Ruy Teixeira pronounces last rites on the latest incarnation of progressivism in the United States in his post at Liberal Patriot:
As far as progressives were concerned, they had ripped the Overton window wide open and it only remained to push the voters through it. In their view, that wouldn’t be too hard since these were great ideas and voters, at least the non-deplorable ones, were thirsty for a bold new approach to America’s problems.
So they thought. In reality, a lot of these ideas were pretty terrible and most voters, outside the precincts of the progressive left itself, were never very interested in them. That was true from the get-go but now the backlash against these ideas is strong enough that it can’t be ignored. As a result, politics is adjusting and the progressive moment is well and truly over.
That’s followed by quotes from Noah Smith, Andrew Prokop, and Dave Weigel, largely in concurrence. He continues with a lengthy analysis of why it failed.
I think he’s wrong in a pretty basic way and it’s simultaneously simpler and more complicated than he realizes. Today’s progressives aren’t progressive. They’re Leninists who believe they are the vanguard of the proletariat. As such they won’t stop and they won’t admit defeat—they’ll just blame the proletariat for being too stupid and complacent to recognize the brilliance of their (the progressives’) ideas.
I’m thinking Steve, or the OTB commentariat.
Never correct, but never in doubt.
Calling on Tasty. Any view from ground zero?
https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2024/10/25/new-orleans-constitutional-carry-n1226685
@Drew
Crime has been falling for a while. New Orleans got a State Trooper division, and they are assisting NOPD. They started using data to identify high crime areas and target them. (They could have just asked the neighbors, but I guess that would have been racist.)
Before the law went into effect, the city was able to exempt part of the French Quarter by using a police district for training making it a school zone, but most of the gunfights had calmed down before the law went into effect.
After the DA and his mother got carjacked at gunpoint, he might have started getting serious about gun crimes.
Criminals are not deterred by “what might be”. They are deterred by what they see and hear. Sure, the 80 year old man with a cane could be an MMA fighter in disguise, but no criminal is going to think that.
Like legalizing drugs, this is just makes it harder for police to prevent crime. It is one less reason to make a lawful stop.
Teixeira evidently thinks that political positions are adopted by some sort of philosophical debate and reasoning. They aren’t. One’s political views reflect one’s deep psychological tendencies, and these are largely genetic in origin. Leftists of all kinds have a deep need for protection and support. That is why leftist rallies have so many young, single women. Kamala Harris biography also demonstrates this fact.
So, progressivism will not go away, nor conservatism, nor feminism, nor environmentalism, nor any other ism, because they are part of our genetic programming, with different people falling on different places of the distribution. There is much to be said for Freud’s id, ego, and superego.
Leftists, and libertarians (their close cousins), believe that humans are infinitely plastic and moldable, that they are unconnected atoms that can be freely substituted for one another in any role. That is why leftists resort to violence when their theories fail, and incorrigible humans resist reform.
Note: “moment”. It’s just one of many waves, some reaching farther than others.
“with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.” — Hunter S. Thompson, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”
Dave Schuler: Today’s progressives aren’t progressive. They’re Leninists who believe they are the vanguard of the proletariat.
Overgeneralization. Advocating for government solutions to social problems (progressivism) does not mean they are Leninists. While some progressives may be Leninists, most are not.