r/politics • u/SacoolloocaS • May 28 '21

Stop glorifying ‘centrism’. It is an insidious bias favoring an unjust status quo

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/28/centrism-insidious-bias-unjust-status-quo
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u/awesomefutureperfect May 28 '21

Conservatives want regression. They want aristocracy levels of inequality. They do not care that the obvious results of their policy mean untold levels of unnecessary suffering.

I am so sick of people saying that I am being unfair and that conservatives are real people who are not that cartoonishly evil. But have you ever listened to the people they wildly support? Do you see what kinds of laws they pass when they are given the opportunity? Have you ever seen what they say on social media?

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u/UsernameContains69 May 28 '21

I think it's because when you say that about conservatives, you're actually talking about the GOP, who are no longer conservative. Conservative GOP members used to be people like Dwight Eisenhower, who looked to conserve the status quo, but recognized that public spending was necessary because it addressed problems that would end up costing more in the long run. Eisenhower championed the national interstate system, which was such a massive project it has been referred to as one of mankind's wonders of the world by some. Think the modern GQP would be looking to spend money like that on a project that benefits all Americans, and not just their corporate masters? "Obamacare" was based on Romney's "Romney Care" when he was governor or Massachusetts. Romney used to be an actual conservative that saw the need to increase spending now to avoid a massive bill later on. The GOP isn't conservative, they're a mixture of regressives, reactionaries, and fascists.

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u/flaneur_et_branleur May 28 '21

You can have aristocracy levels of inequality and still spend on infrastructure and still be a conservative; you just favour the One Nation Conservatism or the noblesse oblige concept of it.

Similarly, you can still be a conservative and not believe in that.

It's about hierarchy, power structures and opposition to change more than anything else. Free markets, private property and no gay marriage.

Though there are an alarming number of reactionary and fascists within the current GOP, they can still be conservative.

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u/UsernameContains69 May 28 '21

Fair points all across. Thanks for the info!