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Post by machinekng on Dec 15, 2015 22:13:53 GMT
Welcome to the Althistoria Brigade of the Commonwealth of Progressives, Socialists, and Social Democrats. The purpose of the Commonwealth is to serve as a meeting place and discussion thread for anyone who considers themselves on the left, and to discuss social, political and economic issues. Of course, the thread is open to all, leftists, rightists and mushy centrists alike! Just be sure to be polite and act in good faith. A repost of the rules: Anyways, as always, rise again for our anthem, The Internationale. FAQ:Q: I'm a [insert beliefs here]. Can I join? A: Yes. filler
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Post by Huehuecoyotl on Dec 15, 2015 22:15:52 GMT
Dirty communists permitted, I assume?
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Post by machinekng on Dec 15, 2015 22:16:15 GMT
Dirty communists permitted, I assume? As always comrade.
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Post by istanbul on Dec 15, 2015 22:20:04 GMT
Sounds good to me. At least here I can be consistent. I was right wing at first on ah.
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Post by AYC on Dec 15, 2015 22:27:56 GMT
Social Democrat reporting in.
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ruth
New Member
pining for the fjords
Posts: 35
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Post by ruth on Dec 16, 2015 0:22:18 GMT
Waving the red flag for M-L. You know, Marxism-Luxemburgism.
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Post by istanbul on Dec 16, 2015 0:37:03 GMT
Practical World: I'm Just A Democrat, doing the best I can. Ideal World: Democratic Confederalism. Don't tell anyone
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Post by Huehuecoyotl on Dec 16, 2015 0:48:56 GMT
Radical firebreathing ancom/Marxist here.
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Post by Jasen777 on Dec 16, 2015 0:51:10 GMT
Progressive/Social Liberal here.
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Post by Visigoethe on Dec 16, 2015 1:18:52 GMT
Christian Socialist reporting in.
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Post by machinekng on Dec 16, 2015 2:43:14 GMT
I'd just like to say welcome again to the first wave of volunteers for the International Brigade. I'm sure that many will follow after. So, to jump-start discussion, a few questions. Feel free to answer as you'd like and to pose your own. - Why have you, personally, adopted left or left-of-center views?
- What do you feel is the most pressing challenge facing the left in your region?
- What do you feel is the most valuable opportunity for the left in your region?
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Post by Jasen777 on Dec 16, 2015 3:21:23 GMT
Entering the work force full time made my economic views swing left in a hurry. It was quite startling to see how much the owner was making, and how much I was not making. I guess I had always figured that I would fall into a nice middle-class job and that just about anyone could if they tried, when I did not that changed my perspective quite a bit. So might not make me look that great that I couldn't see that sort of thing before experiencing it, but there you go.
My social views before that were already left leaning in a lot of cases (I don't really remember the why for that change as at one point I had been a very religious conservative).
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Post by tardis218 on Dec 16, 2015 3:54:58 GMT
Do Greens count? Since you kinda have the two ends of the leftest spectrum here, and that seems a bit...awkward? So I guess I'm asking: Do you count anybody in between ?
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ruth
New Member
pining for the fjords
Posts: 35
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Post by ruth on Dec 16, 2015 4:37:38 GMT
So, I volunteered in the last Canadian election for the NDP, ostensibly the closest thing we've got to an electorally viable left party, only to be so disgusted by our leader's campaign once he started to promise "balanced budgets" that I left halfway through. The position of the left is sort of curious in Canada right now—we've had a platform for approaching 100 years, but just when it seems like a real left-wing government could take charge, we get stuck with a guy who publicly praised Thatcher, of all people, botched a 10-point lead in a month and ended up losing us the election by 20 points. So, frustrating. But I'm optimistic that people seem open to a left-wing message, as we've had several provincial NDP governments, and in many ways Trudeau won by adopting many of the policy points of the left that Mulcair shied away from. It's a move in the right direction, at least, which is heartening after years in Harperland.
As for my own background, my father's a "true believer" Democrat in the US, self-described "social liberal, fiscal moderate". I guess I came to the left when I realized that social justice isn't really achievable without economic justice. For example, it's all very well to pass laws banning discrimination, but if the material conditions are still unequal, then historically oppressed communities are still going to have problems. Leaving the US helped a lot too, as I realized that the political spectrum was broader than I had ever thought possible, and one thing led to another and before long I was reading Capital and waving red flags!
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Post by machinekng on Dec 16, 2015 4:44:45 GMT
Do Greens count? Since you kinda have the two ends of the leftest spectrum here, and that seems a bit...awkward? So I guess I'm asking: Do you count anybody in between ? We're not excluding anyone on the basis of ideological purity. I think a pluralistic setting is the best for a vibrant discussion anyways here on the web. But yeah, come on in.
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Post by ToixStory on Dec 16, 2015 5:00:41 GMT
I've been called SJW as an insult and compliment before, campaigned for the Democrats since 2012, and pine for democratic socialism, so I guess this is the place for me.
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shamiboy
Global Moderator
A happy mane
Posts: 51
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Post by shamiboy on Dec 16, 2015 6:14:12 GMT
vaguely a SJW can I join?
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Post by machinekng on Dec 16, 2015 6:16:43 GMT
vaguely a SJW can I join? Yes, and Frequently Asked Questions has been added to the OP.
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Post by istanbul on Dec 16, 2015 7:56:16 GMT
I think "SJW" is ridiculously stupid as a term.... so does that make me a leftie???
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Hominid
New Member
Posts: 37
Pronouns: he/him/his/his/himself
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Post by Hominid on Dec 16, 2015 18:03:03 GMT
I'm some sort of democratic socialist, I think.
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