whetstone: Yes. I am definitely way out on the left on many positions (I think the goal should be completely open borders, for example) but get called a shitlib anyway because I don’t toe the “liberals are the enemy” line.

There it is: A position completely untethered from empirical evidence, as ridiculous analytically as it is dangerous politically, propagated by anti-liberal leftwing intellectuals who are solely animated by their disdain for “the Libs” and have abandoned any regard for accuracy.

I wrote about a this particular camp of prominent leftwing academics who are allowing their singular, disdain-driven focus on (neo-) liberalism to completely distort their perspective on the Right and on politics in general: thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/the-anti-l...

The Anti-Liberal Left Has a Fascism Problemthomaszimmer.substack.com Prominent leftwing intellectuals are allowing their singular, disdain-driven focus on (neo-) liberalism to completely distort their perspective on the Right

That’s also why this camp of leftwing intellectuals is stubbornly refusing to engage seriously with the fascism argument and the radicalizing tendencies on the Right. Their overriding concern is a political struggle against what they believe is the real enemy: The (neo-) liberal elites.

In their view, Liberals are using the “fascism” bogeyman as a way to distract from their own culpability; to discipline the Left into accepting a popular front under liberal leadership; to reinvigorate the (neo-) liberal project by conjuring fears of the ultimate evil.

To them, the fascism talk is intended to make people flock to the liberal cause; to expand power by using tyrannophobia as a way of entrenching liberal rule. It’s all just liberal dishonesty, self-exculpation, and self-aggrandizement that needs to be opposed aggressively.

The problem is that their devotion to this anti-liberal struggle has led them to propagating positions that are completely untethered from what is happening on the Right – sophistry in defense of a premise that is utterly at odds with empirical evidence. thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/the-anti-l...

The Anti-Liberal Left Has a Fascism Problemthomaszimmer.substack.com Prominent leftwing intellectuals are allowing their singular, disdain-driven focus on (neo-) liberalism to completely distort their perspective on the Right

To be very clear: I am not criticizing “the Left,” which doesn’t exist as a monolithic bloc. My issue is with this specific camp, and as much as they like to pretend they do, they really don’t represent “the Left.” In fact, they hate lefties who disagree with them at least as much as “the Libs.”

I've considered myself a leftist all my life, but folks in this crowd won't engage with my arguments, preferring slander me as neolib, a shitlib, whatever. they REALLY enjoy their narcissistic ranting.

Yes. I am definitely way out on the left on many positions (I think the goal should be completely open borders, for example) but get called a shitlib anyway because I don’t toe the “liberals are the enemy” line.

Relatedly, see my review of Sam Moyn's "Liberalism Against Itself" which pretends to critique Cold War liberalism as a whole, but only critiques one facet & ignores leftists sharing similar attitudes: www.salon.com/2023/09/17/h...

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