Thread by @SteB777

The reason the extreme right are running circles around progressives, is simple.

It is about emotions, and their use of emotional responses, to manipulate people.

Lies, conspiracy theories, and fear of outsiders, all produce emotional responses.
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Progressives, have failed to learn from this.

I see so many influential people, using the false argument, that we mustn't tell the full truth about the climate emergency, because of specious pseudo-explanations, that fear paralyses people into inaction - no it motivates.
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Extreme right wing climate change deniers have got into power, by using fear tactics, such as non-existent WEF conspiracies about taxing people to pay for Net Zero policy.

It's about time, that progressives learned that emotions matter, and fear is not the only emotion.
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If you use purely intellectual arguments, against unprincipled people who tell lies, to create fear and panic, you will lose.

Neoliberal centrist politicians, use weak arguments, so not to upset the oligarchs, and the billionaires who prop them up.
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These centrist, liberal and neoliberal politicians used to have emotionally persuasive arguments, to entice the public, such as clear rises in living standards, via economic growth.
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However, economic growth, no longer promises rising living standards in the richer countries, with a cost of living crisis, and a massive flow of wealth going to billionaire oligarchs, who then use their wealth and ownership of the media to promote right wing fear politics.
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This you've never had it so good, political sales pitch, used in both the US and UK, in the 1950s, was just a temporary flash in the pan of the post-war period. Now the fortunes of billionaires grows exponentially, and everyone else struggles.

7/oxfam.org/en/press-relea…

A self-amplifying feedback loop (positive feedback) has been created, whereby the richer the world's billionaires get, the more they can control our system for their own end, and fund fear politics, and propaganda. @ClimateHuman

8/theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

The overall dynamic is this. Politicians can no longer sell rising living standards as the emotional content, in a situation of a cost of living crisis, caused by billionaires and big corporations, taking a bigger unfair slice for themselves (via their control of politics).
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To stop the oligarchs and the rest of the top 1% being blamed for sucking up all the wealth, they sponsor and support extreme right wing politics, which blames, immigrants, WEF climate policy, and other lies, for this stagnation of living standards.

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https://x.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1318212616150523904

It's very simple and effective, because this fear politics, even if it is produced by outright lies, has emotional content.

The arguments of neoliberal, supposedly progressive politicians lacks emotional content, and sincerity.
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Progressive politics has been hijacked by neoliberal politicians, sucking up to oligarchs, and vested interests, who pay very well.

The oligarchs and vested interests, have totally corrupted our political systems.
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Modern, centrist, neoliberal politicians, are often, nearly as right wing, as Conservatives were in the past.

These centrist, neoliberal politicians, are playing right into the hands of the extreme right, who know how to play the emotional game, and steal their votes.
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The extreme right, don't just play fear politics, with their demonizing propaganda, against immigrants, Muslims, made up woke ideology and conspiracy theories, but claim a bright revival of prosperity is on the horizon, if only you vote for them.
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Whereas progressive politics, has been captured by dreary neoliberal centrists, who try playing both sides, cosying up to the oligarchs, whilst putting on a poor disingenuous show of being there for everyone, totally devoid of emotion and sincerity.
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Literally, the only emotional content, left in the centrist armoury, was fear of the right, which is collapsing, as the public develops learned helplessness, and thinks the rise of the oligarch sponsored right is inevitable.

16/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_h…

The neoliberal, centrist, economic growthers, refuse to highlight the wealth of those at the top, because they're either in the top 1% themselves, or they're trying to appease the oligarchs, who would be very disapproving of wealth taxes.

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https://x.com/darenadam8/status/1877725104827941102

This is the irony, there is a potential narrative, rich in emotional content, of the oligarchs growing wealth, and their out of control behaviour. Yet no centrist politician wants anything to do with this, as they're too busy trying to suck up to the oligarchs.
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There's a bigger source of emotional content. The climate and ecological emergency.

As @KevinClimate says “There are now no non-radical futures". Our future is going to be radically altered by climate change, and other parts of the ecological crisis.

19/bellacaledonia.org.uk/2023/04/18/no-…

We face a simple choice, either we take radical action, in drastically reducing our carbon emissions, halting biodiversity loss etc, otherwise our civilization will collapse, and there will be mass starvation.

20/pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

However, few of our politicians will tell the truth about the choice we face, because they're neoliberals, obsessed with economic growth, and beholden to the oligarchs.

Telling the truth, would have deep emotional content, but they won't use it.

21/theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Either progressives learn to use emotionally charged arguments, honest ones, or they will go under. There is no need to create made up conspiracy theories, when the climate and ecological emergency has all the potential emotional charge, necessary.
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We have the truth and science on our side. The extreme right, just has lies and science denial. The climate crisis is real, and the extreme right climate change deniers will be exposed as liars, as it hits us.

We have the fight of our lives on our hands. Let's get serious.
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Let's fight back against the oligarch sponsored, extreme right wing liars, and wannabe fascists, with the truth. Let's get emotional, in a constructive way.

Let's expose the greedy manipulative oligarchs, and save ourselves. Outrage, is emotional.

24/threadreaderapp.com/thread/1878049…

Let us no longer be ashamed of telling the unbridled truth, and saying how bad the situation is. Ignore all the deep lies about alarmism, as the truth is alarming enough, without having to invent or exaggerate anything. Fight for your lives.
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Just a caveat, for those who misrepresent my arguments. No, I am not advocating communism, or any other ism, because IMHO, it doesn't deal well with sustainability. The capitalism/communism, false dichotomy is false, and I am non-ideological.
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