Writes Ruy Teixeira, in "The Five Deadly Sins of the Left/Time to Repent!" (Substack).
The sins are identity politics, retro-socialism, catastrophism, growthophobia, and technophobia — described in some detail at the link.
December 21, 2021
"The year since I wrote the original essay on the Five Deadly Sins of the Left has not resulted in a sea change in the left’s attitudes embodied in these five sins."
"Instead, they seem just as or more entrenched than they were. This augurs a future where working class voters continue to drift away from the Left, while highly educated elites increasingly define the left’s profile. The economist Thomas Piketty has referred to this development as the rise of the 'Brahmin Left.' For the Brahmin Left, the five deadly sins are virtues, since this is what the enlightened among them believe. But for the working class, as well as less ideological upscale voters, these ideas make the left less attractive. There is still an opening for a left that promotes universal values, a better model of capitalism, practical problem-solving on climate change, and an economy that delivers abundance for all. But the hour may be getting late...."
Writes Ruy Teixeira, in "The Five Deadly Sins of the Left/Time to Repent!" (Substack).
Writes Ruy Teixeira, in "The Five Deadly Sins of the Left/Time to Repent!" (Substack).
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There is still an opening for a left that promotes universal values, a better model of capitalism, practical problem-solving on climate change, and an economy that delivers abundance for all
Perhaps. But that Left certainly doesn't exist at the moment, apart from Joe Manchin.
But if those are the thingsd you're looking for, what do you need the Left for? The United States under Trump and the republicans did all of those things better than the Leftwing presidents both before and after him.
Not authoritarianism? That's the main sin of the Left that bothers me. But then I have a deep seated aversion to being bludgeoned or having guns pointed at my head. Guess I'm funny that way.
There is no climate crisis. It is all scam to generate federal income tax credits for the likes of Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos. Let's be honest.
"There is still an opening for a left that promotes universal values, a better model of capitalism, practical problem-solving on climate change, and an economy that delivers abundance for all"
I.e., an opening for the left to turn right. Don't worry, Ruy, we may be deplorable, but we don't burn heretics.
I agree with the five deadly sins, but, like the Biden admin, he makes it sound more like a "messaging" issue rather than a fundamentally flawed worldview.
In that essay, I addressed the surprising fact that the left has not performed as well as one might expect, given the poor performance of free-market capitalism in the 21st century. Even the financial crisis of 2008–09 did not spur any real realignment of voters toward the left.
Maybe because "free market capitalism," where it prevailed in the last century, marked the upward surge of mankind out of poverty and misery.
If anything, the financial crisis happened in greater part because of government intervention in the market (distinct from regulation) rather "free market capitalism."
He is a sensible lefty, which means he is the proverbial man without a country. Same as Larry Summers, Bjorn Lomborg, Michael Shellenberger, Steven Koonin and so many more.
His essay begins with the usual lefty twitch, bemoaning that free market economies performed poorly in the 20th century. But the rest of the piece largely debunks that notion, and suggests strongly that anti-growth policies from lefty governments have in the past and will in the future contribute to the ills he's talking about. As Chile is about to find out, the hard way. It's certainly true that a rising economic tide doesn't lift all boats equally but it does end up lifting the vast majority of them all the same. Better than the alternatives, for sure. And even Teixeira seems to agree.
As he says, the crowd now speaking for lefties and running the Democratic party couldn't care less.
Left one out. Sneering condescension directed at the lower orders, and the more public, the better.
“For the Brahmin Left, the five deadly sins are virtues” - engaging in a little identify politics there.
Its an interesting essay, and he's certainly correct in the Left becoming more elitist and more or less jestioning the working class. However, he ignores one simple and massive fact:
Demographic change and the immigration.
As long as the Left/Democrats can keep importing poor people of color and getting blacks and other minorities to vote Democrat, they will win. And the chances of the non-Left winning get less and less as the Demographic change occurs. Calf didn't go from the State of Reagan to one of the Bluest states in the USA because of Republican policies, it so because of immigration.
GA and VA are now purple/blue states. Reason? Immigrants.
If you're going to let in millions of Africa because of "Open borders" why would they vote any diffrent then Black Americans. Somilias in Minnasota vote like Black Americans.
So, the Brahaim Left has its eyes on prize. They may lose in 2022 or in 2024, but they think their victory is inevitable.
Might have been an interesting read if the reflexive defensiveness of Biden wasn't so pervasive (and ridiculous). As an example: Biden himself is not closely associated with identity politics. Really? Is there any other way to explain his choice of vice president? And much of his cabinet and so many of his other appointments like Rachel Levine?
Doing away with "Climate Change" hysteria would help.
Ruy was the one who led the Dems down the "demographic destiny" path that resulted in them kissing up to radical ethnic grievance groups and alienating working class Whites. He's partly responsible for the rise of Donald Trump. I doubt they'll ever listen to him again.
Usually it's not the "sins" that are objected to but the defective messaging that makes it hard to conceal the sins.
Efforts to make either party focus on middle class or working class concerns usually fail because it's the big donors who call the tune and make the rules.
Isn't this the guy who postulated that "demograpahics is destiny" and that the growing Hispanic populace would guarantee a permanent Democrat majority for 50 years or something? At the time, my kids were attending schools that had a significant Hispanic/Latino population. I interacted with many adults over the years with Scouts, soccer teams, etc. and I questioned his predictions at the time. Although many families were accessing government assistance (free lunch, etc.) they didn't have any desire to remain at the poverty+ level if they could work their way out of qualifying income brackets.
Thomas Piketty has referred to this development as the rise of the 'Brahmin Left.'
Come on. Let's call it what it is, in their own nomenclature -- White Privilege.
""The year since I wrote the original essay on the Five Deadly Sins of the Left has not resulted in a sea change in the left’s attitudes embodied in these five sins.""
Well duh.
That is because the left doesn't believe what it says it does.
They are a bunch of greedy control freaks that want power over other people. They don't want to help anyone. They want your stuff.
Every time they take over they cause misery and poverty.
It is not an accident.
"There is still an opening for a left that promotes universal values, a better model of capitalism, practical problem-solving on climate change, and an economy that delivers abundance for all."
I honestly don't see this at all in the left - they eat their young and wage war on people who disagree even a little bit about their beliefs and agendas. They are by and large awful, nasty people.
How's Ruy's unstoppable Democratic majority coming along? There should be only a handful of Republicans left in office by now, IIRC.
The way he phrases that, it’s as though he expected his essay to make a difference. As though leftists across America should have read his essay, slapped their foreheads, and said, “of course! How could we have been so wrong?” But in summing up the deadly sins of the left, he misses one of its defining characteristics—never admit to being wrong. If a policy doesn’t work, it is because it wasn’t tried hard enough. The answer is never, ever, to go back to first principles and rethink from the ground up.
Ironically, this blind spot is an inevitable consequence of assuming they are smart and good and opposition can only be motivated by evil and stupidity. The smart ones must always be right and can never have anything to learn from the dumb ones. And so, year by year, the smart ones get ever dumber, ever more wrong.
As fantasy, Rui’s ideas are excellent for batting around:
There is still an opening for a left that promotes universal values, a better model of capitalism, practical problem-solving on climate change, and an economy that delivers abundance for all…
But in this world, with a party hell-bent on punishing capitalism, punishing abundance and using climate change as a pretext to destroy the engine of our economy, his sermon on sins will fall on deaf ears. Those are all things the other party pushes and Rui’s friends on the left reject them out of hand.
C’mon man! Demographics is Destiny, Ruy. Don’t sweat the small, insane stuff.
I was intrigued 'til I read "practical problem solving on climate change".
Bonus points for 'Augurs.'
: )
"Instead, they seem just as or more entrenched than they were. This augurs a future where working class voters continue to drift away from the Left, while highly educated elites increasingly define the left’s profile.
They're highly indoctrinated, not educated.
Which is why they're favoring such stupidity
The Left is currently a cabal of the richest most powerful elites, plus some of the underclass that they give stuff to. They give enough stuff to enough of them to give themselves the power to force everyone else to pay for it, and they get richer.
But some of the underclass are tired of their largesse, coming as it does with contempt. They need to tone down the contempt.
They can't, because that's what they like best about the system, getting to have contempt for everyone else.
Left Bank of the Charles: "“For the Brahmin Left, the five deadly sins are virtues” - engaging in a little identify politics there."
No. He is not engaging in identity politics "there".
Unsurprising you would think so. Kind of a brand thing for you.
"A better model of capitalism", he chirps.
Tell me what is wrong with the current model of capitalism. Then tell me what your 'better model' does to right those wrongs. At the first sound of reallocation of assets or 'equity', you can go sell that 'soft socialism' somewhere else.
Of the five sins four are just the means to accomplish retro socialism; technophobia, catastrophism, identity politics, and growthophobia are simple Luddism. Merely tools to destroy private capitalism. Imagine a communist America based on the principles of the Boston Brahmins, that is the goal. Rule by the faculty of Harvard.
This article was written by a semi-rational leftist using traditional rhetoric to persuade his perceived comrades. He has grossly misjudged his intended audience. The modern, hard left will conveniently ignore him and probably classify him as a conservative fellow-traveler.
"while highly educated elites increasingly define the left’s profile."
Misspelled "credentialed", he did.
I love it when objective lefties figure it out and think that people will actually be persuaded by their insights because these are the "highly-educated" people. Liberals are emotionally and especially socially motivated, not intellectually; not in the least. They know how to imitate intellectualism and reinforce this to each other, to reassure themselves that they are the smart ones. I have lived among them my entire life.
"Ah, you fool, it’s the educated reader who can be gulled. All our difficulty comes with the others. When did you meet a workman who believes the papers?... But the educated public, who read the highbrow weeklies, don’t need reconditioning. They’re alright already. They’ll believe anything." Miss Hardcastle, head of the secret police in CS Lewis's That Hideous Strength, 1945.
“ Isn't this the guy who postulated that "demograpahics is destiny" and that the growing Hispanic populace would guarantee a permanent Democrat majority for 50 years or something? ”
And Hispanics are shifting Republican at a pretty good clip. The Dems may have permanently lost their traditional big edge along the Mexican border, with their facilitating illegal immigration, and the ensuing lawlessness. The only people happy with it are pointy headed progressives living far away from it.
Left Bank of the Charles said...
“For the Brahmin Left, the five deadly sins are virtues” - engaging in a little identify politics there.
************
They may consider themselves Brahmins, but if Karma does its thing they will be outcaste sweepers and punkahwallas in their next lives.
Left Bank of the Charles said...
“For the Brahmin Left, the five deadly sins are virtues” - engaging in a little identify politics there.
He's understanding who you lefties see yourselves.
It must suck that clear sight bothers you so much
"The year since I wrote the original essay on the Five Deadly Sins of the Left has not resulted in a sea change in the left’s attitudes embodied in these five sins."
They don't listen to me either, Ruy.
Tim M @ 6:07 -
that
I disagree with rcocean. Immigrants become Democrat zombies if they're ghettoized. That's what happened in California and Minnesota and that's what the Left is trying to do with the rest of the country. If immigrants are allowed to achieve upper mobility, they'll act as varied as whites.
Virginia and Colorado didn't go blue because of immigrants, they went blue because of overeducated strivers who want to be loved by our Coastal betters.
Kudos to Assistant Village Idiot for citing from That Hideous Strength. One of my favorite novels. I re-read it almost every year.
The "Brahmin Left" -- or at least "Brahmin Liberals" -- does describe a prominent group in New England politics.
Being French, Piketty was probably thinking of Indian Brahmins, rather than Boston ones. I doubt there's any racism involved there, though. As with Piketty's fellow leftist Noam Chomsky's American Power and the New Mandarins the reference was to a class or a clique or an elite, not to Asians as Asians or as non-Whites.
Nowadays a lot of those Brahmin Liberals are Hopis. That's not a reference to race or to the other Indians, but to the old joke about the Irishman who goes to sleep and hopes he wakes up as a WASP.
Only now reading it - I think Donald Trump Jr. would find it useful and Trump's MAGA vision seems to already avoid these sins far more than the Dems.
I also just now quoted it with respect to Aline's shame of looking down on those who get sick with Covid, despite Ruy not focusing on it.
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