Category: Political philosophy

“What makes you a Leftist?” Unfortunately, if they will respond at all, it is something like, “care for the environment,” or “human rights” or something.

But that more than a little superficial: There is simply no Conservative I have ever met who wants to rape the environment or who despises human rights! It is SUCH a red herring!

I think that such a response shows thinking that is about a millimeter deep and that has been captured by a dishonest sub-culture and MSM. It is a reflexive catechism, not a deeply intellectually-considered stance. It is a caricature.

I think there are several important issues surrounding power and force, but there is a much more foundational issue in play, here: What has been shown to work?

See, Leftism in general is fundamentally Rationalist in nature–what sounds good right now; What makes rational sense. It is the intellectual equivalent of two college freshmen smoking a joint in their dorm room and saying, “DOOD! What if…”

Conservatism, on the other hand, is fundamentally Empirical in nature–what has been demonstrated to work in the past! The past is a key to the future. Yes, there is assessment and some inevitable theorizing, but unlike a Leftism/Rationalism, that theorizing is an adjunct that must be defended, not the entire foundation of knowledge!

So as a Conservative, I really don’t live in the past, but the past lives in me! Historical Empiricism.

Are their inherent logical weaknesses in such an approach? Oh certainly; On the research side, one can get overly biologically reductionistic, for example (though to be fair, that leap is an application of Rationalism to the issue at hand). But still, the risks are far less with Empiricism than with Rationalism. FAR less.

The bottom line is that I have a good answer to the question, “Why are you a Conservative?” Leftist simply have no socially acceptable answer to the question, “Why are you a Leftist?”

They can honestly cite ignorance, pride, Rationalism über alles, and love of power and dominion. Those are not exactly socially acceptable answers. So is there anything else that is unique to Leftism?

would like it to be true. And there is indeed a sliver of daylight, here.

And it is indisputably true that the Left is so intellectually weak that most of the time they will run away calling names back over their shoulders rather than logically and rationally defend their positions.

But the truth is that their avoidance and ego-protectionism is often successful, or at least self-reinforcing. Sure, it requires that the Lefty hack retreat back into the fetid Lefty fever swamps, but at heart that strategy is often successful in terms of self-protection–so they never have to put their precious beliefs–or egos–at risk. They can just strike a pose–there’s nothing to it!

But there are limits to that approach. And working people across the globe are starting to see the oligarch Left as being all hat and no cattle.

By contrast, many parties and movements that were once associated with the upper classes – such as the American Republicans, Canadian Conservatives and the British Tories – increasingly depend on working- and middle-class voters. These voters have been the force behind the rise of Donald Trump, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, France’s Marine Le Pen, the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders and various right-wing parties in Sweden, Finland, Spain and Denmark.

wonder why? Normal people are rejecting this philosophy of losers and whiners.

The only thing more uplifting than watching several prominent liberals drift rightward is the cluelessness of those on the left as to why it’s happening.

This drift is obvious enough, since it includes journalists once heralded by the left such as Matt Taibbi (who won a Young America’s Foundation award) and Glenn Greenwald, and Democratic politicians, including Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (whose speech at a Daily Caller award ceremony drew many loud cheers from the conservative audience), and Sen. John Fetterman (who recently declared that “I am not a progressive”).

nothing.”

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat, could not identify one single issue he would agree with Joe Biden on.

with their feet.

It has been obvious for quite a while that Americans are deserting blue states in favor of red states. Thus, after the last census states like California and New York lost seats in the House, while states like Florida and Texas gained seats.

BUT, it’s easy to forget that there are Leftists scabbing off their “red” neighbors, and these folks have done so for a long time, now. They get to puff themselves up and strut, full of self-regard at how cool and “progressive” they are, at what an “Independent” they are, and yet still have all the economic and safety advantages of living in a Conservative place. Of course, if the community adopted their stated preferences it would be just another Lefty Hell-hole. But the population is smarter than that. So these strutting peacocks are just “free riders.”

But of course, when push comes to shove, it’s not like these 3-card Monty charlatans actually want to live in Portland, Oregon or anything! At least the “Leftugees” can’t really deny that they are indeed fleeing Lefty governance. But these old-time Leftists-in-Conservative-places are able to fully avoid the issues and keep on a’puffing out their chests!

More’s the pity…

explains a lot!

Well … that explains everything.
🤨 pic.twitter.com/o8mNM00wrc

— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) December 18, 2023

“Agency Loyalist.” We see that in his behavior–he gives the Taliban millions of dollars in military equipment and chronically sells out to China.

Yet he is brutally coercive to regular Americans. See, he is all about supporting the agency (of which he himself is a product) that has long “fed” him. And his own personal oath and loyalty is geared toward protecting the agency (not the country) from all enemies, especially domestic ones.

understand that Leftists absolutely do not: