Thank you for this measured critique.
I am still on the left, politically, despite seeing many gnawing and growing problems among others on the left, because my political positions are not inherently social positions. 1/11
I am still on the left, politically, despite seeing many gnawing and growing problems among others on the left, because my political positions are not inherently social positions. 1/11
By this I mean: My thinking doesn’t change because some people who claim to be in my political neighborhood are inane, or worse. It also doesn’t inherently change because the beliefs and actions of those people (whom I disagree with) are ascendant, and causing harm. 2/
I *do* feel that it is my responsibility to point out the dangers of this style of thinking, though. Some people read those critiques as evidence that I am not in fact on the left (as if ideological conformity is either honorable or recommended in a free-thinking populace). 3/
So: I am not on the left because I agree with other people on the left, or their tactics. My political position is based on ideas.
What does it mean, to me, to be on the left?
This is a start: 4/
What does it mean, to me, to be on the left?
This is a start: 4/
Modern life requires good government at many scales, as our technological capacity now far-outstrips the regulation of the impacts of those technologies. Negative externalities abound, and people and corporations must be held to account. 5/
I want a world where nature is protected even when someone could extract a resource from the land or water that would, in the short-term, earn (someone) more money. I want the protection of public goods, which includes clean air and water, and intact ecosystems. 6/
I want a social safety net that actually protects people, regardless of their ability to pay, when they need medical care, or if a fire ravages their neighborhood, or when a global pandemic causes them to be laid off or have their hours reduced. 7/
In short, I seek well-regulated systems to protect those that cannot protect themselves, which includes not just people, but also entities, like the environment. 8/
Liberals often make regulations that upset functional systems. Conservatives often ease regulations to facilitate the creation of new products—which may upset functional systems. Both approaches can be the source of unintended consequences. They live in necessary tension. 9/
Many social issues have also been slatted into “left” or “right” positions, and while I tend to fall more left than right on those as well, they seem much less integral to the fundamental distinction between left and right. 10/
I am not equating “the left” with the democrats, either, although I certainly do wish that the Democratic Party was still representing the kind of liberalism that I have outlined above. I see precious little evidence that they are. /end
