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What does left wing mean?

Pepstone

I've heard many online users using the term left wing, what does it mean?

No I cannot use Google.

Reply 1

username5252758

Original post by Pepstone

No I cannot use Google.

You could always learn as even the Wikipedia article on the subject will give you a better answer than the muddled responses you'll get on here.

Reply 2

Pepstone

Original post by Calibrated.

You could always learn as even the Wikipedia article on the subject will give you a better answer than the muddled responses you'll get on here.

Good idea, but I do not want to read a full article on it. All I want is a brief summary of its meaning.

Reply 3

Starship Trooper

Original post by Pepstone

Good idea, but I do not want to read a full article on it. All I want is a brief summary of its meaning.

In modern day western usage it usually means someone who is socially liberal and in favour of generally more economic state interventionism. This generally incorporates the whole of the labour party today from Tony Blair to Jeremy Corbyn even if they might differ greatly on things such as foreign policy.

Examples of social liberal policies- gay marriage, drug legalisation, softer approaches to crime and immigration,

Examples of more state intervention- more spending on the NHS and welfare, more protections in the workplace, higher taxation.

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You can also get groups who are left wing on some issues but right wing on others.

Eg the French National Front are left wing economically but socially are conservative (tough on crime and immigration, strong family values and patriotism)

Eg Liberal Conservatives such as David Cameron are socially liberal but economically
Right wing (lower taxes, support for free markets and deregulation)

Reply 4

Napp

A biref summary?
People who are 'left wing' are those who subscribe to left wing politics. Usually involving big government that is interventionist and seeks to improve equity outcomes for various minorities and such.
Seriously though, if you refuse to even google the answer you're not going to learn anything about this. A paragraph here hardly being a good substitute for proper research if you want to understand something.

Reply 5

caravaggio2

Is there a collective noun for people that enjoy pretending to be stupid/ tech naïve, just to get complete strangers to waste their time spoon feeding them otherwise easily obtained information?
If not there sure should be one.
Its not trolling
Its sort of fishing for gullible/helpful people and getting off on controlling them and wasting their time. 🤔

Yet look at me. There's two minutes of my life ill never get back when i should have been peeling my roasties.😠

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 6

Rakas21

It correctly describes those with economic views ranging from social democrat to socialist to communist.

It incorrectly gets conflated with social liberalism (orange bookers for example are examples of mild capitalists who subscribe to social liberalism and that's before you get to actual libertarians).

Generally speaking over the past two decades or so especially the left has persued a substantial liberal agenda (granted it's polluted by very unliberal things like censorship) while the right has tended to only just about hold the social status quo, hence why left-libetal has increasingly become conflated.

Reply 7

username4986690

Original post by caravaggio2

Is there a collective noun for people that enjoy pretending to be stupid/ tech naïve, just to get complete strangers to waste their time spoon feeding them otherwise easily obtained information?
If not there sure should be one.
Its not trolling
Its sort of fishing for gullible/helpful people and getting off on controlling them. 🤔

Yet look at me. There's two minutes of my life ill never get back when i should have been peeling my roasties.😠