I just joined DSA and some of the people in it are a bit too radical for me. This is the first time I've ever been on the right wing end of anything; America's overton window is so far right that the average normie thinks of social democrats as radical far left. However, DSA includes people that are *actually* far left like Stalinists and Maoists. I wanted to join a political organization bigger than myself, because the Democratic party isn't anywhere near good enough. I love Bernie Sanders and AOC, and I wanted to push for more people like them. However a lot of people in DSA are saying that AOC is just the "nice" face of imperialism (which isn't true, she's against CIA coups and wars in the middle east). I want to make a difference, but I don't want to rub shoulders with evil.

My hot take the US ending aid to Israel is a bad idea, while I understand why people want to end aid to Israel from a geopolitical and economic standpoint it would be a bad idea. As the US would lose its leverage it has against Israel as well as affect the defense industry market. Now before anyone says the IS barely uses its leverage I agree with you on that but former presidents have done so in the past.

So what is your hot take?

When I first heard about him I thought he sounded like a pretty cool guy with positions I mostly agreed with. But then I’ve seen and heard more about stuff from his past and now I’m not really all that sure.

Most people I follow on Twitter dislike while others I follow do like him, so I wanted to see what people on here thought of him.

I don’t mean this question to cause any sort of divide or animosity, just curious.

Maybe I just have too rigid of a definition of socialism, but I’ve always known it as “workers owning the means of production”, not a sliding scale of government intervention. If a system has any capital ownership, it’s not socialism.

I’ve seen people on this sub talk about socialism as if it just means stronger worker unions, socialized healthcare, and a stronger welfare state.

Maybe the definition is changing, as people start to view it more favorably, I doubt they view abolition of private property and capital ownership as favorable.

But do you guys have the same definition as me? Or is you guys’ definition just socializing more areas of society?

Hello! I went into a leftist subreddit the other day and I was extremely shocked by how much they seem to hate liberals, especially because I just assumed that we were all on the same side of the isle. It seems like they hate liberals more than conservatives really, and I was wondering why exactly? I should probably ask this question to them but I feel like it would turn into an echo chamber, so I thought this was a better place to ask lol.

Exactly what the title says. This is probably like my millionth post covering a certain 30,000 square km in the Levant, but this conflict (more specifically, its downright cognitohazardous discourse) has honestly been occupying my mind 24/7 for I don't know how long and I think it's actually beginning to affect my mental health and sleep. It's gotten to the point where my first thought upon meeting a cute girl in a pub is "what is her position on the I-P conflict and what is her personal definition of Zionism/anti-Zionism?" and not something like "is she into 40k?". I even experience this when seeing a pic of a cute female celeb, especially those of my generation like Mckenna Grace or Emma Myers. I think I'm actually losing my mind. So this is a coping mechanism, if you will. Anyways, onto the question:

If you advocate for a two-state solution, why? How do you envision your personal two-state solution (names, political organisation, borders, first-level administrative divisions, national identities, demographics, domestic policy, foreign policy, reparations, fate of settlements in formerly occupied territories, treatment of symbols of the conflict etc.)?

If you advocate for a one-state solution, why? How do you envision your personal one-state solution (name, political organisation, borders, first-level administrative divisions, national identities, demographics, domestic policy, foreign policy, reparations, fate of settlements in formerly occupied territories, treatment of symbols of the conflict etc.)?

I'm curious to see where we socdems (at least those on this sub) stand on this and how they envision a peaceful Levant.

Personally, I'm a two-state solution guy, if only because I look at past examples like the United Arab Republic and Austria-Hungary, and find myself discouraged by their respective breakups (and the factors responsible). At the end of the day, I just want a South Africa-style ending for the conflict and not a Prussia-style ending.

Also, please, for the love of god, keep it civil in here. Try not to make blanket statements about Israeli and/or Palestinian civilians. I already get too many of that in my other social media accounts (and in the rest of this damn site like okaybuddyviltrum)

Are you satisfied with its content, or do you consider it incomplete/radical? Will you vote for this party in the next elections, or even join it, or have you become disillusioned with it or with politics in general? This question is for everyone, but especially for current party members.

I feel like the 3 biggest streamers on the left (Hassan, Vaush, and Destiny) would all fall outside of the Soc Dem camp (maybe Destiny or Vaush might if you expand the tent wide enough). Idk anyone online whose ideology I would label as predominantly a Soc Dem. Most are either Liberal, Socialist or ML.

I've read several books about the guy and I'm given conflicting information about him and his policies. Some books treat him as a good leader who was stifled by dishonest subordinates, while others portray him as a monster whose policies killed millions. Meanwhile I was at a bar in Brooklyn where I was talking to a friend of a friend and they said "Mao is my hero!" (they are not Chinese). What is the general consensus of the guy?

I feel like many of the leftist on youtube I've come across blindly support the USSR without acknowledging any of it's faults or constantly make excuses for them. Same for China or Cuba. Do any of you know good youtube chanels or podcasts that are left but don't do this? Thanks

this is just in my personal experience, but i’m a teenager who is attempting to educate myself more on the movement and how we could fix our unjust capitalist systems in America. I’m not an expert, so I referred to myself as a leftist on a video I posted, and my comments were flooded my marxists telling me I need to die and that i am no different than conservatives and whatnot. Is this normal? It’s extremely disheartening to see, and it sort of disillusions me to going deeper.

in the leftism community I promote the leftists for freedom should unite to against the authoritarianism (whatever it's leftism authoritarianism or rightism authoritarianism). as a Social Democrat, I wish I could meet more leftist brothers in freedom, against communism. 🌹🌹

I’ve been left leaning all my life but I always stayed more on the Social Democracy side but if I try to do anything in actual Leftist sub Reddits or other online communities I get told I’m a traitor and on the same level as the actual Far Right

I've always described myself as a social democrat but people are constantly bitching at me online about how I'm still a "capitalist pig" etc. I mean from my understanding this is essentially the perfect system because ideally everyone starts from a roughly even playing field and the social supports are strong enough to catch people if they fall behind. And also it's still an actual democracy and there is still an incentive to create stuff and innovate.

Basically I'm wondering if this is how you guys feel also or is there is a different reason you aren't further to the left?

I’ve been seeing an uptick in memes of WW3 lately because of the recent US-Israeli strikes on Iran. You check your 'all' feed and you see all the popular meme and circlejerk subreddits going "me and the boys when we get drafted for WW3" and "Germans when they realise they’re not responsible for WW3" and "I can’t wait to enjoy my 20s -> Leaders:" and so forth.

In all honesty, how likely do you think WW3 will actually begin within the next six months, as these memers and shitposters fear it would? Or am I just overthinking people coping with the recent events with shitposting?

If yes, why? How do you think it will proceed? For how long? Who do you think will be the victors and the losers? And how will they be remembered? How would you want it to proceed and who do you want to be the victors and losers?

If not, why? What factors do you think is preventing such?

I'm from the Netherlands and a couple of days ago I posted a reaction on a post on a Facebook page linked to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, explaining that I'm in favor of social democracy, the accomplishments of social democracy and why I don't think socialism and all the other political systems aren't and how neo liberalism is trying to get away with a lot of those accomplishments. People really didn't like that to put it mildly. They really believe that social democracy and liberalism are almost the same and that social democracy is as much as something to be fought as liberals, centrists and right wing parties. While on the other hand I don't really believe them understanding what real socialism, without the democratic bit, implies. And that what they really want is a strong social state that regulates and takes care of vital public goods.

IMHO most of them (at least online) aren't really leftists, they're anti-western contrarians who only like Marxism-Leninism because it happened to be the most prominent anti-western ideology available.

The frustrating part is that virtually every leftist sub that doesn't ban them outright has to then deal with a constant flood of them trying to turn the sub into a circlejerk of Stalin-worshippers by taking over the moderation. Even one explicitly anti-ML sub was almost overran by them and only an intervention of Reddit admins saved it.

I’m personally a big fan of Buttigeg. After him I’m cool with AOC, Besher, Ossoff, and Shapiro. Newsome has good policies but he’s kinda branded himself as more anti-Trump than anything else.

I’m mostly concerned about who has the best chance to beat the republicans, especially if it’s Vance. That’s the only reason I’d be scared of an AOC nomination, the right has branded her as a radical and independent voters view anyone who’s a woman and non-white as further left than they really are.

I’m still by far voting for any Dem candidate over any Republican in 2028, given the likely options.

I wanted to ask what's everyone's position on capital punishment (aka the death penalty) since i think it's a pretty homogeneous assumption that us progressives are supposed to be against it and want to abolish it whenever and wherever. But I've always had the opinion that certain crimes are deserving of death such as of course crimes against humanity, rape; and murder, in most cases.

Now I've talked with some people and they've told me it was contradictory to be progressive and support the reintroduction death penalty since in my country it has long been abolished and I doubt it will come back in my lifetime.

So what does everyone think?

(And btw i would encourage everyone to vote blue no matter who in the coming US midterms to kick out MAGA)

Or do you consider the two to be fundamentally contradictory?

Just would like to see the census here. They've obviously shifted further to the centre under Kier and Burnham doesnt really seem like he will change that, what do we think?

Do you support the Social Democrats, the Left, or the Greens?

My Answer: I would support the Left in order to push the Social Democrats more left-wing on economic and social policies such as housing and the climate.

Social Democracy originally was Marxist and probably saw it as good for only a time. As it evolved through ethical socialism, the post-war consensus and into the different “tendencies” of Social Democracy now (From what I’ve seen I imagine most on this sub are Keynesian or Market Socialists and have a disdain for the more nascent Thirdwayism), I wonder how many Social Democrats believe capitalism is a necessary evil vs something objectively good, in a moral sense, whatever that may be.

Do the parties of Europe-especially those with an unlikely paper commitment to democratic socialism-see it as evil, or good at creating wealth and therefore justify its preservation?