Submitted by putridcod87 in Anarchism
do you see these two terms as the same thing? im aware they are maybe more a scale than a fixed meaning but how if at all do you see them overlapping or different? are all liberals leftists but not all leftists liberals? if so where does the line go?
Tequila_Wolf wrote
I think that there are elements of liberalism in leftism. Especially orthodox marxist's use of electoral processes to make change. It makes them look absolutely foolish to me.
Sometimes I'll incorrectly consider leftists liberals for that reason. For me political action is about destroying authority (anarchism), not about creating an inherently-failing socialism (leftism). But people around here have a lot to say about what they mean when they say 'leftist', because most of us have engaged post-left critique.
Most of the time, I hate liberalism more than anything and Marxism next, because they are framed for themselves as on the side of good but end up being the left wing of capitalism/colonialism/civilisation. It's tough not to be coopted to those structures, but I wish people would try harder to pick politics that aren't inherently coopted already. Especially so since neoliberalism and the information age. Liberalism and leftism are different but both have that problem.