Whatever happens, I’m not optimistic for the future. The Democrats have shown that they have no interest in even tossing out the tiniest of crumbs to progressives. The fact that Harris and the DNC as a whole is more concerned with what freaks like Dick Cheney and Bill Kristol than progressives indicates that the Democrats are going to be moving further and further right. Since Republicans are also becoming more right-wing, don’t be surprised if Trump himself becomes rehabilitated like Cheney in twenty years, when we are told we must accept him into the party to save “our democracy” from the threat of presidential candidate Richard Spencer (I don’t think Trump will still be around in twenty years, but maybe his brain will be floating in a jar that can be wheeled in stage or something).
Similarly, it’s only a matter of time before Marine Le Pen gets into power in France and Alice Weidel in Germany, because the mainstream parties have nothing to offer, other than not being them. Macron screwed over the left-wing who had begrudgingly made a temporary alliance with him to defeat Le Pen by instead forming a right-wing government. I don’t see the left (such as it is) doing that again, knowing that Macron isn’t acting in good faith. If a right-wing government is inevitable, you might as well go for the real thing in the form of Le Pen.
In Germany, the destruction of Nord Stream II and the severing of relations with Russia have led to a deterioration in material and economic conditions that may well be permanent. The AfD are the only party talking about this, while the so-called traffic light coalition remains obsequious to the US. I don’t know how much room a hypothetical AfD led coalition would have to actually defy the US, but the possibility that they might is part of their appeal.
Thanks for stopping by, LM, and lending your thoughts. I can only offer the most superficial analysis of politics overseas, as I'm still a novice at geopolitics and international affairs. I know that leftists in Germany felt betrayed by Macron and felt that he was inserting himself far above the powers of his office when he declined to support a left-wing PM. French people have a right to ask if they are currently living in a democracy when someone uses powers they don't actually have to subvert the very structure of government. But the ramifications of Macron's move will not truly surface immediately, and many effects without a doubt will be difficult to trace back to Macron's manipulations.
I know enough to know I don't know much at all about Germany's internal politics. I need to brush up, obviously. But I was watching a series of lectures on political systems, and in discussing general right and left politics the lecturer spoke about the German system and how in Germany gains in worker's rights in the public sector tend to be replicated in the private sector as a matter of tradition. This is quite different from what happens here in the States, and that bit of information alone shows me that I need a better idea from a perspective on the ground to better comprehend how Germany operates. I can't understand their populism if I don't have a clearer idea of their socioeconomics. I'm at a disadvantage there.
As you might be able to tell from the tenor of my more recent essays, I'm teetering on the edge of ambivalence with regards to the Democratic Party, an ambivalence of hope and cynicism. And that hope is not the boundless hope of someone looking spiritedly into the future but rather the banal hope of, say, a child of divorce waiting to see if this is the weekend that Dad keeps his promise to spend time with them. (Forgive the gender stereotype there.) It's a jaded optimism. I'm waiting for the Democratic Party to live up to its own professed values.
Thank you for your reply. International relations is an odd thing in that we are told that it’s a “soft option” to study in college, while also being told that it’s “too complicated” for civilians to contemplate so we should trust our social betters to do it for us. Like, if you (universal you) can keep track of all the Byzantine plots on Real Housewives or WWE, you can easily pick up a book by Ilan Pappe or someone like that. When a mass of people do educate themselves on this subject, we see the massive suppression that is occurring right now. Yasha Levine, another author on this platform, noted that knowledge is not power, power is power. So many of us have the knowledge of what’s going on in Palestine, but we have no way of doing anything about it because we have no power.
At this point, I’m not sure what the Democrats stand for, if anything. They’ve taken out anti-death penalty language from their platform, are openly courting the people they called fascists 20 years ago (Cheney, Bill Kristol, Robert Kagan, and the reluctant GWB, who at least has enough sense to stay out of sight for the most part), have suddenly re-discovered states’ rights when it comes to the trans and abortion rights, have learned to love the MIC, and are extending GWB’s faith based initiatives program. Regardless of whether Harris wins are not, the Democrats are going further rightward, and we’re just expected to follow. She recently said that if you want abortion rights and lower grocery bills, you have to accept the genocide in Palestine. And she thinks that makes her look good. If the best we can hope for is the 2002 GOP or MAGA GOP, both now with more genocide, it’s no wonder so many people are lukewarm about the possibility of “our democracy.”
Whatever happens, I’m not optimistic for the future. The Democrats have shown that they have no interest in even tossing out the tiniest of crumbs to progressives. The fact that Harris and the DNC as a whole is more concerned with what freaks like Dick Cheney and Bill Kristol than progressives indicates that the Democrats are going to be moving further and further right. Since Republicans are also becoming more right-wing, don’t be surprised if Trump himself becomes rehabilitated like Cheney in twenty years, when we are told we must accept him into the party to save “our democracy” from the threat of presidential candidate Richard Spencer (I don’t think Trump will still be around in twenty years, but maybe his brain will be floating in a jar that can be wheeled in stage or something).
Similarly, it’s only a matter of time before Marine Le Pen gets into power in France and Alice Weidel in Germany, because the mainstream parties have nothing to offer, other than not being them. Macron screwed over the left-wing who had begrudgingly made a temporary alliance with him to defeat Le Pen by instead forming a right-wing government. I don’t see the left (such as it is) doing that again, knowing that Macron isn’t acting in good faith. If a right-wing government is inevitable, you might as well go for the real thing in the form of Le Pen.
In Germany, the destruction of Nord Stream II and the severing of relations with Russia have led to a deterioration in material and economic conditions that may well be permanent. The AfD are the only party talking about this, while the so-called traffic light coalition remains obsequious to the US. I don’t know how much room a hypothetical AfD led coalition would have to actually defy the US, but the possibility that they might is part of their appeal.
Thanks for stopping by, LM, and lending your thoughts. I can only offer the most superficial analysis of politics overseas, as I'm still a novice at geopolitics and international affairs. I know that leftists in Germany felt betrayed by Macron and felt that he was inserting himself far above the powers of his office when he declined to support a left-wing PM. French people have a right to ask if they are currently living in a democracy when someone uses powers they don't actually have to subvert the very structure of government. But the ramifications of Macron's move will not truly surface immediately, and many effects without a doubt will be difficult to trace back to Macron's manipulations.
I know enough to know I don't know much at all about Germany's internal politics. I need to brush up, obviously. But I was watching a series of lectures on political systems, and in discussing general right and left politics the lecturer spoke about the German system and how in Germany gains in worker's rights in the public sector tend to be replicated in the private sector as a matter of tradition. This is quite different from what happens here in the States, and that bit of information alone shows me that I need a better idea from a perspective on the ground to better comprehend how Germany operates. I can't understand their populism if I don't have a clearer idea of their socioeconomics. I'm at a disadvantage there.
As you might be able to tell from the tenor of my more recent essays, I'm teetering on the edge of ambivalence with regards to the Democratic Party, an ambivalence of hope and cynicism. And that hope is not the boundless hope of someone looking spiritedly into the future but rather the banal hope of, say, a child of divorce waiting to see if this is the weekend that Dad keeps his promise to spend time with them. (Forgive the gender stereotype there.) It's a jaded optimism. I'm waiting for the Democratic Party to live up to its own professed values.
Thank you for your reply. International relations is an odd thing in that we are told that it’s a “soft option” to study in college, while also being told that it’s “too complicated” for civilians to contemplate so we should trust our social betters to do it for us. Like, if you (universal you) can keep track of all the Byzantine plots on Real Housewives or WWE, you can easily pick up a book by Ilan Pappe or someone like that. When a mass of people do educate themselves on this subject, we see the massive suppression that is occurring right now. Yasha Levine, another author on this platform, noted that knowledge is not power, power is power. So many of us have the knowledge of what’s going on in Palestine, but we have no way of doing anything about it because we have no power.
At this point, I’m not sure what the Democrats stand for, if anything. They’ve taken out anti-death penalty language from their platform, are openly courting the people they called fascists 20 years ago (Cheney, Bill Kristol, Robert Kagan, and the reluctant GWB, who at least has enough sense to stay out of sight for the most part), have suddenly re-discovered states’ rights when it comes to the trans and abortion rights, have learned to love the MIC, and are extending GWB’s faith based initiatives program. Regardless of whether Harris wins are not, the Democrats are going further rightward, and we’re just expected to follow. She recently said that if you want abortion rights and lower grocery bills, you have to accept the genocide in Palestine. And she thinks that makes her look good. If the best we can hope for is the 2002 GOP or MAGA GOP, both now with more genocide, it’s no wonder so many people are lukewarm about the possibility of “our democracy.”