Or why it’s important not to conflate questions of value with questions of fact.
Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photos: Getty Images
A minor argument among members of the Democratic Socialists of America this week illustrates this point. The organization recently elected a new national political committee, and its most revolutionary factions gained seats. This led their sympathizers to euphorically, “we WON A LEFT-WING MAJORITY.” Socialists more disposed to electoral theories of change took umbrage at this statement.
This is arguably the fundamental normative question dividing the left and right, in the broadest sense of those terms, in the U.S. There are somewho prioritize a traditionalist conception of “the common good” over individual property rights, but most conservatives in Congress believe people have a strong moral claim to their market income, which they “earn” in an uncomplicated sense.
Finally, on a more philosophical level, even qualities that seem innate to individuals are attributable to forces larger than themselves. No one determines their own diligence and intelligence through sheer personal agency. A combination of genetic endowments and early-life environmental conditions goes a long way toward structuring our personalities.
“Greens,” by contrast, are uninterested in maximizing consumer welfare as conventionally understood. They insist the capacity to purchase a wide variety of goods contributes less to human happiness than people tend to think. And they believe the welfare of nonhuman animals and the natural world must be given a great deal of weight in any just conception of the common good.
Among Cornucopians, there are “Left Neoliberals” who believe that loosely regulated markets combined with a strong social-welfare state will maximize prosperity. In this view, though markets and private-capital ownership are not morally sacrosanct, they happen to have beneficent practical effects. The price mechanism is an unparalleled technology for aggregating the economic desires of large groups of people.
Then there are further divisions within these groups. Some Electoral Optimists are “Democratic Reformers” who seek to unlock their latent majoritarian support by pressuring the Democratic Party into embracing their agenda through primary challenges, organizing, and advocacy. Others are “Iconoclasts” who believe they can tap into that majority by organizing an independent third party to advocate for their program in an unabashed and uncompromising fashion.
Generally speaking, within the most progressive ideological tendencies, we tend to say that both Democratic Reformers and Iconoclasts are “more left-wing” than Harm Reducers. In fact, since we are so far away from the point at which the normative disputes between, say, Democratic Socialists and socialists have political relevance, the most prominent debates within blue America often concern fundamentally empirical questions about political reality.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Progressives score big win in TennesseeNashville's nonpartisan mayoral race will go to a runoff after 12 candidates were reduced to two in the first round of voting.
Read more »
NYC progressives fear ‘total failure to coalesce’ around mayoral primary challengeCritics of NYC Mayor Eric Adams are looking for someone to challenge him in 2025. Time is running out.
Read more »
Progressives Are Trying to Make 2024 the Year of the Rematch'We knew the first time that I ran in 2020 that we would probably—potentially—have to run multiple times. To not just wear the incumbent down but to really get in front of the electorate,' Kina Collins, a progressive organizer in Illinois, said.
Read more »
California progressives face growing anger over soft approach to crimeCalifornia saw violent crime surge by 6.1 percent in 2020 according to the state's latest annual crime report.
Read more »
China has sent more than 100 types of seeds to its Tiangong space stationThe research involves exposing seeds to cosmic radiation.
Read more »
How Long Have There Been Droids In Star Wars (And Why Are There So Many Types?)Droids have been in Star Wars since its inception. They have a long history, and there are reasons why they all look different from one another.
Read more »