General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What is the "hard left"? [View all]BainsBane
(53,031 posts)They were systematically arrested, deported, and blacklisted, from the 1910s through the 1950s. Universities were purged so that Americans would not be exposed to leftist ideologies like Marxism.
We've seen self-interest for the privileged and disregard, even contempt, for the poor and marginalized proclaimed as leftist. We see proposals addressing systemic inequality savaged in lieu of those directed toward the upper-middle class. We see people earning 2-6 times the US median income and the 0.3-0.1% of global incomes claim they are oppressed, all while expressing resentment that any politicians or political party seek to represent the poor and marginalized. Leftism, in such a political ethos, means "me" and what serves "my" interests, with a willful determination to ignore the concerns of others. There is no ideological fulcrum or sense of responsibility toward the nation's most vulnerable citizens; in fact we are more likely to see resentment of them.
We see a rise of nationalism, but that is not leftism.