There are not only two groups. I don’t agree with all the points in either side.
I am:
- anti capitalism
- pro socialism
- anti gun
- pro free speech
- pro LGBT+ rights
- pro child rights
And if you disagree with me on some things, that’s fine and normal, we can talk about it, as individuals - not as members of a group who’ve tied out opinions to group identity.
There are not only two groups.
I don’t think they’re saying there’s only two groups, just trying to contrast liberalism and the left, since the two terms are often used interchangeably even though there are significant differences between them. Of course it’s more complicated than that, there’s a lot of nuance and not everyone will fall entirely into one group or the other, but I think it’s useful to show why the left doesn’t always side with liberals, and vice versa.
How do you reconcile being pro socialism but anti-gun. How do you expect to achieve socialism without atleast the threat of violence? To what extent are you anti-gun? /gen
I think it’s been shown by clear statistics that in countries where guns are banned, such as the UK, compared to the US, a far smaller proportion of the population dies regularly in gun violence. Guns are not the only method to achieve revolution, or even the most effective. A general strike might be more effective, or targeted boycotts to stop contributing money to billionaires whilst building up alternative economies.
Not really. It’s just these two examples that work out in contrast. Switzerland has a buttload of guns per capita and is one of the safest places in the world. And to use the UK again, it has about as many knives as other countries I’m guessing, but far more knife violence. It’s desperation that breeds violence. There’s a much stronger correlation between wealth disparity and violence vs weapons and violence.
Now don’t get me wrong, gun regulation is sorely needed in the US, but it’s not a fix to its violence problem.
Except that Switzerland has a strong regulation on weapons too. Unlike the US.
Uh yeah, but the regulation isn’t as strict as in the UK, and it’s also a safer place than the UK, so the correlation falls flat.
Not necessarily. It mainly appears safer because there’s less knife violence.
There’s international experts that rank the safety of countries based on a variety of criteria https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/safest-countries-in-the-world
I agree that guns should eventually been done away with. My concern is that dispensing ourselves of them now would leave any revolutionary movement vulnerable to slaughter. I don’t trust our bourgeois to not massacre us should we try to do away with them. Peaceful revolutions aren’t impossible but I don’t think they are feasible if the domestic bourgeois feel they can react with immense violence at no risk to themselves.
I feel like guns are probably a greater danger to the proletariat than the government - they have far more effective means than guns for fighting the people.
Guns are in fact the only method to achieve revolution. A General strike/targeted boycott, etc… are reformist (and yes leftists can be reformist as well), AND they also tend to ignore the material reality if you try and use them as a revolutionary tool.
Historically guns or the threat of them have been the only way revolution has happened.
Not to be that guy, but you can very well be a leftist, hell even a full on communist, and be reformist, you don’t need to pull a Robespierre (ironically a Liberal btw) LARP to change the world.
Also, dual power, what a fever dream, do you really think that any sovereign entity is going to allow an alternate sovereign entity to exist within the same space? That so absurd you may as well start believing in the Libertarian “subscription governments” because essentially it’s the same thing. Either you reform the current system into Socialism, or you roll the dice and pull a revolution, problem is, that no one knows exactly who will come out on top during those.
These are 2 lists of buzzwords. Doesn’t really say anything.