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What does it mean to be on the left politically? Generally speaking, leftists fight for the weak in society. The problem is that there are historically two types of the political left that are fundamentally different.

The traditional left is a child of the 19th century and the labor movement. It is concerned with better working conditions, fair pay, good education for their children, affordable health insurance, continued payment in case of illness, etc....

In contrast, the postmodern, identitarian, so-called "progressive" left is quite different: it is a child of the (American) university of the late 20th century, which makes it an elite project. "Progressives" are obsessed with issues like race and gender, or with minorities rights. They despise the working class (unless the workers are non-white, then it's a case for the category of 'race'...).
But the traditional category 'class' has little meaning in their world-view, because a lot, maybe even the majority of the working class is culturally rather conservative, which makes them not only suspicious but ennemies in the culture war.

Unfortunately, it must be stated that the traditional left - depending on the country - is either sick or almost dead. The "progressive" variant has, like an invasive species, taken over the field of the political Left. This is bad news for the socially weak in Western societies (poor folks with European ancestors are even admonished to repent because they are so privileged!), but it is good news for all minorities who manage to present themselves as victims, especially in the environment of the academic and urban milieu.

Thibaud70 7 Mar 2
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Your essay fails to provide citations to substantiate your factual claims. This conjecture that you're selling is fact has been constructed without the benefit of the knowledge of the historical development of left wing political ideologies which predate and lay the groundwork for today's political environment which you have grossly misrepresented.

Your lack of education explains your resentment of post secondary education that built over the years of being relegated to librarian while all the "rich kids" were actually being educated. You incorporate your racism and sexism to demean progressives without even acknowledging the relationship between race, sex and social caste. You don't get to define "the left" to accommodate your prejudices and no one who knows what they're talking about will agree with your assessment.

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I’ve read the bio @Thibaud70 wrote, and I’ve read some of his “bible”, The Book of Disquiet.

What will he post next? What then? And then? Etc?

To be fair I have not read The Book of Disquiet, however, the following excerpt reminded me of Antoine Roquentin in Sartre's La Nausea. In one passage Antoine Roquentin said of the owner of a cafe: "When his cafe empties his head empties." Although not quite as sarcastic, I think that it is somewhat in the same vein.

"In Lisbon there are a few restaurants or eating houses located above decent-looking taverns, places with the heavy, domestic look of restaurants in towns far from any rail line. These second-story eateries, usually empty except on Sundays, frequently contain curious types whose faces are not interesting but who constitute a series of digressions from life". — Fernando Pessoa, from The Book of Disquiet, trans. Alfred MacAdam.

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I disagree . I think all of those factors are of great importance to progressives... Certainly attention is paid to the issues of the moment, but I, as a progressive, care as much about the miner's salary as I do about the rights of gays, women minorities. I don't think it's appropriate to create a false dichotomy of concerns.

[progressives.house.gov].

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I also think the Prog Left has become too sidetracked by every possible identity issue instead of rallying under one flag of equal Rights for all humans. That seems a much simpler, less divisive, sell to me. It also increases the power of resources (read money) to arm ourselves with. I have said this many times on Agnostic but few think I've got a point. Maybe you'll have better luck with that?

Right on the nail. The progressive left, who I see all the time at Unitarian churches and in most Dem loyalist voters, cares nothing about economic justice issues, and instead worships at the altar of PC and identity politics. They are just as neoliberal as the Repubs, and are a scourge on the label liberal. The DNC uses them as useful idiots in the culture war and ID politics crap with the Repubs, while all the while, the two corporate parties collude to reverse all of the New Deal and any economic progress that still remains from those eras. I went to a folk music concert last weekend at my Unitarian church and almost all the attendees were gray hairs like me, unlike most members of the church itself, because the performer's music was all about unions, economic justice, etc, and the younger members of the church have no interest in that. They hate Bernie and even Warren, with a passion, because they are all members of the Comfortable Class, and want to stay there at all costs.

The progressive left despises the working class, esp. the white working class, just as much as the DNC, and since those two groups are so open about their hostility, it's little wonder that the white working class has flocked to the Repubs for some time now, since even tho they know the Repubs are not on their side economically, they at least kiss up to them rhetorically on their culture war issues and talk about their grievances against the system, while sharing and reinforcing their bigotry against non-whites and other minority groups.

@TomMcGiverin Interesting observations about the prog left and DNC.

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