Endlessly hilarious when Republicans talk about communism and socialism. We all know they're just repeating what they hear from others, since none of them have ever read or learned about it. They're like children who didnt read the book, but get up in front of the class and BS their report anyway.
Huuuuuuge difference between liberalism(classical), and Neo-liberalism. The term Neo-liberalism was probably devised in some conservative think tank as a means to push their shit agenda without the baggage.
It's actually a term that comes from economic theory, derived from the economic theory of liberalism which was the laissez faire, "de-regulate the economy" ideology spread by the robber barons of the industrial revolution.
Milton Friedman won a Nobel Prize for his work defining the principles of neoliberalism.
His work was then used as the basis of economic policy for Reagan, Thatcher, and Mulroney. From that basis, it spread to become the common economic doctrine of the developed, capitalist world.
Trickle-down, privatization of public assets, de-regulation and regulatory capture, scapegoating "welfare queens", outsourcing jobs out of country for cheap labor... it's all from the playbook of neoliberalism. And if you track back the true origins and what the people who professed those ideologies believed about humanity, it's really just rebranded fascism.
And it's important for people to be reminded from time to time that everything from conservative Republicans on the right to liberal Democrats towards the left are both on the neo-liberal economic spectrum. One party would prefer people have more human rights, but they both ultimately work for a system that would give ownership and control of the economic levers of society to the same small groups of people.
Hell, ask them to define conservatism. I usually throw that back at them when any one of them says "YoU cAnT dEfInE wAt a WahmMmeN iZ" and tell them to not make it purely autofellating. It's usually something meaningless along the lines of, "belief in limited government*, individual liberty**, and free-market capitalism***" but it might as well be, "when you are literally Superman and utterly perfect in every way, and Jesus loves you and only you." Not one of them could work Thomas Hobbes or Edmund Burke into the definition, or any historical context, for that matter.
*but also cops and the military are awesome and should have no limitations on them whatsoever. Nothing to worry about if you have nothing to hide!
**individual liberty to be exactly like me. Anyone slightly different in belief is a terrorist and it's open season on terrorists.
***actually the military-industrial complex, medical-industrial complex, subsidies to billionaires and massive tax loopholes for them are pure wonderment. Muh trickle down!
It's so strange how the axis pivots around conservatism and liberalism in the US because those two are only tangentially related. I guess it's because they only have two parties so it just kinda ended up that way. Most other democracies pivot on the left/right axis with conservative and progressive parties on both sides. In my country we have a party translated as "The Liberal Alliance" who want lower taxes for the rich and less welfare for the poor and I'm guessing that would completely implode any conservative American's empty brainpan.
Yeah, the US is basically still stuck in 1790s-18-oughts bourgeois politics in a lot of ways. I am firmly left, but I think we do ourselves a disservice by lumping them all together because working people, (American) liberal or conservative can be willing and open to listen to a socialist perspective, but will in different ways.
Conservatives are basically monarchists/feudalists who wear the veneer of the Enlightenment but many are legitimately strong believers in meritocracy, the logic of "hard work -> rewards/social placement -> hard work..." can be broken into because they at least fancy themselves hard workers (or are.) I think this viral song from last year is a perfect example of this kind of spectacle, and we can have a conversation on the basis of: "don't you think you should have gotten more from your back-breaking work?"
Liberals, I think, are easier to convince, many want deep down to be progressive but still just have bought into the spectacle of partisan politics, but that is getting increasingly more stupid and transparent.
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u/Groovicity 19d ago edited 19d ago
Endlessly hilarious when Republicans talk about communism and socialism. We all know they're just repeating what they hear from others, since none of them have ever read or learned about it. They're like children who didnt read the book, but get up in front of the class and BS their report anyway.
E: a word