Post #1172590 · Elektrine

2026-04-15 18:29 UTC

Liberalism and social democracy in the imperial core are *imperialist.* This is to the right of liberalism and social democracy in the global south. Erasure of imperialism in the question of whether or not a society is progressive historically or reactionary is a mistake, as the imperialist countries are the ones holding back global progress right now. It's kinda like saying landlords are progressive and tenants are reactionary. As for the USSR bit, I misread you. Saying it descended into fascism I took to you meaning that it was progressive in the first few years or so but then turned fascist, not that the RF was that fascism. I disagree with the idea that the RF is *fascist,* it's certainly run by nationalists and is an utter tragedy how far they've fallen from their soviet roots, but that's a different discussion.

Replies (1)

@kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-04-15 19:31

India is well to the right of e.g. Norway. Brazil only recently moved to the relative left. Argentina is also very right-wing (and also a lot more settler-colonialist than most of the countries not allowed into the White Countries Club). Iran and Afghanistan are about as far-right as they come, despite being very much opposed to the global order as it stands today. I wasn't discounting the so-called "Global South," I just also don't think that an imperialist past (or even present) is the only factor in determining whether a country is right-wing. In fact, I'd potentially go so far as to say that the majority of poorer countries are *farther* right than wealthier ones. The exceptions that come to mind are Cuba, Vietnam, Burkina Faso, Bolivia, and Mexico, but on the other side you have the ones I've already mentioned, plus Qatar, Lebanon, El Salvador, Pakistan, and more. Not doing imperialism is good, and *refusing* to do it is better (as opposed to simply being unable), but it doesn't singlehandedly make an extremist theocracy leftist. If your country does not interact with others at all but is still an absolute monarchy with laws that explicitly discriminate against marginalized groups, it's an isolationist right-wing state, not a leftist one.

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