goldengull3 said:The American government over the last two decades hasn't had much to do with the right wing. What we actually have is a Republican Party administration that sits somewhere between social democrats and socialists.
As for social rights, nearly half of the entire federal budget is poured into social transfers here in the States. If the government were truly right-wing, those receiving various forms of social assistance would be expected to earn their keep by working for local municipalities if they are physically capable. Furthermore, a true conservative administration would likely have converted billions in state guarantees for shipbuilding into massive public debt.
If you look at what happened in the United Kingdom during the Thatcher era, it’s obvious that the current American so-called "right wing" doesn't possess even a fraction of that ideology. Most of the people currently claiming to be right-wing in America are, in essence, pushing quite socialist ideas.
There is also the matter of buying votes—basically sidelining young, healthy people by bloating the civil service with an endless supply of cronies, all while countless families struggle just to survive. That isn't a characteristic of the left, and it’s certainly not a hallmark of a social welfare state. It’s pure political horse-trading. And let's be honest, the Democratic Party isn't a left-wing party either. The whole system is skewed to the right.
As for those massive corporate bailouts: companies that are majority-owned by the state expect the state to fix everything. Since a huge number of people work there, the Government effectively *has* to guarantee their jobs one way or another. This isn't about whether they want to or not—the stakes are just too high.
Unfortunately, the Democratic Party lacks any real backbone; they're essentially just a subsidiary of the Republican Party—a mere facade meant to give the illusion of democracy.
But here is the most important part:
All of world history tells us that shifts in social paradigms are achieved (unfortunately) exclusively through force.
Until the left understands that, they will never grasp why anyone would bother voting for parties like the Democrats or the minor liberal factions. Because even though the Republican Party doesn't have much to show for itself in terms of results, they can always claim they built America.
And the Democrats? They are the spiritual successors to the KPH, or rather the KPJ, which fought against imperialism, capitalism, FOR workers' rights, for domestic production (and its protection), for the social state, for equality in international relations, and for demilitarization...
This current Democratic Party has no solid foundation. They can't mobilize enough voters to achieve anything significant, unlike the Republicans, who manage to do it effortlessly, even when they're chasing the wrong goals.