Comment

Wednesday Open Thread

98
Charles Johnson6/19/2013 5:38:29 pm PDT

re: #85 EPR-radar

Fron DailyKos:

dailykos.com

The basic thesis is that because the US got rid of its actual leftist political parties in the various red scares and purges of the 20th century, there is a natural tendency for the US to drift right politically.

This is plausible, since the dominant voices out there are moderates prone to compromise, and an intransigent and radicalizing right.

This may be the best simple answer to “Why can’t the US have the nice things they have in Europe” that I’ve seen.

I don’t know. I don’t think I buy that argument. The right wing is always going to be with us, and they’re not weak in Europe either. I actually think the reverse may be true — that the fact that US liberals are compromise-oriented actually leads to more genuine progress over the long term than having an extremely polarized right-left divide.