How do liberals or progressives state they are forward thinkers when the philosophy they use is 158 years old?

Question

Marx wrote the Manifesto in 1848.

The lib/dem/socialists say they are progressive, that the repubs want to stay with the old, whereas they want to change, yet they still follow socialism, which is a 158 year old failed philosophy.

There is a disconnect here. Do they just lie with ease, or do they think people actually believe this progressive talk.

sassy - the lib/dem/socialists follow a socialist philosophy, which was created 158 years ago, it is not new, it has failed every time.

There was NO SOCIALISM in AMerica 158 years ago, if that is what you meant, it did not come out that way.

Answer 1

An excellent observation!

What is really amusing is how they makes excuses after every time communism is tried and, inevitably, fails.

Answer 2

I am sorry, Marx is a brilliant economist who wrote a library of detailed criticism of the capitalist system and how it oppresses and alienates the worker. His works are not only studied after a century and a half, they are highly influential to most fields of study today. Along with Engels, Marx produced a philosophy centered on the belief that humans are more than cogs in a machine.
Like Galileo Galilei, Newton, Freud, Nietzsche, and the many others you seem to know nothing about, Marx is an eminent figure of the pantheon of knowledge.
Now, do you have a study, thesis or book that you want to point us to? You seem to know better than the most knowledgeable theorist of capitalism. Better than the many talented theorists who have followed the Marxist branch of study and changed the way we see the world.
Now, while you scramble to come up with some half *** excuse to defend your blind faith in the self-correcting market (wait, self correcting? you mean magical market) and the invisible had (chuckle), I would like to know who you studied, what your wrote your thesis on and what fundamentally is your criticism of marxism.
You claim it has failed. I am a student of history and am heretofore challenging you to give me one single instance in which a single tenet of Marxism has been fundamentally debunked, Marxist philosophy or its Dialectical-Materialism. I will concede it is not a perfect theory, yet its fundamental principles remain unchallenged. Do you know something I and a vast majority of the world social scientists don't know? Please, enlighten me.


Lastly, a bit of advice. Read a little bit. If you did, you would know that Marxism has evolved over the course of this century. It is an incredibly flexible philosophy, as Foucault and Dussel can attest. I suggest you pick up a book or two and inform yourself. Or better, turn on the telly as you usually do, but instead of zoning off and allowing for passive brainwashing... why don't you look for the many instances in which the television fosters and exalts class war? Unless you are a billionaire, it will do you well to abandon the mode of thinking of the people who exploit you. If you even read this far.

Answer 3

Being conservative is far older than progressive thinking. It goes all the way back to the inquisition. Falwell is a modern day example of the Grand Inquistitor. Progressive is forward thinking, coming from the word "progress". Progress in human rights, workers rights and civil rights for all. How is this socialist in thinking. So the opposite of civil rights is regressive conservative because they want to have the status quo of inequality left untouched. Progressive talk is the only honest talk there is out there. The rest, like Fox, are nothing but propaganda straight from the White House. The very way you frame this question is regressive, and your avatar and name only signifies this fact. The only disconnect is your lack of understanding of history. The fact that you align lib/dem/socialist in all one catagory only exemplifies that.

Answer 4

As a liberal I use this as a guide It's 2600 years old.

Jeremiah 6:16
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.

Go Team Red Go

Answer 5

Progressive politicians don't hold on to any believe like a dogma.We have value's,social justice,equal opportunity and rights to everyone,no matter what your race, gender,background our sexual orientation is.Those value's will always be worthy to defend and right.
On policies and ways to get to a better world,a more just,fairer world it's the job of a progressive to keep an open mind.
If you can find me someone of today's progressive politicians who's holding on to the communist manifesto of 1884,I'd sure like to see them.You know that's not right.
There are still hard line communists,yes but they aren't progressive.
The far right tries to demonize every effort to correct the inhumane effects of jungle capitalism as pure evil communism and I consider this question part of that effort.
And on holding on to old scriptures I don't think the conservatives should point fingers if you consider where they get most of their believes from,think of the rejection of evolution for example

Answer 6

Umm...

1. Why do you insist on any connection between Liberalism in America and Communism?

2. Why do you not, therefore, insist on an equal connection between Neo-Cons and Fascism?

3. Has it occurred to you that Neo-Cons use the term "Conservative" although they obviously have no idea what it means? Conservatives are against big government and huge national debts, yet Bush and co. have expanded both the federal government and the debt to greater degrees than and Democratic President...

There is a huge disconnect between Neo-Cons and political philosophy. Or even first year economics.

Answer 7

This country seemed a lot better off 158 years ago.

Answer 8

What is wrong with the philosophy that we are all in this together instead of every man for himself and that the human is not ultimately bad and needs restraining but gets desperate when lacking opportunity.

Answer 9

Listen to you!

Most scholars place the birth of conservatism in about 1790, after the publication of Emund Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France."

So you've got NOTHING to crow about, rmagedon!

“What is conservatism?” Abraham Lincoln asked. “Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?”

Technically, YOUR political philosophy is even older and less fruitful.

Go back to your history books.

Answer 10

Which in comparison to Modern Conservative thought (oxymoron) makes it NEW.......

Progressive thought has never been a "failed" doctrine or philosophy. You apply the Socialist label, we don't. You, in essense, set up your very own strawman to burn. Got to be gettin' old, but play on, playa........

Answer 11

I see you find a queston that will bring out the most ignorant of the conservative ignorant. Hey, dumb-dumb. "Liberal/Progressive" means a willingness to change/improve the CURRENT establishment-to automatically align it with "socialism" is pretty stupid. Try doing a little homework.