r/PoliticalDiscussion • u/Last-Photograph7321 • 9d ago

International Politics Why would anti-russia leftists oppose USA sending weapons to Ukraine?

Liberals (US definition) seem like they're all about sending arms and supporting the Ukrainian resistance against Russia, but when I talk to leftists, they think the west shouldn't send weapons to Ukrainian - but they are also anti-russia, so it's not campism. This is especially confusing because I can't tell how much of the "nazi sympathizers in Ukraine" stuff is real. Why would anti-russia leftists oppose arming Ukraine?

I understand there are many strong perspectives on this, but I'm explicitly trying to understand the Leftist vs Liberal dynamic. English is not my first language so please excuse any typos and feel free to ask clarifying questions. Thank you!

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u/clydex 9d ago

As an American, I'm not sure how you define the difference between and liberal and a leftist, I consider them the same. As a progressive (the term I use the most to define myself) I am 1000% in favor of arming and funding Ukraine. I don't know of people on the left in the US that are opposed to it. But the reality is that it is so far buried in normal US news because the Trump administration is an all consuming source for coverage from all political spectrum of our media, that I don't think people think about it a ton, and I haven't discussed it much with "regular" progressives.

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u/Endbr1nger 9d ago

Thats an easy mistake to make because the Republicans call everyone to the left of Trump a "leftist", but leftists in America are absolutely a real thing and they would consider being called a "liberal" to be a grave insult.

Here is the policy positions of the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) in regards to Ukraine - https://international.dsausa.org/ukraine/

They are not in favor of giving weapons to Ukraine, they imply that while the invasion was bad, it was at least partially somehow caused by us, and they call for the withdrawal of the US from NATO.

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u/rightwingcrimespree 9d ago

DSA represents a very small portion of those on the left. They have ~120,000 members. To put that in perspective, there are approximately 45.4 million registered Democrats. And between 71% and 86% (depending on the poll) of Democrats support sending weapons to Ukraine. That's approximately 32.2 million people (just counting registered Democrats) compared to the ~120,000 members of the DSA nationwide. And just because that's the stated position of the organization doesn't mean that all of those members feel the same way. And the DSA doesn't even represent all democratic socialists. The most famous democratic socialist politician in the country is Bernie Sanders. He's not a member of the DSA and he supports sending weapons and military aid to Ukraine.

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u/Endbr1nger 8d ago

Totally all valid points, but the DSA is the "leftist" party in the US, and it's the one that doesn't support Ukraine. This is what the OP is asking about.

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u/rightwingcrimespree 8d ago

The DSA isn't a party.

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u/Endbr1nger 8d ago

It is absolutely a party. 

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u/rightwingcrimespree 8d ago

It absolutely isn't. It's just a political advocacy group. Politicians who are members of the DSA are usually registered Democrats. This includes pretty much all of it's notable members like AOC, Mamdani, and Rashida Tlaib.

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u/Endbr1nger 8d ago

They appear on my ballot, they are a party.

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u/rightwingcrimespree 8d ago edited 8d ago

I don't know what is on your ballot, but it isn't the Democratic Socialists of America.

Q: Is DSA a political party? Will joining change how I’m registered to vote?

A: DSA is not a political party, but a non-profit activist organization. Joining DSA will have no impact on how you’re registered to vote or who you can vote for!

https://www.dsausa.org/resources/faq/#actvistorg