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Jens Heycke's avatar

@Freddie deBoer: From my classical liberal perspective, Persuasion tends to run center-left. I value it because it is one of a few forums with an open-ness and willingness to engage constructively with different perspectives, which is extremely rare these days.

This essay does not exactly equate leftists and fascists, but it would have a fair point if it did. Look at all the topics where their viewpoints currently align: soft on Russian neo-imperialism, soft on anti-Semitism, down on Nato, big on expansive government.... To me, Big Government bullies who want to take away our rights and run everything are all of the same ilk, even though they might differ slightly about which rights they want to take away. Distinguishing between the types is like debating whether to call shit excrement or feces. You don't want to step in it either way.

France is now at the highest govt. spending to GDP ratio in the OECD, at ~56% (China is only at ~35%). So what's your idea of balance: a leftist who argues that it should be 80% or 90%?

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Joseph Blalock's avatar

Yes, we should call the far left the far left.

Not surprised Melenchon is autocratic himself. It comes with the territory. There is, BTW, a horseshoe vision of politics where fascist and far left idea can almost converge.

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