What Are Leftists?

FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | June, 20 2002 | John J. Ray

[Bigun]

'What am I going to do to stop it in my own way'?

AMEN! You got it!

[Bigun]

FABIAN SOCIALISM: Shaw (George Bernard) was one of the earliest members of the Fabian Society, founded in 1884, and, with Sidney and Beatrice Webb, became one of its most prominent spokesmen and policy-makers. The Fabian Society advocated socialism without revolution, calling for "a gradual transition to Social Democracy" through the creation of educational and political institutions. The Fabian Society founded the London School of Economics and the magazine The New Statesman, and participated to the creation of the Labour Party. In 1914, the Fabian Society were deeply divided in what its members felt should be the appropriate response to the World War.

[alisasny]

Reading almost 3/4ths of this can you tell me how the limousine liberals fit in? All their so called leaders fit into the "limousine liberal" arena...I do not understand how the masses can justify that....

[Yardstick]

Yikes, that's an unsettling quote. Points for honesty?

[Yardstick]

Where did the Fabian Society get the name Fabian? Was it founded by a Mr. Fabian?

[Bigun]

Where did the Fabian Society get the name Fabian? Was it founded by a Mr. Fabian?

No! No Mr. Fabian here!

The word "Fabian" means slowly, over a long period of time, creaping, as in "The Fabian Society advocated socialism without revolution, calling for "a gradual transition to Social Democracy"...

[boris]

Here's how I put it:

==============================

Liberals are insecure about their own morality and compassion. In fact, deep down at their core they disbelieve that they possess these virtues.

This insecurity causes them to commit ever-more-outrageous acts of "conspicuous compassion", in order to demonstrate to others -- and secretly to themselves-- their moral superiority.

But the black hole within the souls of liberals can never be sated. It will eat the world--consume the universe--if not thwarted.

All of this would be sadly amusing were it not for the fact that the left discovered they could force others to pay for their displays of "compassion". Thus was born Forced Compassion (tm). Forced compassion is NOT compassion. It is easy to be "compassionate" when someone else is paying the tab.

Let Teddy Kennedy and Jane Fonda bankrupt themselves, take up the lifestyle of Mother Teresa, and give all they have to the poor. Then they will have the moral stature to lecture the rest of us on the inadequacy of our compassion and charity. Otherwise, every word that drips from their smarmy mouths will be met with the whisper, "Hypocrite" in every ear.

[Yardstick]

Well, there was a Mr. Fabian, sort of. I just found this at the Fabian Society's web site:

The Fabian Society was founded in 1884 as a socialist society committed to gradual rather than revolutionary social reform. The name comes from the Roman general Quintus Fabius, known as Cunctator from his strategy of delaying battle until the right moment...

Good ol' internet.

And isn't "Cunctator" prime internet forum handle material?

[beckett]

Very good essay --- a bracing read, as the Aussies say! Or is that the Brits?

[supercat]

Not a bad article, though I think leftism vs. conservatism may be perhaps most simply summed up by dividing people into three groups:

1. Those who want others to take care of them.
2. Those who want to take care of (and control) themselves.
3. Those who want to "take care of" and control others.

Types #1 and #3 vote leftist, for opposite reasons; both groups hate #2, which tends to vote conservative.

BTW, while Republicans are portrayed as "the party of Big Business and the Rich", the media ignore two dirty little secrets:

• The very-wealthy are often Democrats (since they belong to group #3).
• Big business often favors Democrats (since Democrats' regulations tend to hurt small businesses more than big ones, thus offering big businesses a competitive advantage that for them more than makes up for the regulations' cost).

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

He learned that from Gramsci I would bet!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Quest for Cosmic Justice,

I have read most of his book on The Anointed and thought it was on the mark now I can see that I ought to find time for the Cosmic book!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Now that I can understand!

Thanks!

[budwiesest]

Whatever else the Leftist may be, the bedrock of Leftism is a strong desire or even a need for political change, often extreme change.

Great leaps.

Forward, backward, who the hell knows. It's all about leaps. Society can't just move to a point gradually or naturally, one must 'leap' there. This explains the Left. My frog is about worn out. And my fiddle could use new strings.

[Yardstick]

All I know is that the State is getting bigger and more powerful.

Yeah, it's getting bigger and shows no sign of slowing down (that I'm aware of). Which raises the question: just how big and powerful can government get? Is there an upper boudary somewhere?

[Yardstick]

I like the crispness and simplicity of that explanation, supercat.

It's interesting how the care-givers and dependees, who are in a sicko codependant embrace, perceive the conservative #2 types, with their desire for independence and healthy boundaries, to be the ones with the problem.

[Bigun]

The name comes from the Roman general Quintus Fabius, known as Cunctator from his strategy of delaying battle until the right moment...

Very interesting indeed! Hadn't seen that before!

Thanks!

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

This political labeling business is confusing!

Rightly dividing the political spectrum is a notoriously confusing problem.

I lean to the idea that "conservative", "rightist", "leftist", are ambiguous terms and that this fact is no accident. I think that journalists are very influential in assigning language meanings.

I also lean to the idea that "leftists" like Stalin did not become conservative when in power--it's just that leftism consists of

criticism,
condemnation, and
complaint.

Thus, Stalin evaded responsibility for the fact that his bureaucracy was even worse-suited to the creation of prosperity than was the mess that preceded it--and did so with show trials of the people who had tried to make the system work.

You may say, yes but you are criticizing, yourself. How then is that a distinctive of the left?

The Boston brahmin was condescending to the Texan, and said, "We in proper society think that breeding is everything."

The Texan replied, "We down in Texas think it's fun, too--but we try to have some other interests!"

You need not, as a practical matter, worry about who is a leftist. You need only wait a moment, and they will tell you. Tell you that you are a rightist, that is . . .

Leftism is criticism of those who created, and/or are trying to create, something of value to society. Criticism with a view to ruling or ruining the fruits of the creative efforts of we-the-people. Criticism in the name of "the people" but destructive of the general welfare.

Are we outside the house of mirrors yet?

[Pagey]

BUMP