Liberals vs. Leftists; the Fork in the Road

Liberals vs. Leftists; the Fork in the Road

by Mike Whitney

It may seem like a minor point, but there is a yawning chasm that divides “liberals-progressives” on the one hand, and “leftists-radicals” on the other. As the Iraq war devolves into even greater anarchy, these differences are bound to become even more apparent. One of the fundamental differences between the two is that liberals-progressives believe that it is possible to affect substantive change within the existing system. That simply is not the case, and Iraq will illustrate that point better than any long-winded treatise. The sad fact is that Iraq is the logical exponent of the system, not some fluke. An insightful observer could have predicted with mathematical certainty that America would arrive at this particular position at precisely this period of time. It was unavoidable.

Iraq is not a departure from the American dream, it is the American dream; unfettered, unmitigated, unalloyed raw power, lumbering around the dessert like a blind giant, flattening anything that gets in its way. All previous attempts to conceal this commitment to strength are gone. No need for covert operations or secret coups, just a steady diet of Goliath striding the globe snatching what he likes and dispatching the natives with disdain. Liberals think we’ll be able to turn this train around…

http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2004%20opinions/Jan/7o/Liberals%20vs%20Leftists%20the%20Fork%20in%20the%20Road%20by%20Mike%20Whitney.htm

Pure Leftism is about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Even if it's a good idea (which I don't necessarily think so), it's impossible.

I gues left and right aren't working well enough.

"Iraq is not a departure from the American dream, it is the American dream; unfettered, unmitigated, unalloyed raw power, lumbering around the dessert like a blind giant, flattening anything that gets in its way. All previous attempts to conceal this commitment to strength are gone. No need for covert operations or secret coups, just a steady diet of Goliath striding the globe snatching what he likes and dispatching the natives with disdain. Liberals think we’ll be able to turn this train around…they’re delusional. Bush has this baby headed for the rocks, so we’d better get used to the idea.

"The reality is that Iraq was perceived first and foremost as a market, and now, it’s a market that is open for business, courtesy of the US War Machine. We should be wondering how many such “Grand Openings” the world can still handle?"

I've always found it useful to define myself as a leftist economically and politically, and a liberal socially.

Now that the Democrats are in power, a lot of us are waiting to see if they go far enough.