We Need an Old Left / Realist Left / Alt Left Internet Community

With blogs, YouTube channels, social media presence, memes, humour and activism – the works.

If the Alt Right can do it, then why can’t we?

Here is a new “Realist Left” Facebook page set up by Kain:

Realist Left @realistleft

There’s also a nice slogan: “Keep it Real. Keep it Left.” I like that very much.

Also, there is this “Alt Left” Facebook page here that looks quite interesting:

Alternative Left @alternativeleft

I do have to admit I am not comfortable with some of the other Alt Left stuff about, but the expression the “Alt Left” really is a great name for a new, reformed left.

Also, note well: since we are not committed to the dreadful nonsense of the cultural left, or the neoliberal left or identify politics, we are in a much better position to counter the populist right and Alt Right, because they do attract people with real and serious issues that the mainstream left is clueless about and cannot discuss. At the same time, I would still distance myself from some elements of Alt Left, however.

I won’t speak for the Alt Left, but I would see an Old Left / Realist Left committed to certain core principles:

(1) rejection of neoliberalism, globalisation, neoclassical economics, libertarianism, anarcho-capitalism, and all ideological free market capitalism. Support for left heterodox Post Keynesian economics and/or Modern Monetary Theory (MMT).

(2) rejection of the extreme aspects of cultural leftism, namely, French Poststructuralism, Postmodernism, truth relativism, cultural relativism, moral relativism, SJW cults, the cult of diversity, and divisive and extreme identity politics. At the very least, healthy scepticism of Third Wave Feminism.

Of course, we support sensible and rational women’s rights, gay rights, and so on. But not regressive left identity politics.

(3) rejection of open borders and mass immigration, on perfectly good left-wing economic, social and cultural grounds. Recognition that Postmodernist-inspired multiculturalism has gone badly wrong in the Western world. Recognition that Islamism is a seriously regressive and illiberal danger to free, secular and truly left-wing Western societies. In particular, we foresee that something truly terrible is going to happen in Europe if current immigration policies aren’t changed quickly.

(4) the Old Left / Realist left is anti-imperialist, and opposed to American and Western wars and soft-imperialist interventions in the Third World. Full stop.

(5) people who wish to identify as Old Left should – at the very least – be open to serious and rational discussion of the breakdown of the nuclear family in the Western world, and what harm this may have done to our societies.

Of course, there will be a lot of other issues on which people don’t agree, and there must be respectful, polite, serious, open debate on these issues, not name-calling and witch hunting.

For example, a lot of older people who could be receptive to Old Left politics are probably more socially conservative than Millennial people are. Old left-wing people are probably comfortable with civic nationalism and flag waving. Don’t turn them off!

There will be disagreements, and people are not going to agree on various issues, e.g.,:

(1) the role of Marxism and communism within the movement. I have to say I am very sceptical of all Marxist and communist movements, and they seem to me to be infested with cultural leftism and support for open borders.

(2) attitude to Israeli–Palestinian conflict. This is controversial, and divides left-wing people even now. I am not blind to the traditional pro-Palestinian position on human rights grounds by any means, but the fact is there is some pretty awful Islamism and anti-Semitism infecting the Palestinian movements. Some balance on this issue is in order!

(3) attitude to Christianity. I am in favour of winning over liberal Christians and even more socially-conservative Christians, and recognising the role of Christian (non-Marxist) socialism in the history of the left. But at the same time I support a secular state and oppose religious fundamentalism in all forms.

(4) cultural/social liberalism or a degree of social conservatism?

I think a lot of potential votes could be won over by listening to the real concerns of older, traditional left-wing people who get turned off by extreme cultural leftism. Don’t neglect older people.

I think it’s also important to stress – for people on the left not knowledgeable about economics – that all the work building an alternative economics and serious science of capitalism has already been done by brilliant people: what we need is Post Keynesian economics and MMT.

It also strikes me that the Old Liberals like Sargon of Akkad or Dave Rubin have made a big impact with YouTube channels. I think an effective community of Old Left / Realist Left / Alt Left YouTube channels with serious discussion of economics and politics would be necessary too. But you do need people who are articulate, well-spoken, with a touch of charisma and humour for YouTube channels.

So a new, realistic left vision which abandons the disaster of cultural leftism, which actually does reflect the real concerns of working class people again, without ignoring the middle class, and which offers real economic justice is vitally needed.

I’m on Twitter:
Lord Keynes @Lord_Keynes2
https://twitter.com/Lord_Keynes2

Other Alternative Left media:
Realist Left @realistleft
Alternative Left @alternativeleft