral system.

And rightly so. After all, we don't need "elections" to decide who should be a planner and who should be a worker.

Or do you mean the current electoral college system? That, I suppose, could be improved.

[Bud Struggle]

You confuse leftism for bourgeois liberalism. Leftists, real leftists (Communists, anarchists) rarely talk about ecology and NEVER talk about trying to elect Obama. Real leftists oppose Obama and oppose the electoral system.

Oh, I agree with your point. But the terms slide into one another. A NYC person of the Socialist bent would easily call themselves a "Leftist" but NEVER a bourgeois liberal (though the term Liberal would be used.)

I've been around Liberals all my life--for that matter people that call themselves "Communists" (American Communists)and I really NEVER heard views expressed like those I hear on RevLeft. I read about ideas like these--but never actually come across people with REAL Leftist views.

RevLeft is a really interesting place, it's why I stick around.

(And Jake--I'm NOT PETIT!:cursing:)

[Bud Struggle]

And rightly so. After all, we don't need "elections" to decide who should be a planner and who should be a worker.


How in the world could you have a "Most Glorious Leader" who shows his love of the working people by the decisions he makes if the guy was elected? :D

[RGacky3]

Considering what the American left has gone through during the past centurey, and the post WW2 culture that America has I'm suprised they're still is an American left.

[Dros]

I've seen the evil godless thing. And it wants a chance at life on this Earth. It doesn't care that it's already had that chance...once.

WTF is this?

[Die Neue Zeit]

^^^ Anti-socialist, anti-communist, anti-Marxist, and anti-worker BS :glare:

[Bud Struggle]

WTF is this?

It's a quote from one of the best movies of all time The Evil Dead II (Ok, it's an aquired taste :rolleyes:) where Ash (Bruce Campbell) is talking about the monsters from the Necrocomicon. It has nothing to do with Communism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_Dead_II

I kind of meant it as a bit of a joke. I'll remove it it it displeases you.

[freakazoid]

The Evil Dead series ROCKS!!! :thumbup: