• Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    2 days ago

    The entire context of the conversation is about how the word itself is applied. I do defend the ability of the working class to hold and wield state power, and I reject liberal conceptions of authority as idealist.

    • Talcosis@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      9
      ·
      2 days ago

      …yes. So you are a statist who would likely score fairly high on the right wing authoritarian scale.

      • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        10
        ·
        2 days ago

        …what? I’m a communist, first of all, which immediately makes me on the left. Second of all, I want mass democratization of society, which is why the very concept of “authoritarianism” is so muddy to begin with.

        • Talcosis@lemmy.zip
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          2 days ago

          Right wing authoritarianism has nothing to do with the US political divide. It is called that because the French parliament back in the day had the monarchists/authoritarians sitting on the right side of parliament, while the liberals/anti-authoritarians sat on the left side of parliament. Many communists are right wing authoritarians.

          One trait of high authoritarian people is the capacity for cognitive dissonance. This can be accomplished in many ways. I know, for example, that your definition of “mass democratization” is very different from what I would consider mass democratization. You have clarified this when defending North Korea.

          The concept isn’t very muddy at all. It’s not even necessarily a bad thing to be authoritarian. However, highly authoritarian people often do not like being known as such. Interestingly, they would like to be seen as average authoritarian, while both medium and low authoritarian people think that being low authoritarian is best.

          • Cowbee [he/they]@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            5
            ·
            2 days ago

            The ones on the left were those progressive against the monarchy. Today, the left consists of those progressive against capitalism. Communists cannot be right wing. You continue to use “authouritarian” as though it has any meaning because of a strange fascination with it.

            • Talcosis@lemmy.zip
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              arrow-down
              4
              ·
              2 days ago

              Yes, I understand that you would like to change definitions that you personally dislike. But for the rest of the world, communists can be, and often are, right wing authoritarians. Although the more colloquial term is “tankie”. And yes, the word authoritarian has a clearly defined meaning in academia.