Will Shetterly's Blog, page 24

Shared on March 27ths: history of "progressive", more

A history of "progressive" First used by leftistsSanders and Maxine Waters were among founders of Progressive Caucus. Appropriated by New Democrats who did not want to call themselves neoliberals. "I prefer the word 'progressive'" Hillary Clinton Meaning: whatever you wish - The difference between a socialist and a liberal is the difference between an abolitionist and a reformer who

Shared on March 26ths

Insomnia is boring. Why doesn't it put me to sleep? - "Actually" is the polite way of saying, "If you bothered to do some research...." - Thinking you can have art without politics while living under capitalism is like thinking you can have a life without radiation while living in Fukushima. Ignoring it does not mean it's gone. - Religious states are bad for religions and states. - People

Shared on March 25ths

If you can go out and maintain social distance, go for a walk or a run or anything that gets you out in the sensual world. Ill go for a bike ride soon. Itll be gray and cool and a bit stinky from the thawing of winter waste, and I will love it all. - When people say "no doubt", they mean "we completely believe this even though we have no evidence". - I am offended by people who want to

Shared on March 24ths

There's a strain in conservatism that socialists can appeal to. It requires a socialism that promotes liberty while helping the have-notsa socialism that Marx and Engels loved, but Stalin and Mao did not. It's why Sanders did better in conservative Utah than Clinton did. - The difference between a personal and a private business: With a personal business, you do some or all of the work: you

Shared on March 23rds

If you live in a neighborhood most people can't afford, complaining about the price is just bragging. - You don't have to deny that differences exist to say that differences don't matter.

Shared on March 22nds

It is astonishing how common it is for white identitarians to insist all black people are identitarians. They must only know bourgeois black folks. - If I started every day online with a post about how I agree with Adolph Reed that racism exists and is awful, I would still be accused of being a class reductionist whenever I took a class-first position. Identitarians cannot imagine anything

Shared on March 21sts

When people say they support symbolic gestures, they mean they oppose real change. - A capitalist country cannot be a meritocracy. The point of capitalism is to give advantages to people who have money. - Has anyone done a history of how "progressive" changed from meaning "stealth social democrat" to "stealth neoliberal"? - "White flight" just sounds zippier than "middle class people of all

Things from March 20ths: How "white privilege" hurt the white working class, more

I shouldnt think something that can grow up and kill me is so cute. Me after looking at tiger and bear cubs. Also Oedipuss dad. - Liberals have much more to say about prejudice than poverty. I suspect the reason is no one knows how to end prejudice, but weve known since Kings day that we can end poverty with Basic Income. - Im always a little charmed by fans who expect capitalists to

Things from March 19ths: evidence "white privilege" no longer applies, more

Evidence that "white privilege" has not helped poor whites in decades: In 1965, there were twice as many whites in poverty as black. Today, there are still twice as many whites in poverty as black. If "white privilege" applied, the proportion of white poor would have decreased. - Dear snobs, the "poor" part of "poor white men" means they're victims of the system that benefits you. Blame

Things from March 18ths

Either you trust the people to shape our society or you trust the rich. I'll never understand people who think we'd be better off if greedy people who don't care about us had more power. - One of the first things my dad taught me was that life isn't fair, but we should try to be fair anyway. - Democrats no longer talk about the reality-based community. That's because they left it in 2016 when