Do you get that socialism can be right or left wing, like democracy?

[OddBeMe]

I talk to so many here who are wedded to this notion that socialism is a “lefty evil”. Can democracy only be right wing? That’s simplistic thinking…

Yeah it can be both

No, you’re wrong you left wing scum

[msmissydc]

The thing is the political compass model which describes left and right has actually 4 dimensions minium. people just got used to name things left and right anyway. So in a way socialism can be left and right while on the other hand it can never be. Thats sounds weird and like a paradoxon but people often times think of the Y axis as another X axis and cal it also left and right.

Also it all depends on your definition of left and right. The first time something was called political left or right it was after the french Revolution I think, and the parliaments literal left and right Position from the speakers perspective.

Different to the political compass model authoritarians where seated right and liberals left. While on the compass model this is technically "up and down".

Do yes depending on the model or definition of left and right used in can be both or neither.

[OddBeMe]

Who made the political compass?

[msmissydc]

The "official" pilitical compass was made by a British political journalist in the early 2000 which includes a way to set political parties on a statement evaluation into the compass. The theory behind it and how it is presented was much earlier by a british-german psychologist in the 1950s named Hans Eysenck. (Yes I had to look most of that up, I just learned it years ago in university)

[OddBeMe]

And no doubt more “socialists” in history might have been left wing inspired, but that doesn’t mean all “socialists” are leftists. A la Hitler.

[msmissydc]

Its even debatable that hitlers party was a socialist party. Yes on paper they did sound like a socialist party but in reality history has shown that there where more exceptions than actual rules. There was higher tax for homeowners and company owners. You didn't have to pay those if you where part of his party or where considered a true germen. And yes there was technically tax reduction for the poor except if you are a non german, jew, roma and sinti or many more. So all in all it was just propaganda and enriching his own people. The one thing he did was to have less unemployment: Women didn't count and sometimes wherent even allowed to work and he build lots of weapons and highways for war preparation so that took a lot of workers.
So on paper his party was a socialistic party but that was not at all what they had in mind, int was purely for getting voters first, there was probably not a single actual socialist opinion in the higher ranking party members.

[OddBeMe]

That is true. I do think I could argue he made socialist economic choices of massive govt spending that helped Germany come back from the depression pretty quickly. But that’s why having a dictator is easy and democracy harder. I’ll still take democracy.

[jshm2]

Socialism is a largely meaningless term these days. Mainly as it can be shoehorned to mean anything you want to strawman the opposition into being.

Which is rather strange in many ways as a lot of the laws and civil rights you enjoy are down to various socialist policies

[OddBeMe]

Very true. It’s easier and better marketing to use synonyms. But so much gets confused by far right idiots…. lol

[goaded]

You're repeating a right-wing talking point. Hitler was as likely to implement socialist policies as Trump was to create a health care system that everyone could afford with nobody left out (remember that promise?). They were both lying for votes.

[OddBeMe]

Hitler did do a lot of socialist economic shit. But he was way right wing.

[Stoner710]

Kinda socialism was right of the communists but it’s definitely a left wing ideology. Of course that’s European politics the people of Europe would even consider classical liberalism, which I consider myself to be very far right almost to the point of anarchy.

[LiamJHayden]

I view the political spectrum as being from liberty to totalitarianism. Just seems more true to life, at least in the USA, where the "progressives" want to control certain aspects of people's lives, and the so-called conservatives want to control different aspects of those people's lives. I view both as being past the halfway point away from liberty and towards totalitarianism.

[OddBeMe]

That’s a very biased compass you have. Are you saying every “progressive” is totalitarian?

Funny that libertarians voted for Bernie.

[Anonymous]

That's really hard to believe as of today. You bring up Hitler but the far left does the same power structure by race bullshit he did only with different targets while added males and straights as targets too.

The reason we haven't devolved into a nazi-like state yet is because of the bill of rights but the left want to burn that too.

[OddBeMe]

I would like to discuss these statements in a calm way.

Just to clarify…you think lefties are all about classifying races, destroying white straight males? Seriously?

[Anonymous]

In America socialism is really capitalism in disguise.

[OddBeMe]

I’d say there’s a good line. May get blurred…thanks citizens United.

[Opinion Owner]

No they call it socialism in the US but really what it really is is the US government giving corporations taxpayer money and then extorting taxpayers. Pfizer is a good recent example.

[HippieVeganJewslim]

It can be both, or centrist, comrade. Socialism ain’t all Kommunism or Nazism or Fascism. I knew not that democracy can be right-winged, but I believe so.

[msc545]

I get that. But socialism is an economic system, not a political one.