Posted on 18th September, 2024 in Blog posts
WHY I AM A LEFTIST
WHY I AM A LEFTIST
Our career politicians fling around epithets like ‘leftist’, ‘rightist’ and ‘populist’ as insults or accolades. So for the rest of us, the ‘normies’ (normal people) these words are no longer meaningful. Yet people may still classify themselves as ‘left’ or ‘right’ and make choices and decisions according to what they think a lefty or a righty ought. So I want to clarify what it is to be ‘left’, and why I consider myself to be of the left.
In my teens and early 20s I was active for Labour, because I was a socialist and thought that was what being left-wing was all about. After seeing socialism (extreme form, admittedly) I joined the Tory party as the party which best represented the interests of the normies – ‘the people’. Later, in despair at the degeneration of that party, I joined the Social Democratic Party. I was always trying to find a movement that would serve the interests of the commoners (aka normies, ordinary people) not ideologies (David Cameron, Keir Starmer) or vainglory (Tony Blair).
Liberty, equality and fraternity
For your average citizen, the left should put first liberty, equality and fraternity, (as opposed to traditional hierarchy and national greatness) as it did when the terms were invented, in the ill-fated French Revolution which morphed into a right wing dictatorship. Napoleon’s regime was right wing because, although he reformed many institutions, to take them out of the hands of the old ruling class and put them in those of his new ruling class, he was concerned more about power and conquest than about liberty, equality or democracy.
What the left, when not suborned by political careerists, is after is equality of treatment in food, jobs and a future, at least; liberty that poor people may have a voice, may question the ruling class; fraternity that distinctions between people should not impede solidarity. The right – Maduro in Venezuela, Putin of Russia – may not be running slave states like 20th century communists, but the poorer you are the less chance you have of a voice or a future.
The right in the 20th century
Like the Fascists with which they are often compared, 20th century communists were extreme right wing, because they subjected anybody who might think differently from them to oppression, or extermination. That they trumpeted slogans about equality and fraternity was no more credible than Hitler’s appeal to the ‘volk’, the ‘ordinary folk’. Hitler was not a populist, in the sense that a populist represents the normies’ views and interests vis a vis those of the political class, he imposed his ideas on Germany with whip and gun. In reality, it was the ordinary folk who stood out longer against Nazi beliefs, while the middle class professionals conformed soonest. In that sense, he was anything but a populist.
Objectives of the left today
If left politicians are those whose primary concern is the situation of the commoners, the marginalised and the oppressed, then, today, in the UK, that means someone who considers the interests, current and long-term, of those populations and areas which have been left behind and who fears that, without change, there will be no good future for their children and grandchildren, or even for themselves. For the leftist, this overrides all other concerns. Pragmatism in achieving the objective is the mindset of the real leftist: nationalisation, private enterprise, industrial strategy, market mechanisms, these are just tools, not beliefs.
Examples from the past
There are different routes at different times to realising the objective and sometimes one party embodies the leftist urge, sometimes another. Under Disraeli, insanitary living conditions of the poor were his targets. For Lloyd George and Churchill, pensions would alleviate suffering. Under Attlee, the need was for health and welfare services to be extended and for trades union rights to be strengthened. Wilson promoted economic nationalism. Today, the need is to bolster the economy, encourage new enterprise, remove restrictions on and hindrances to the development of left behind areas, and to ensure that the enterprising and industrious have the conditions they need to assure the future of the majority.
Who are the rightists?
Right wing politicians will try to protect the privileges of the affluent (Conservatives) and the protected (Labour). They will advance the interests of lobbyists and pressure groups at the expense of the commoners. The archetype rightist can be the private equity glutton who uses his financial power to take over start-up companies or asset strip venerable ones, but he can also be the parasite on the public services, paid a large remuneration for a modest or unnecessary job which is protected from the market and for which he is never held accountable.
Weakness of the left today
Today, the left is very weak. The ruin of our manufacturing industries and the sale to foreigners of many businesses has turned the commoners into scavengers for low wage jobs, owner-operators have been replaced by short term managers and anybody with qualifications has tried to get on the public sector bandwagon. The present government has destroyed many jobs through its tax raising measures and continues to buy votes with benefit handouts to millions. And little is being done to tackle the debilitating economy.
We need a party which will put first the interests of the normies and tackle the immense task of redeveloping our economy for the future. That will be the party of the left.
I want the commoners of this country to have a future, for themselves and for their children. I will do anything necessary to realise that. I am therefore of the left. QED.