tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7845175448489786271.post8187834135621877162..comments2023-06-29T12:26:04.351+02:00Comments on Thought Factory: The West-Obsessed LeftThoughtFactoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00746567274947807445noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7845175448489786271.post-55807284792712522702011-03-30T10:02:47.077+02:002011-03-30T10:02:47.077+02:00Tx for the comment. I really didn't think anyb...Tx for the comment. I really didn't think anybody was reading this blog - it's just a space for exploring ideas. The 'global left' that I refer to is commonly understood as the marxist-lenninist, socialist and labour oriented left - and while I am aggregating here, it is not an unfair aggregation. <br /><br />I agree with your comment, in fact I am arguing that if the left doesn't allow for plurality then it is perpetuating a hegemonic discourse of its own that is dangerous in itself. The blog originates from my disagreement with calls from across the globe for the left to unify against intervention in Libya - despite what Libyans are calling for. This constitutes imposing an agenda upon the Libyan situation - and while the left may not be motivated by profit and capital they are motivated by power and a messianic zeal that blinds them to the plight of Libyans. <br /><br />One of the groups I have been debating it with go so far as to denounce the rebels for their 'collaboration' with western powers. Other's on the left have claimed that anybody who is 'truly' left would denounce the interventions - I find this all to be opportunistic and hegemonic in itself. Power is more addictive than profit and capital and the left is not by any means above falling prey to this. <br /><br />I am a left oriented thinker and always have been, but recently it has become all too trendy to don leftie clothes and spout rhetoric instead of encouraging true plurality and tolerance - letting ideas evolve instead of jumping into camps. Even the eco-jihadi's fall into this trap. <br /><br />Letting people speak for themselves is the first priority of anybody that is seriously interested in furthering left leaning policies but my fear is that this is not happening in the case of Libya in particular, and on global issues of importance in general. The left needs a shakeup as much as the right does. Nobody has moral authority when it comes to power, and the humility that is required is to put people first and theories and radical positions second IMO.ThoughtFactoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00746567274947807445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7845175448489786271.post-116741148512119952011-03-29T23:24:37.892+02:002011-03-29T23:24:37.892+02:00Interesting perspective.Agree - for the most part,...Interesting perspective.Agree - for the most part, aside from perhaps that -the 'global left' ,as you refer to them, are not by any description a homogenous entity , but comprise various interests.They may however be unified and perhaps defined by what they are not, which is - motivated by profit and capital.APhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03126702629311576630noreply@blogger.com