r/50501 • u/serious_bullet5 • 2d ago
US Protest News Leftists March in DC Today Against Tyranny đșđžđ©
Find Your Protest: maydaystrong.org
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u/Ok_Recipe12 2d ago
what is a "leftist" at this point? can someone tell me?
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u/BabyyyyCup 2d ago
That's a fair question. It feels like the definition changes depending on who's using the term.
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u/Ok_Recipe12 2d ago
and thats all im getting at, im very much a socialist, if protesting, i need to be protesting for a reason.
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u/AlexSmithsonian 2d ago
It will always be, in my heart, a loyal customer in Flanders's Leftorium shop.
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u/SynapseLM 2d ago edited 2d ago
Simple terms (and a fairly broad generalization):
Anti- Capitalism, Anti- Imperialism , Anti- Colonialism
With understanding of historical and philosophical context.
Pro- Worker/Union, Solidarity with resistance and revolutionary movements around the world (and why there is resistance movements against US foreign policy), Pro- Immigration, Pro- Nationalization of certain industries like medical care/ pharm, technology, energy...etc. Support for arming the proletariat and frustrating the idea of forfeiture of those arms/ ammunitions.
Many more of each....
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u/Nearby_Ad_2519 1d ago
At this point âleftistâ seems to mean âsomebody who hasnât lost all common senseâ
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u/Equal_Audience_3415 2d ago
Anyone that isn't far-right.
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u/Careful_Wrongdoer_91 1d ago
Thatâs not what a leftist is. A leftist is someone who is an anti-capitalist. Leftist and liberals are not interchangeable. Although we do have causes we will align on, ultimately there is a fundamental difference on how we get there. Personally, Iâm a socialist. I will fight along side liberals and with anyone else who fights against fascism, racism, ICE, genocide, homophobia, ect. But I wonât blindly support those in power that are actively fighting to uphold capitalism in a way that goes against the things Iâm fighting for.
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u/PatchyWhiskers 1d ago
Not everyone on the left is anti-capitalist, and thereâs tension between people who are and people who arenât.
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u/Ok_Recipe12 2d ago
can you help me please, im very much a socialist, what is a leftist and far right
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u/Mr_Lucidity 1d ago
I think if you disagree with hunting poor people for sport, or believe in the scientific method, you might be a leftist.
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u/MisterSanitation 1d ago edited 1d ago
I got you fam. Think of the scale as a horseshoe X axis is right and left politics and the top of each (the y axis) is authoritarianism. At the top of each point is communism and fascism in left and right respectively.Â
In American politics the whole scale is to the right compared to the rest of the world but we will ignore that for now. Liberals are farthest right on the leftist scale. They want to use laws to make capitalism more fair but they did capitalism as a whole (the criticism here from leftists who are left of liberals is liberals are conservatives of the early 2000âs based on their views).Â
Leftists are usually encompassing people who are not liberals per se but are pro union, pro inclusivity, anti war more than liberals are, socialists, and anarchists also fit in here too. So pretty much anything left of liberals which could include communists (most think that is too far because of the authoritarian tendencies of communist regimes).Â
Remember left and right was coined during the French Revolution in the late 1700s, the monarchists sat on the right of their burgeoning democracy and the Jacobins sat on the left wanting a totally new system outside of monarchy.Â
More clarifications: liberals and leftists likely agree on the war in Ukraine to stop authoritarian Russia from expanding its territory but leftists are pro Palestine and liberals are pro Zionism.Â
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u/serious_bullet5 2d ago
supporting left-wing political parties and left-wing philosophical ideals
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u/Flossonero14 2d ago
Thereâs only two political factions at this point. Fascist and pro democracy. Respectfully , any other nomenclature at this point is divisive and counterproductive.
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u/Old_Manager6555 1d ago
Yup.
Keep it simple and stick together. Not the time to sweat the small stuff of precise definitions.
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17h ago
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u/Flossonero14 16h ago edited 16h ago
So high up on that horse you canât see what I wrote? The word party does not feature in my comment. Factions here refer to different members of the electorate, not elected politicians. Try engaging in good faith instead of being snarky and pedantic.
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u/FarLength6980 16h ago
Iâm sorry, I thought you were talking about the Democraric and Republican parties.
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u/Flossonero14 16h ago
All good. I get the frustration with âestablishmentâ Dems. Youâre right about that. But I am with the people right now who believe you have to allow for wide latitude in policy positions within the 50501 coalition. Enemy of my enemy and all thatâŠ
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2d ago
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u/Flossonero14 2d ago edited 2d ago
Actually classical liberalism holds that individuals possess inherent natural rights that the government cannot infringe upon. Itâs the bedrock principle for every single western democracy. Classical liberalism contrasts with modern liberalism, which generally supports more extensive government involvement in economic and social matters to ensure positive rights, such as education, healthcare, and a minimum wage. Liberalism and fascism are fundamentally opposing political philosophies. Youâre probably referring to the theory that certain aspects of liberal capitalist societies, such as the use of state power to protect property and the potential for liberal rhetoric to mask exploitative practices, can create conditions that might allow for the rise of fascist movements. The idea that democracies can devolve into authoritarian forms of government is not new, and predates capitalism by thousands of years.
While theoretical communism aims for a stateless, classless society, the practical implementation of communism has historically resulted in one-party rule by a Communist party, which functions as a dictatorship, characterized by state control of the economy, suppressed political opposition, and limitations on freedoms.
Liberalism as a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law, is still the best basis from which to build civil society.
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u/averageuserbob 2d ago
Backing an ethnostate is pretty fascistic.
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u/Flossonero14 2d ago
Japan, India, Russia, South Korea and even Poland are widely consider mono ethnic and therefore fit the definition of an ethno state.
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u/averageuserbob 2d ago
Yes. As is Israel, all can be bad to varying degrees.
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u/Flossonero14 2d ago
So support of Poland, or South Korea in your opinion is fascistic? That term gets used a lot but it has a specific academic definition. A fascist state is characterized by ultranationalism, a dictatorial leader with a cult of personality, a centralized autocratic government, militarism and paramilitarism, and the forcible suppression of opposition and individual rights. There could conceivably be a totally ethno religious state such as some people claim Israel is, and that still wouldnât make it fascist necessarily.
**Israelâs current government is getting real faschy right now tho!
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u/Flossonero14 2d ago
Point is friend that itâs important to understand the terms we use. But whats more important right now is that whatever your specific policy positions may be, if youâre against the fascist takeover of our government, then weâre on the same side. We have a lot of work to do before we can return to the salad days of debating âpolicyâ, as it were. Bed time. Peace.
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u/averageuserbob 2d ago
If you arenât willing to call out a fascistic government that has been fascistic since its inception, then you are not my ally. You are just a fascist in a different hat.
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u/FellTheAdequate 2d ago
This is incorrect. Leftists specifically support an overhaul of the entire system and are anticapitalist. Liberals could do what you said, but they are not leftists.
I might sound like a jackass by saying this but these words have meaning and we shouldn't dilute them like this.
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u/Ok_Recipe12 2d ago
well, what does that mean? trust me, im on your side, but what does "left wing" mean to you?you need to explain it for the people in the back.
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u/Flossonero14 2d ago
Short answer is the left is focused on egalitarianism and popular or state control of the major institutions. The problem with every single communist government is not unlike what we are seeing in America today. When you give so much power to the state, you are relying on their benevolence to redistribute wealth and positive outcomes to all.
When we consider countries that do liberal democracy better than us (in my opinion the Nordic countries come to mind), itâs because they have a much more robust welfare apparatus and multi-level collective bargaining. Youâd be hard pressed on my opinion to find anyone voting Dem in the US who wouldnât prefer a system more like the Nordic countries.
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u/PatchyWhiskers 1d ago
âIâm on your sideâ is one phrase that always puts my hackles up. If you are on our side, our pronouns are âweâ not âyouâ.
Unless you actually arenât?
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u/Backpacker_03 2d ago edited 2d ago
To me, left wing ideas/policies to center around empowerment of and bettering the living conditions and liberties of those within the working class. Some examples off the top of my head include things like universal healthcare, UBI, stronger taxes for the rich, and resource/wealth redistribution. Me personally, I tend to also lump in things policies that foster/support equity between people of different ethnicities, different sexualities and different gender identities (DEI essentially) and reproductive rights, just because those are things I value as a left-leaning person, and I see them espoused by other left-leaning people and leftists. However, those aren't really inherent to left wing policies like the stuff having to do with the betterment of the working class.
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u/Ok_Recipe12 2d ago
thank you so much for that, im in complete agreement. and for the sake of arguement, what if i say i 100 percent agree with you but i love guns? or i hate killing preborn babies? what do you do then? im just trying to get a good line to use, im a socialist and live and let be kinda person, but i need some ammo to throw back at ppl
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u/PatchyWhiskers 1d ago
Ok you are taking the piss now. You are obviously a conservative. What a lot of conservative claptrap.
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u/Kahzgul 20h ago
Itâs a term bots use to describe anyone who is against fascism. It serves two goals: makes people feel icky like they donât want to associate with it, or make people feel like maybe they should look into becoming real leftists (communists). This creates a cultural wedge while stifling anti-fascist behavior, all under the guise of allyship.
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u/Careful_Wrongdoer_91 2d ago
A leftist by definition is someone who is an anti-capitalist. The terms leftist and liberal are not interchangeable like a lot of people like to throw around on. Liberals (while to the left of republicans and maga) are still capitalists, thus they are still on the right. The âleftâ begins at anti-capitalism, which is why there are leftists. Liberals believe in operating this country under a capitalist structure. While leftist and liberals do align on quite a few issues like being pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA+ rights, immigration, and sometimes universal healthcare, we greatly differ on HOW to get there and what our ultimate goals are.
Leftists (which is a broad term that everyone from democratic socialists, socialists, communists, anarchists, ect fit under) want to see this country free from capitalism. We believe that the end stage of capitalism is fascism (which it seems like weâre there) and that a society and its working class cannot thrive under capitalism. If youâre truly wanting there to be liberation and freedom for the working class and marginalised communities, it canât happen under capitalism because itâs a system that is built on oppression of others.
I hope that was an easy enough to understand synopsis. Iâve not had any coffee yet so Iâve got no idea if that made any sense. Lol.
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u/jackmPortal 2d ago
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u/Ok_Recipe12 2d ago
i like a lot of that, so, what is a leftist?
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u/jackmPortal 2d ago
"People who are liberals look upon the principles of Marxism as abstract dogma. They approve of Marxism, but are not prepared to practice it or to practice it in full; they are not prepared to replace their liberalism by Marxism. These people have their Marxism, but they have their liberalism as well--they talk Marxism but practice liberalism; they apply Marxism to others but liberalism to themselves. They keep both kinds of goods in stock and find a use for each. This is how the minds of certain people work.
Liberalism is a manifestation of opportunism and conflicts fundamentally with Marxism. It is negative and objectively has the effect of helping the enemy; that is why the enemy welcomes its preservation in our midst. Such being its nature, there should be no place for it in the ranks of the revolution.
We must use Marxism, which is positive in spirit, to overcome liberalism, which is negative. A Communist should have largeness of mind and he should be staunch and active, looking upon the interests of the revolution as his very life and subordinating his personal interests to those of the revolution; always and everywhere he should adhere to principle and wage a tireless struggle against all incorrect ideas and actions, so as to consolidate the collective life of the Party and strengthen the ties between the Party and the masses; he should be more concerned about the Party and the masses than about any private person, and more concerned about others than about himself. Only thus can he be considered a Communist.
All loyal, honest, active and upright Communists must unite to oppose the liberal tendencies shown by certain people among us, and set them on the right path. This is one of the tasks on our ideological front."
Every single protest that I have seen has sought reformative action. It is naive, in a way, to expect change from a system that is aimed against you. You're expecting the people who have everything to gain to willingly give you what you want. That is willfully ignorant of history. Revolution is the only way forward, and anyone who isn't working towards it might as well be aiding the fascists and capitalists.
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u/Ok_Recipe12 2d ago
im with ya on this, this sounds great, i think the workers should control the means of production, co ops, or whatever they can call it, where we all chip in, we all get back can you help me sort it out or am i doing ok?
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u/jackmPortal 1d ago
You're on the right track. Right now, lot of self proclaimed leftists who may believe in leftist ideas will still practice liberalism as described by Mao. These kinds of ideas are rot inside the party, selfish and lead to corruption and bad decisions made without the people in mind. On a semi-related note, liberalism, by the classic definition, and modern neoliberalism, is bad from an ideological standpoint because they will always compromise their beliefs when it conveniences them. They will side with the fascist before the socialist because the fascist says they won't threaten the liberal's position in the class structure.
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u/HolographicState 2d ago
Oh yes, look at those radical âleftistsâ with their protests against fascism and authoritarianism. Next theyâll be demanding due process and fair elections, those maniacs.
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u/Lopsided_Repeat 1d ago
Leftists? All I see are American citizens
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u/FarLength6980 16h ago
Why are you so opposed to being called a leftist?
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u/Lopsided_Repeat 16h ago
It's going to take everything we have to get through this mess. I am afraid of alienating those that would join. Until this is over it's just Americans for me and mine.
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u/Hot-Adhesiveness-438 1d ago
Correction:
Population Rises up in protest Against Tyranny, Washington DC
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u/OneLoveOneWorld2025 1d ago
This is no longer about left vs right, this is about those that believe everyone should be free against the fascist oligarchy that has taken control of our government.
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2d ago
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u/Ok_Recipe12 2d ago
are you okay? why do you support the current president? really looking for answers here
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u/jackmPortal 1d ago
Im fine. I'm as affected by the current circumstances as much as anyone else. However I'm disillusioned with the idea that this is a US only problem. Fascism is on the rise everywhere else, and just electing a democrat president isn't going to lead to improvements to QoL and freedom from exploitation in the global south. It's not going to stop the genocide unfolding in front of our eyes in Palestine. It's not going to give us the tools to effectively deal with the climate crisis, from which hundreds of millions of people have the potential to die before those in power begin to actually be effected by it. It's not going to improve things much here in the US, because both political parties work for the interests of the bourgeoisie first. Sure, sure, lesser of two evils, there might be some mediocre economic reform under Democrats, mediocre protection for queer people, etc but that doesn't change the fact that they also have direct incentives to not make progress. Some believe the system is broken and needs to be fixed. I believe the system is working exactly as intended and must be destroyed. We have the capability to give everyone on earth good quality of life using a third of our current energy and natural resources. But that will never happen under capitalism. Socialism is just the ethical solution. Ambitious, sure. But impossible? Definitely not.
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