• TotallynotJessica@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Wait, FDR is a left communist? He was a social democrat. There’s a joke about how the New Deal saved capitalism. Who the fuck made this?

    • DharmaCurious@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      He wasn’t even really a social democrat, to be honest. He bowed to the pressure of the socialist party at the time to prevent an actual fucking revolution (even if it would have been unsuccessful). Fdr understood that actual socialism would come knocking at the door if he didn’t capitulate. Clearly the best president we’ve had (in economic terms) in the mostly modern era, but he wasn’t as progress as people believe.

      Edit

      Also, tf is a “left” communist in this context? That’s not generally a term used, and when it is, it’s normally to point out the distinction between anarchists and Marxists, as in Lenin’s “left-wing communism.”

      Is this chart claiming FDR was an anarcho-communist? Because… No. LMAO

      • TotallynotJessica@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Fdr understood that actual socialism would come knocking at the door if he didn’t capitulate.

        Sounds like a textbook social democrat to me. Recognizing that social programs were necessary to prevent unrest is a likely reason that people from a wealthy political dynasty would support them. It’s why both Roosevelts were so successful. They had their fingers on America’s pulse and appealed to the white working class. They appealed on one hand, to their economic frustrations, breaking up monopolies and funding programs that helped people in desperate need. On the other hand, they appealed to nationalism and bigotry with Teddy’s imperialism and FDR’s alienation of ethnic groups like Japanese and Mexican American citizens.

        The Democrats right now can’t really use the same strategy, as they have a diverse coalition that wouldn’t be down with that internal bigotry, while the white working class have embraced fascism because bigotry has been such a big part of their culture. The Democratic base is made of people who reject bigotry. That’s the key value they all share. They are certainly more left wing economically than Republicans, but there are plenty of neoliberal Democrats that contribute big campaign dollars and reliable votes who the Dems don’t want to alienate.

        These Democrats are selfish pricks that want to keep their privilege, but not descend into fascism. Maybe it’s because they’re a minority that’ll lose their privilege under fascism. Maybe they recognize that fascism is volatile and bad for long term business. Whatever the case, they aren’t willing to give up their privilege to make a better world.

      • TotallynotJessica@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        That’s like saying oranges are basically apples. They aren’t even claiming to strive for communism. Unlike democratic socialists who want to achieve a state of communism, social democracy is the end goal. The end goal is to have the government clean up where capitalism fails, but still keep capitalism and private property around. You could make the argument that all socialists are communists, but social democrats fundamentally aren’t. It shows that you have no idea what communism is. Communism is not “government does stuff.” It’s an unrealized political ideal that is not about the state dominating everything. In fact, plenty of communists are anti-state.

          • TotallynotJessica@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            A system for understanding political leanings that classifies anti-communist southerners like LBJ as left communists is not an accurate one. Leanings like right or left are general enough to make sense, but terms like communist or liberal are more definitive ideologies. Whoever made this list either has no actual expertise in politics or is trying to push some sort of agenda. There has never been a socialist president, let alone a communist one.