The Problem With the Dissonants -- Leftists With One Leg in the Class War and the Other in the Liberal Culture Wars
I agree that capitalism is a major problem! But maybe if most capitalists weren’t white men it would be better… except we gotta help Biden defeat Trump! And Biden does wanna help us obliterate Russia! And white supremacy! And… um… (Image from illustAC)
Where does the term “dissonant” come from? It’s a play on the traditional political term dissident — an individual who strongly opposes the prevailing political status quo — and the mental disparity commonly referred to as cognitive dissonance. This is how the latter is defined as per this article on MedicalNewsToday:
“Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a person holds two contradictory beliefs at the same time,” which can and often does in turn lead to “discomfort a person feels when their behavior does not align with their values or beliefs.”
Hence, politically speaking, a dissonant is the type of individual you see participating in Classical Left circles who seems to have one leg in the Class War, but the other entrenched in the Culture Wars promoted by the Democrats, i.e., their brand of identity politics and other narratives with all the bigotry & resentments that come with that emotionally-fueled baggage.
Note that dissonants tend to do this to varying degrees, and whether any of them can be “reached” and made to abandon loyalty to the Culture Wars and some of the main Democrat talking points (even if they claim to be against the Dems) depends on how far their emotional investment in that narrative happens to be.
This also does not mean that Classical Leftists can never agree with anything the Democrats ever say. However, why we may agree with a certain talking point popular among the Dems and our actions based on that are often very much at odds with why the liberals support it and the nature of their actions based on that support.
For instance, Classical Left socialists and civil libertarians tend to agree with many Democrats regarding opposition to the current genocide being conducted against the Palestinians in Gaza.
However, the pro-Palestinian Dems tend to oppose Israel because they perceive the Jews as being white people inflicting bigotry-based carnage upon PoC, and are generally silent about oppressive regimes controlled by PoC based upon Sharia Law (e.g., Saudi Arabia) who inflict similar carnage on other nations whose population is predominantly PoC. In contrast, the egalitarian Left is against any group of people inflicting bigotry-based carnage upon anyone else regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion etc, because to us it’s about loyalty to universal principles rather than subjective identity.
Also, these same pro-Palestinian Dems continue to support Biden and insist on voting for other Zionist Democratic candidates due to tribalistic loyalty that goes above any principles. The Classical Left egalitarians, by contrast, are entirely anti-Zionist and oppose the entire bipartisan consensus among the Dems and Repubs on this issue and reject the capitalist-controlled duopoly altogether. Our goal is to take out the very source of the problem, not attempt to force that source into working to our advantage.
How do you identify a dissonant? Simply ask yourself the following questions about anyone who purports to be our ally in the Class War, while taking into account the considerations mentioned in the previous section.
Does this person make trenchant observations about the nature of class-divided society in one post or essay, but then compose others supporting the Democrats and displaying distress that Trump is overtaking Biden in the polls?
Does this supposed Class Warrior very clearly show signs of Trump and Putin Derangement Syndrome, insisting that we Classical Leftists must dispense with any rhetoric against Biden that they believe may end up helping Trump win? And accuse us of “whataboutism” if we point out the blatantly clear reasons why Biden is financing the destructive one-sided proxy war in Ukraine?
Does this person project and attempt to “turn the tables” on Classical Leftists by accusing us of “Biden Derangement Syndrome” when we point out good evidence that Biden and the Dems are every bit as bad as Trump and the Repubs on economic and civil libertarian issues?
Do they lament the class nature of society while also constantly praising “equity” and other aspects of the Dem-supported DEI policies initiated by uber-capitalist firms like BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, and JP Morgan as a solution?
Do they agree with you on this or that class-based issue while regularly or semi-regularly displaying resentment towards white male cis-heterosexuals and insist that white supremacy & misogyny are both systemic in American law and all over the place in American culture?
Do they likewise scoff at anyone who is white or male who critique DEI requirements by insisting that white men are privileged no matter how many examples of blatant attacks on these demographics can be found all over social media, and in the clearly written hiring policies of entertainment corporations like Disney?
As a corollary to the above, does this person seriously insist they cannot see any examples of liberals expressing bigotry against white people? And that they only see Trumpers engaging in bigoted comments? (This, of course, means that they simply do not have an issue with liberals doing it.)
Do they join in with SJWs who attack Classical Leftists for making the above critiques, including leaving thumb’s up stickers when the former engage in blatant examples of harassment, name-calling, data mining for the purpose of personal attacks, and malicious mischief against the latter? And do they leave the SJWs’ patented mocking laugh emojis on posts where Classical Leftists critique SJWs?
Do they accuse any Classical Leftist they are debating with who happens to be male of “mansplaining” or using any other term that clearly expresses openly misandrist bigotry? On the other hand, do they insist that any critique from a man towards words uttered by a woman must be due to misogyny?
Do they often opine that the main problem with the American ruling class is that its ruling plutocrats are predominantly old white men — while making it clear they’re going to vote for Biden, the oldest white male plutocrat to ever run for the Oval Office, to prevent Trump from winning?
Do they agree with you on this or that class-based issue while then insisting that the Democrats, or sell-out opportunistic “progressives” among them (e.g., the Squad or Bernie Sanders), are a “more viable” choice for the working class than any third party?
Do they agree with you about supporting a third party but then insist that the Greens or Socialist Alternative et al should operate more like the Democrats and add liberal identity politics to their platform?
Make note of all of the above when dealing with people in your Classical Left circle and strongly consider whether these people straddling a very red and very thin line are truly loyal to the goal of class unification. Or if they are actually shilling for the Democrats, as is the case with the likes of Cornel West, Bernie Sanders, and AOC. Such people hold infiltration of any group carrying the “Left” designation as one of their primary means of co-opting the Left as a whole. Stop being afraid of these bullies and hypocrites and call them out, or our goal of reclaiming the Left for the working class is not going to happen any time soon.