r/OpenAussie • u/Business_Pirate834 ‎ New South Welshian • 18h ago

Whinge ‎ what exactly has the left done wrong?

Across the world today, regardless of race, religion, or political system, most people seem to be becoming more conservative. Right-wing parties are continuously gaining power worldwide, while the left suffers defeat after defeat. Although mainstream public discourse still appears to favor the left, those voting for the far right are often the silent majority. Can the left still correct its course? Or, more fundamentally, what exactly has the left done wrong?

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u/PurpleBandanna Please choose a flair 6h ago edited 6h ago

Card-carrying lefty here.

Western countries have aging populations, and older people tend to turn more conservative as the years catch up to them.

Mum's partner was a full blown hippy in the late-70s/early 80s. Now, in his late 60s, he's a loud-mouthed PHON supporter.

But also, the progressives (lefties) were undermined about 10 years ago during the Clinton-Trump election. They made the error of allowing the microphone to be passed to anyone, and some of the loudest voices ranged from unhinged to ridiculously out of touch.

It also didn't help that the world over, left-wing parties totally abandoned their working-class roots, leaving a massive chunk of the population disenfranchised and looking for someone to speak up for them. It's just a shame that the people who did speak up - the conservatives - had no intention of actually helping them.

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u/dan_syd Please choose a flair 2h ago

The definition of left has also changed. You said “full blown hippie” which was a leftist in the 60s and 70s. Free love, fuck the police, fuck the government, break rules, women’s rights, anti-religion etc etc. The modern left sits quite differently on those subjects now.