Rise of the New Left

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I just got done reading another piece about the political future of Millennials that I thought would be worth sharing.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/12/the-rise-of-the-new-new-left.html

[DC Al Fine]

My experience has been that millennials are more radical on social issues than economic ones. With the exception of universal healthcare, they seem willing to accept capitalism in some form. Of course I only have anecdotal evidence .

[bgwah]

These articles about generational politics are usually pretty awful but this one had lots of good facts. Interesting read.

I'm not terribly left-wing on economics, but there is 0% chance I will ever vote Republican. Merely affiliating yourself with that organization automatically disqualifies you from receiving my vote.

I'm skeptical we'll see a major party die in our lifetimes considering how entrenched they are, but I really would love to see the GOP die.

[Adam Griffin]

Perhaps the resistance of Republicans to fix the economic malaise that their policies ultimately created will truly be their long-term undoing. We are the FF generation, and how do we feel? Let's sum up this excellent piece:

[quote] According to a 2010 Pew survey, whites under the age of 30 were more than 50 points more likely than whites over 65 to say they were comfortable with someone in their family marrying someone of another ethnicity or race. A 2011 poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that almost 50 percent of evangelicals under the age of 30 back gay marriage.

...

In 2010, Pew found that two-thirds of Millennials favored a bigger government with more services over a cheaper one with fewer services, a margin 25 points above the rest of the population. While large majorities of older and middle-aged Americans favored repealing Obamacare in late 2012, Millennials favored expanding it, by 17 points. Millennials are substantially more pro–labor union than the population at large.

...

The only economic issue on which Millennials show much libertarian instinct is the privatization of Social Security, which they disproportionately favor. But this may be less significant than it first appears. Historically, younger voters have long been more pro–Social Security privatization than older ones, with support dropping as they near retirement age. In fact, when asked if the government should spend more money on Social Security, Millennials are significantly more likely than past cohorts of young people to say yes.

According to a 2011 Pew study, Americans under 30 are the only segment of the population to describe themselves as “have nots” rather than “haves.” They are far more likely than older Americans to say that business enjoys more control over their lives than government.  And unlike older Americans, who favor capitalism over socialism by roughly 25 points, Millennials, narrowly, favor socialism.

...

If Millennials remain on the left, the consequences for American politics over the next two decades could be profound. In the 2008 presidential election, Millennials constituted one-fifth of America’s voters. In 2012, they were one-quarter. In 2016, according to predictions by political demographer Ruy Teixeira, they will be one-third. And they will go on constituting between one-third and two-fifths of America’s voters through at least 2028.

...

This rise will challenge each party, but in different ways. In the runup to 2016, the media will likely feature stories about how 40-something Republicans like Marco Rubio, who blasts Snoop Dog from his car, or Paul Ryan, who enjoys Rage Against the Machine, may appeal to Millennials in ways that geezers like McCain and Romney did not. Don’t believe it. According to a 2012 Harvard survey, young Americans were more than twice as likely to say Mitt Romney’s selection of Ryan made them feel more negative about the ticket than more positive. In his 2010 Senate race, Rubio fared worse among young voters than any other age group. The same goes for Rand Paul in his Senate race that year in Kentucky, and Scott Walker in his 2010 race for governor of Wisconsin  and his recall battle in 2012.

...

As a July Pew survey notes, Republicans under 30 are more hostile to the Tea Party than any other Republican age group. By double digits, they’re also more likely than other Republicans to support increasing the minimum wage.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Cue Torie coming in to disagree and typing a few bloated paragraphs of legalese that do nothing but show his ignorance of the worldview of anybody under the age of 35.

DC Al Fine:  Do you think your anecdotes lead you to that conclusion because you seek out like minded people around your age?

[Mr. Morden]

I'm skeptical we'll see a major party die in our lifetimes considering how entrenched they are, but I really would love to see the GOP die.

Beinart isn't actually predicting that though.  He just argues that the political center of gravity will move to the left.  That doesn't actually mean that the GOP is going to die.  The GOP could adapt to the new reality over time, and remain competitive.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Praying for this to prove right.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I rather doubt that millenials actually prefer socialism to capitalism, since there seems to be a trend among bourgeois liberals to call themselves socialist to be edgy when they mean, at most, social democratic, and plenty of radical or idealistic youngs swing right as they start to move up the corporate ladder.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Praying for this to prove right.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Cue Torie coming in to disagree and typing a few bloated paragraphs of legalese that do nothing but show his ignorance of the worldview of anybody under the age of 35.

Ouch!

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

there seems to be a trend among bourgeois liberals to call themselves socialist to be edgy when they mean, at most, social democratic

Have you considered this may simply be due to the fact that the typical American definition of "socialism" is, um, special?

[Lief 🗽]

It's a good article, but I don't know what it has to do with de Blasio? There wasn't much of an age gap in the NYC primary, at least if the exit polls are to be believed. If anything, BDB did slightly better with older voters, though it's all within the MoE: http://www.nytimes.com/projects/elections/2013/nyc-primary/mayor/exit-polls.html?_r=0

[DC Al Fine]

Cue Torie coming in to disagree and typing a few bloated paragraphs of legalese that do nothing but show his ignorance of the worldview of anybody under the age of 35.

DC Al Fine:  Do you think your anecdotes lead you to that conclusion because you seek out like minded people around your age?

I'm going from my the people in my Poli Sci/Philosophy classes. If I used my actual friends as evidence, we'd have a theocracy by next week

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Good, it's time for real Democrats instead of 1980's Republicans.

[Torie]

Cue Torie coming in to disagree and typing a few bloated paragraphs of legalese that do nothing but show his ignorance of the worldview of anybody under the age of 35.

DC Al Fine:  Do you think your anecdotes lead you to that conclusion because you seek out like minded people around your age?

Not taking the bait.

[barfbag]

Just because someone writes an article doesn't make it true. I'd argue the exact opposite in a conservative magazine and someone could post it on here too.

[© tweed]

Just because someone writes an article doesn't make it true. I'd argue the exact opposite in a conservative magazine and someone could post it on here too.

then go ahead, I'd like to see it.

[barfbag]

Just because someone writes an article doesn't make it true. I'd argue the exact opposite in a conservative magazine and someone could post it on here too.

then go ahead, I'd like to see it.

So you're saying just because someone writes an article makes it true? That's what I got out of your post. If I'm wrong, then you must have agreed with me?

[Ban my account ffs!]

Just because someone writes an article doesn't make it true. I'd argue the exact opposite in a conservative magazine and someone could post it on here too.

then go ahead, I'd like to see it.

So you're saying just because someone writes an article makes it true? That's what I got out of your post. If I'm wrong, then you must have agreed with me?

That's not what he said at all, Barfy.  He said he would like to see you write an article of that caliber with that many polling statistics to back up the opposite argument which he'd like to see you publish in a conservative publication which can then be linked to here at Atlas forum.

The truth is, you can't do it... and nobody can do it, because all the evidence supports the premise of the article above.... not the opposite as you have claimed.

[barfbag]

Just because someone writes an article doesn't make it true. I'd argue the exact opposite in a conservative magazine and someone could post it on here too.

then go ahead, I'd like to see it.

So you're saying just because someone writes an article makes it true? That's what I got out of your post. If I'm wrong, then you must have agreed with me?

That's not what he said at all, Barfy.  He said he would like to see you write an article of that caliber with that many polling statistics to back up the opposite argument which he'd like to see you publish in a conservative publication which can then be linked to here at Atlas forum.

The truth is, you can't do it... and nobody can do it, because all the evidence supports the premise of the article above.... not the opposite as you have claimed.

I never actually made the argument that the opposite is happening. What I was doing was tearing apart the claim that we're having another rise of the left. Our generation is more center-left on social issues and center-right on economic issues. I'm assuming you're young but not very young? No extremes are happening. There will still be years when the Republicans are in control and years where the Democrats are in control.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Just because someone writes an article doesn't make it true. I'd argue the exact opposite in a conservative magazine and someone could post it on here too.

then go ahead, I'd like to see it.

So you're saying just because someone writes an article makes it true? That's what I got out of your post. If I'm wrong, then you must have agreed with me?

That's not what he said at all, Barfy.  He said he would like to see you write an article of that caliber with that many polling statistics to back up the opposite argument which he'd like to see you publish in a conservative publication which can then be linked to here at Atlas forum.

The truth is, you can't do it... and nobody can do it, because all the evidence supports the premise of the article above.... not the opposite as you have claimed.

I never actually made the argument that the opposite is happening. What I was doing was tearing apart the claim that we're having another rise of the left. Our generation is more center-left on social issues and center-right on economic issues. I'm assuming you're young but not very young? No extremes are happening. There will still be years when the Republicans are in control and years where the Democrats are in control.

"Center-left", "center-right", "social issues", and "economic issues" are  hopelessly vague and thus, meaningless terms, especially in the context of American politics.

[Vosem]

I like the article's beginning, where it sums up exactly how deBlasio won (because of smart messaging and other candidates' flaws), but then goes on to say 'I prefer this other explanation, so let's go with that.' The remainder of the article does bring up some interesting points, especially vis-a-vis millennials on social issues, and, to a lesser extent, foreign policy (which is an issue where I think people really are malleable throughout their lifetimes, because the issues are continually changing (as compared with economic issues which are pretty static), so it's difficult to make a generational point). But I have to disagree with him on economics; he describes the economy of the 2000s and how he would react to growing up in that time, but has only a few statistics about Millennials on hand, some of which are poorly defined (socialism vs. capitalism), some of which won't be anywhere near as significant when Millennials are dominant (labor unions), and others on which they disagree with him entirely (Social Security). He seems to be looking and seeing what he wants to see. (I did enjoy the comparison of future Occupy-inspired candidates to such imposing successes as Eugene McCarthy and Jesse Jackson, though.)

[barfbag]

Wow was this a long article. Occupy Wall Street was generated by the Michael Moores of this world who are anything but the 99%. It's not going to continue. In fact, did anyone notice how it stopped once the weather got colder? If only the hippies cared enough to stand outside in the cold. I'll tell you another thing. Those who "occupied" Wall Street should've spent time looking for jobs, taking classes to further their education, or learning new skills. Challenging authority is fine if you're raising questions, but not when you're making an ass of yourself. Unfortunately, kids today know all about their rights to protest, but know nothing about respect. This is part and parcel to the number of divorces, single parent households, and children being born out of wedlock. Also, how naïve do you have to be in order to think the government would be able to control the wealthy? Those who are wealthy are the ones donating to campaigns. How in the hell is Obama going to tell someone who helped him win the White House that they're required to pay higher taxes? Well I'll tell you exactly how. He'll tell them publicly and yet continue to support write offs. Therefore, he can reach out to the young and dumb and still maintain financial support from Wall Street and I can't blame Obama either. The youth in this country deserve to be taken advantage of if they're that stupid. One this is clear. They never learned in social studies how our government works. Money always wins. When it comes to college loans, big banks have lower rates because they're more likely to pay them off than a kid right out of college who has no job. I'd charge someone less if I knew they were more likely to pay me back too. It's called common sense. The beauty is that one day these kids will grow up and realize how the world works. That is if they ever get off their couch, put down the bowl, take a bath, and look for a job. What this article fails to mention is that one generation will not live forever and neither will their poisoned ideology. There will come another generation with more intelligence and less anger. It's up to us to help make the world a better place so our youth doesn't continue their horrific trend towards addiction to big government. It doesn't even make sense to think the government can control how much money we make. There's always a loophole. It's how our world works. They won't stop it anymore than they'll change our need for oxygen.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Cue Torie coming in to disagree and typing a few bloated paragraphs of legalese that do nothing but show his ignorance of the worldview of anybody under the age of 35.

DC Al Fine:  Do you think your anecdotes lead you to that conclusion because you seek out like minded people around your age?

Not taking the bait.

It wasn't bait, Torie.  Just a preemptive strike to prevent future wars.  You see, us millennials did actually learn a thing or two from the Bush doctrine

[King]

It does make sense.  If the GOP is going to move far right of the American people, why not have the Democrats move to the far left?

That way the American people will have either decide between two extremes or break the apathy and end the two party system.