by Robert Lindsay appears to have been an early advocate for an Alternative Left, and some months ago wrote a very interesting post about what an Alt Left should and should not be: Robert Lindsay, “Dealbreakers: What the Alternative Left is Not,” Beyond Highbrow, 19 February, 2016. It has some quite controversial points, even for people deeply disillusioned with the modern mainstream left, but deserves a fair hearing: “1. Gay rights, yes! Gay politics, no! Support and tolerance for biological homosexuals to live their lives as they choose in freedom and happiness. No discrimination against gays. On the other hand, homosexuality should not be cheered or championed, and certainly experimental or opportunistic homosexuality should not be promoted as some sort of cool thing or hipster fad.2. Women’s rights, yes! Women’s politics, no! An Alt Left should support Equity Feminism but not Gender, Radical, Man-hating or Anti-male Feminism.3. Bare minimal rights for trannies. Nondiscrimination against trannies in many but not all jobs. Tranny rights yes, tranny politics no. Transsexualism should not be promoted as a cool thing or a fad as it is nowadays. Many though not all trannies are probably mentally ill. A transwoman is not a woman; it is a man who thinks he is a woman. A transman is not a man; it is a woman who thinks she is a man.4. There are indeed only two genders, male and female.
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Lord Keynes considers the following as important: Robert Lindsay’s Vision of the Alt Left
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Robert Lindsay, “Dealbreakers: What the Alternative Left is Not,” Beyond Highbrow, 19 February, 2016.It has some quite controversial points, even for people deeply disillusioned with the modern mainstream left, but deserves a fair hearing:
“1. Gay rights, yes! Gay politics, no! Support and tolerance for biological homosexuals to live their lives as they choose in freedom and happiness. No discrimination against gays. On the other hand, homosexuality should not be cheered or championed, and certainly experimental or opportunistic homosexuality should not be promoted as some sort of cool thing or hipster fad.There is also his list of what the Alt Left should not be:2. Women’s rights, yes! Women’s politics, no! An Alt Left should support Equity Feminism but not Gender, Radical, Man-hating or Anti-male Feminism.
3. Bare minimal rights for trannies. Nondiscrimination against trannies in many but not all jobs. Tranny rights yes, tranny politics no. Transsexualism should not be promoted as a cool thing or a fad as it is nowadays. Many though not all trannies are probably mentally ill. A transwoman is not a woman; it is a man who thinks he is a woman. A transman is not a man; it is a woman who thinks she is a man.
4. There are indeed only two genders, male and female. Nevertheless an Alt Left should be compassionate towards certain rare persons who are biological oddities from a very early age through no fault of their own, and we should have sympathy for their profound struggles with gender identity.
5. All of these are perfectly acceptable private lifestyles and sexual choices, but they should be private, not openly promoted, sexual styles. Straight men should not be hectored to engage in experimental homosexual sex, bisexuality should not be promoted as a fad, and the masses should not be openly encouraged to have orgies, engage in group sex, threesomes or public sex. Would you want people encouraging your mother, sister, brother, daughter or son to do such things?
6. In areas that are already diverse, non-discrimination and non-racism as general principles are good things. People ought to get along, and an Alt Left should not be a racist movement. Immigrants should be allowed to keep their own cultures (multiculturalism) in the first generation, but after that, assimilation should be encouraged. Certainly the notion that lack of diversity is in and of itself a problem should be opposed by an Alternative Left. Peoples’ desires to be culturally conservative, monocultural, traditional, or to have a national, ethnic or religious identity should be seen as rights that an Alt Left would not interfere with. No wars on tradition, nationalism, religion or ethnic identity.
7. An Alt Left can hardly support fascism, but some leeway ought to be allowed for Third Positionism or especially National Bolsheviks, Dugin’s Fourth Positionism, etc.
8. See that “Left” in Alt Left? We can’t very well be for Nazis, now can we?
9. The Alt Left will probably be mostly skeptical about Zionism and the state of Israel at the very least. Anti-Zionists are of course welcome. However, moderate Zionists should be allowed but not encouraged.”
Robert Lindsay, “Dealbreakers: What the Alternative Left is Not,” Beyond Highbrow, 19 February, 2016.
I think what is missing in Robert Lindsay’s vision of the Alt Left is lack of a proper economic program, and economic justifications for why mass immigration and open borders are not desirable.Robert Lindsay, “Dealbreakers: What the Alternative Left is Not,” Beyond Highbrow, 19 February, 2016.
- The belief that White people are evil. Black Lives Matter is that-a-way.
- Belief that anyone who is non-White is automatically a saint. An update on Rousseauan noble savage theory with about as much as evidence as its predecessor.
- Carrying on about “White privilege.” The university is over there.
- Obsession with “structural racism.” The Sociology Department is that-a-way.
- Race denial or hostility to race realism. One of the pillars of the Alt Left is race realism.
- Support for anything goes pansexuality. Come now. Can’t we have some limits on degeneracy and depravity? Just some?
- Excessive support for Gay Politics or Political Homosexuality, yet another Identity Politics (IdPol) dead end. *1*
- Feminazism, Gender Feminism, Radical Feminism or Male-hating or Male-hostile Feminism. *2*
- Transgender Idpol or Tranny Politics. *3*
- Support for gender insanity, 147 different genders (or even three), or getting rid of gender. *4*
- Promotion of mass sexual perversion to the masses: group sex, threeways, bisexuality, opportunistic or experimental homosexual sex, orgies, sex in public. *5*
- Promotion of diversity and multiculturalism as ends unto themselves *6*
- Favoring multiculturalism over assimilation. You must have gotten lost.
- Belief that the West is evil, and the non-West is wonderful. The Cultural Left is that-a-way.
- Support for radical Islam, ultra-Orthodox Judaism, Trad Catholicism, Fundamentalist Protestantism, or hardline Hinduism. A Left is anti-obscurantist or it is nothing.
- Support for fascism as a general principle. *7*
- Support for Nazism or racist fascism in any way, shape or form. *8*
- Obsessive anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic cranks. This sort of dangerous nonsense is not just not a Left value.
- Support for segregation, apartheid, discrimination or expulsion of any group on the basis of race or religion. I fail to see anything leftwing about any of these things.
- Contempt for poor, low income, or working class people. The Republican Convention is being held over there.
- Blame the victim mindset. The Libertarian Party is that-a-way.
- “I made it, why can’t you?” “Anyone can make it if you try.” “Anyone can get rich.” “Everyone can get rich.” Ayn Randists not welcome.
- The idea that the person who has more money is superior to the human being who has less money. What are you doing on the Left? Bye.
- Opposition to social spending or social programs. Major dealbreaker.
- Advocating excessive materialism or conspicuous consumption. Champagne socialists and limousine liberals welcome but please keep a low profile. Ostentatious display of wealth has never been a true Left value.
- Extreme patriotardism. The Republican Party is that-a-way.
- Support for US/UK/EU imperialism in any way, shape or form. Can someone please tell me what is so leftwing about US/Western imperialism, Cold War liberals like Bernie Sanders notwithstanding?
- Strong support for US foreign policy. The Democratic Party is that-a-way.
- Support for Revisionist Zionism *9*
- Obsessive Zionism. See no fascism above, and add no colonialism and certainly no settler colonialism to that.
- Antisemitism or antiracism witch hunting. So go join the Cultural Left.
- Obsession with name-calling epithets like racist, sexist, homophobe, antisemite, bigot, Nazi, White supremacist, transphobe, Islamophobe, etc. The Cultural Left is calling your name.
- Use of the term “scientific racism.” And out the door with you.
Robert Lindsay’s Alt Left platform can be compared with Agent Commie’s theses for a progressive reformation here, or my own proposal for an Alt Left program here.