America's Stunted Political Spectrum

There's a whole lot of bickering and name calling in American politics, but modern politicians have a lot more in common than you might realize. In this episode we take a look at just how skewed the American political spectrum is.
Political Stance Quizzes:
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8values.github.io
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America's Stunted Political Spectrum - Second Thought
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[@SecondThought]

Hello, friends! If you take any of the political quizzes and you're comfortable sharing, post your results here! I'm curious to see where everybody stands. Hope you enjoyed this week's video.

[@bocbinsgames6745]

Very neutral But secular

[@midwes8192]

@Second Thought I’m generally in the left-libertarian quadrant

[@Joe--]

@@stealingfire5036 I agree with you; a lot of those tests are not too useful

[@Joe--]

I thought you were not going to do anymore political videos anymore?

[@Charles-hq7ce]

While I agree with most of the things your saying I feel like the channel has become alot more political than it used to be. I'm not complaining I'm just pointing out the shift in content. Perhaps it was planned perhaps not. But it's worth taking note of

[@bobing1752]

There was a satire I heard from French radio which said: "I love American politics because you have to choose between the old right-wing man and the old right-wing man". Pretty accurate.

[@Loki_K]

I love this. If I may, however: I would suggest one small change: In America, you have to choose between the old right-wing man, and the old *very* right-wing man."

[@YellowJelly13]

Except it's false, Biden is a centrist at most, the problem is believing this bullshit compass made by someone with no academic qualifications. You might as well believe in the horoscope next time if you fall for unscientific bullshit.

[@bobing1752]

@@YellowJelly13 I didn't talk about the political compass. I don't know what makes you believe I was referring to it, but I definitely didn't talk about it. I was talking about a comedian on French radio making a joke. Also, Biden is maybe a centrist in the US but in France he'd be center-right at best. And that's the joke. Also, it's a joke, maybe don't take it too seriously. You look like someone who can't understand jokes

[@bobing1752]

@@Loki_K well one is 74 and the other is 77 (at the time of the elction), so there is not a lot of difference to say that one is very old and not the other

[@Loki_K]

@@bobing1752 You misread the placement of the "very". ;) I said "right-wing and very right wing", not "old and very old".

[@ZooDinghy]

When I look at America, I see two parties that are basically the same. The irony is that most Americans believe the US is the only true democracy while we Europeans have Social democratic parties, conservative parties, right-wing parties, liberal parties, green parties, left parties, etc.

[@Potatotenkopf]

Americans are almost never considerate of the larger world, I severely criticize the USA for their method of ousting democratically elected socialist leaning leaders in 3rd world countries and establishing several brutal dictators that even today are a huge thorn in said 3rd world countries, and yet they always say that it was to prevent communism from spreading it's evils. I get that the communist also did this shit, and that their system isn't perfect, but by doing arguably worse things than the USSR in this era, to me at least, the USA loses the moral high ground and is no longer a savior, but a giant trampling several countries in it's fight against the USSR.

[@poorwotan]

In very broad terms, you will see more party fragmentation (like Europe - broadly) in Parliamentary systems. In Presidential systems, again broadly, you have a tendency of fewer large tent parties (like the US).

[@swanky_yuropean7514]

@Jay Blake Not really, almost no country uses a pure presidential system in Europe. Most are parliamentary republics. There is only one Belarus. Which ironically is considered the last dictatorship of Europe.

[@ruttedmammal4255]

As a American myself, I sadly have to agree myself with all these points, I’m one of the few that isn’t god damn insane. Europe is so much more democratic then our dictatorship

[@leonmuller8475]

Meep Meep Wait, I get that the US has killed Millions during the wars in the east. But that is still far from the tens of millions the USSR killed during its existence. So how is it already worse than the USSR?

[@user-gk9pl6vl5v]

Bernie Sanders in any european country: a normal progressive politician. Bernie Sanders in USA: HE IS LITERALLY STALIN

[@dhereaktienner3552]

Europeans are too lefty

[@myusernameusedtobereallycr2075]

@Abhishek Harge just because we are further right of most european countires doesn't mean we are wrong. Being in the middle doesn't imply your correctness so he isnt really skewing anything hes just stating his opinion

[@jemangerrit1747]

@@myusernameusedtobereallycr2075 but youll agree that equating bernie sanders to Joseph Stalin is plain wrong. The problem is that the propaganda in the 1960s was so effective that its limiting logical reasoning today. Also might be interesting to know that the countries with the richest average citizens are in Europe.

[@chriscooke109]

@@myusernameusedtobereallycr2075 You have no viable choice that would be considered anywhere near what constitutes a left leaning politician, or party. Both parties are funded by the same donors... they are for all intents and purposes, the same party masquerading as opponents when they put on their grand show for the voting eligible citizens. The path set for each term regarding social and financial policy has been bought and paid for, each party may have a different method when implementing these changes but the result is identical. Your country is a business and party donations should be thought of as shares in the company; higher the figure stronger the influence.

[@cartoonmovie5769]

Bernie Sanders is radical left and his classification near center is fake. Sanders should be on economic scale more in left and more up. Warren autoritian right? What? Who do this classification? Elisabeth Warren is idol green left. Bernie Sanders is in any country COMMUNIST. And Biden is authoritian right? Really? He support green deal and higher tax for rich. This is really right-wing politician.

[@yuffie25]

Wow, I had heard that the US left was everyone else's center, but this really puts that in perspective.

[@anthony2384]

I share your astonishment..... and to think the tories are far right, I was naive.

[@mathaiobeatz1201]

The US i think has had one of the most powerful and corrupt propaganda schemes that they hidden behind our kinda democratic system. It feels like were never going to get out of it either just because of the cold war. It makes me lose hope

[@basti6160]

​@@boredom2go "Europe is to the left of center" compared to what? The USA? Of course.

[@simonbettstein7101]

​@@boredom2go No, Europe isn´t really left of center.. Germany has a conservative gov´t, LREM in France is centrist to center right Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Turkey are all led by center right to right wing majorities. Not to mention the UK and the tories.. The only countries which are actually led by left of center parties are Spain, Portugal and the scandinavian countries. Hell, even in the EU parliament the conservative EPP has a majority and EU Comission President Ursula von der Leyen is also from EPP, so to say that Europe is "left of center" reeeeallly isn´t quite correct. All this actually shows is just HOW MUCH the political dialogue in the US has moved to the right over the years (and since we perceive Europe as oh so left wing, even though it isn´t, I would argue our European political perception has also moved to the right but to a much smaller extent than in the US of A)

[@simonbettstein7101]

@@boredom2go based on the political views and direction of the majority parties in parliament/coalitions. That the EPP is conservative is obvious and part of their self-understanding as a party. Hope that answeres it, wasn't 100% sure which part of my comment your question refered to.

[@chancerbox1935]

I hate Alex Jones, but even he gets it. He said a few years ago, "Democrats and Republicans are two wings on the same bird of prey"

[@thewhat531]

How can you hate Alex Jones? He's hilarious!

[@gelationousskin835]

@@thewhat531 He's funny, but unfortunately there are enough people who actually believe most everything he says to cause a real affect on the American Political perspective.

[@Coolsomeone234]

He's a shill now

[@LeReVaQ]

He is the last person you want to give legitimacy. Even with statements like that

[@maoistgonzaloitepolpotist7743]

@@LeReVaQ especially when that statement is not an endorsement of anti capitalism or social equality and more of a vague far right anti establishment conspiracy theory when Alex Jones says that.

[@ellenwright5901]

This is fascinating. As a brit it always confused me when Americans called Sanders a communist for advocating for socialised medicine, since that is exactly what we have here this country is far from a communist society. In reality, having those views doesn’t make him an extremist, it puts him pretty central on the spectrum, and that’s really interesting to me.

[@barkasz6066]

Yeah I mean when you campaign against people's welfare and access to socialized medicine for the sake of government and corporate power, you're kinda the bad guy and not the reasonable one.

[@TheJadedJames]

As an an American, it isn’t so much frustrating so much as it is maddening

[@basedropeist6617]

Yea! Why can't Americans just pay their entire paycheck for welfare?? It's so dumb! It's not as if we actually need economic growth or stability!

[@kathrinlindern2697]

@@basedropeist6617 The question you have to ask yourself is this: How does it WORK in Europe? Why does a generally capitalist country like the UK, that clearly has some nationalist and libertarian tendencies compared to other, still successful European countries (like most Scandinavian ones), glorify the NHS so much? Both "left" and "right", by the way. Why do people there pay less, while still getting better medical care (on average)? Americans are fooled by the idea that they could be part of the "upper class", become rich and profit from extreme capitalism. That's the "American Dream". For most, that is vastly unrealistic. Currently, your economic stability suffers more than that of European countries through the pandemic, as unemployment rises dramatically and this directly affects consumer spending, making the crisis worse. But yeah, welfare is always bad. There is no spectrum where you have to find the golden compromise, there is just "capitalism good, socialism bad"...

[@Mira12963]

Edijs Pozņaks I just love when Americans want to explain to me, living in a country with welfare, that my entire paycheck is gonna be spent on welfare. If that was the truth how can we still make good money, how do we drive as good cars as Americans, how do we have the same electronics, clothing as Americans, how do we go on the same vacations as Americans, it’s all a huge myth.

[@DoubleM55]

- "I work 2 jobs, can I have some food, I'm hungry!" - "No, that's socialism, you should be the CEO of Google"

[@theslightlyhillyrider969]

CLEARLY you didn't work hard enough because it has nothing to do with your parents, the country or anything. YOU need to stop being lazy /s

[@gezi5927]

@@theslightlyhillyrider969 sure buddy

[@theslightlyhillyrider969]

@@gezi5927 the /s means sarcasm my dude

[@gezi5927]

@@theslightlyhillyrider969 oh, sorry

[@theslightlyhillyrider969]

@@gezi5927 np man, I often struggle to know what people are saying myself lmao

[@TheSpectralFX]

Second thought: learn a bit more and that's how you can do your part. Govt: *Why are you anti -American?*

[@MrCmon113]

Second Thought literally admits that he's trying to manipulate people rather than stating his opinion openly. He's a culture war larper.

[@starhalv2427]

Second Thought IS anti-American (At least against the way USA is now) and pro-socialist. If you keep that in mind you can keep watching these videos. Otherwise, you'll just be manipulated.

[@riordanbrown9557]

I’ve been programmed with pro-American propaganda my entire life as a result of living in Bible Belt Texas. I appreciate being able to listen to opposite opinions

[@iumasz6088]

@@MrCmon113 wait when did he do this? Not disagreeing with you, just want to find where he says this.

[@MrCmon113]

@@iumasz6088 I'll see whether I can find the comment. But it was sth about "radicalizing the normies" without being too unpalatable.

[@BirdArvid]

"The only difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is the velocities with which their knees hit the floor when corporations knock on their door. That's the only difference." - Ralph Nader.

[@MrHistory269]

Damn good quote

[@ericwolf9664]

@Audie Lennemann Nah that pretty much ended during the Clinton administration.

[@0Clewi0]

@@ericwolf9664 If I'm correct the only union that the Dems try to pander in the US still is the teachers union?

[@colin7242]

@@0Clewi0 Hardly, teachers don't get shit

[@odysseus231]

I LOVE THIS QUOTE

[@peterhall728]

In America they play both kinds of music. Country and Western.

[@aralornwolf3140]

Sad but true. Blues is better though.

[@jonasfelisilda5777]

@@aralornwolf3140 nah, soul is better.

[@bigdon5051]

@@jonasfelisilda5777 nah donk bass line and hardbass better

[@aonghasmacaghobhainn2322]

Fucking love that movie

[@janelantestaverde2018]

@@jonasfelisilda5777 Well, since Soul, over many cultural corners, stems from blues, I think it's fair to say they're different but their cultural origin makes them even

[@brochestedbs]

Way back in the 60s in the UK there was one of the first satirical shows which said "The Republicans are like our Conservative Party - and the Democrats are like our Conservative Party.

[@toni8468]

And that was back in the 60s, before Reagan took over with his Reaganomics-bs

[@spellcast1391]

I can see that. I think it’s really bad to lump Dems with Labour. Democrats are a center-right party overall on this spectrum. Republicans are farther right though(Right-Wing)

[@nickfleiwer5272]

Bernie: lets help ppl who need help USA: Wouldnt that make you ... communist?

[@eragon78]

Hell, they were fucking calling Biden a communist. The word has degraded into a trigger word to just mean anything they dont like.

[@eragon78]

@nobody asked exactly lol.

[@Nurembergwarcriminal]

@@eragon78 Ur right

[@BlissAnimations]

I don't think any politician is trying to help people

[@nickfleiwer5272]

@@BlissAnimations so why is Bernie doing what he does then in your opinion?

[@northchurch753]

When someone says that Hitler was a Socialist, I hear "I don't have an intelligible grasp of political theory and just think everyone who disagrees with me is a Socialist"

[@tablo1394]

Same when people call Jorgensen a Marxist. Like, she is a economically right as it gets, I mean wtf?

[@ServiceInstaller]

Interesting because when I hear anyone compare a modern American politician to Hitler, I hear "everyone I don't like is Hitler"

[@diablo.the.cheater]

@Some annoying person China is just corporativism but the corporation is the country and the corporation is called the communist party of china

[@xwearenumber1x]

@@tombuilder1475 Yeah no shit, and North Korea's full name is the Democratic People's Republic but you don't see people calling it any of those things. Names don't mean shit.

[@TheSm1thers]

Hitler wasn't authoritarian enough to be a socialist.

[@wojciechmuras553]

So the Soviet Union manged to destroy America after all... Just not in a nuclear apocalypse.

[@julystargaryen9452]

This comment needs to get hiped up

[@482F]

Showerthought of the day

[@blaiddenjoyer3206]

They were playing the long con... Those damn commies!

[@anatta4274]

Google yuri bezmenov you have no idea how right you are

[@samsoncooper1]

America destroyed herself after a threat that she made. If it wasn't communism they would have used something else.

[@aznprodigy17]

Americans: Anything I don't like = "Communism" Rest of the World: O_o

[@guillermo.mserrano]

The regional government of Madrid also did that last year.

[@sharrpshooter1]

The funny irony is most people on the right actually agree with democratic socialism (or parts of it rather) and I can prove it with a fun game you can play anywhere in rural America. Go to a bar or some sociable place and strike up a conversation, and whenever they mention their pay/job/healthcare talk about how much you wish things were better, a huge amount of them will agree. It's honestly mind-boggling how many people want higher wages, and socialized medicine, and to limit massive corporations, it's just the second you start saying buzz words like socialism or the left they will instantly backtrack and say those things are bad, almost like they are brainwashed. Either way, you would be amazed how many people on the right actually want the same thing but they are convinced they don't by the right-leaning media leaders

[@dylandugan76]

Not "almost", brainwashing is exactly the right word for it. For a non-American, it can be difficult to believe that we all grow up actively being taught to have a powerful, blind, and unwavering sense of national pride, which is furthered by astonishingly little education about history or current events in any country besides our own, and even more actively discouraged from speaking out against the flaws in that ideology. But none of this is an exaggeration.

[@ssiipp7848]

Social Democracy would be a better explanation of what you're describing.

[@tvsonicserbia5140]

They're scared they'll turn gay or something

[@johnphillips5993]

@@dylandugan76 yep. American history class got boring. But i guess Asian history will turn us into communists, European history will cause us to all migrate to Europe, and Latin American history will all make us hate America.

[@justsomerandomguynoonecare8923]

​@@dylandugan76 Yeah, I live in Germnany and something like that would not fly here.

[@paulmakinson1965]

Americans are rarely aware of how extreme their country is compare to everyone else. Actually, they are rarely aware everyone else exists.

[@MusicAutomation]

'merica is da best planet in the galaxy. Dem aliens are tryin to take er jobs!

[@devlinmcguire7543]

We are painfully aware of it every single day. It's just that half of us can't do much to change it. And the other half just doesn't care. I know that might sound rude, but it is absolutely true.

[@ToyKeeper]

Would love to get out of the US before it goes completely fascist, but I'm finding that emigration is difficult... especially during a pandemic. Basically have to get a job at an international company with experience in getting people into the destination country, work at that company for a while, and convince them that the job isn't specific to the original time zone. Oh, and wait until borders open up again, which could take a long time.

[@theloneyoutuber9585]

Lol why would we care about some europoors who we already had to bail out in 2 world wars

[@harrydehnhardt5092]

@@theloneyoutuber9585 That was 75 Years ago and where has the US gone since? Today it's the laughing stock of the world!

[@elimartin3982]

“The best one party system is a two party system with the illusion of choice” -Anonymous

[@user-qj7bv4sd4s]

ARandomDuck so a telltale game?

[@Hirohitorunguard]

@@user-qj7bv4sd4s indeed.

[@LuisBrito-ly1ko]

ARandomDuck “Since it isn’t written anywhere that only two parties are allowed, you can’t talk about system” - anonymous

[@edawg792]

+Luis Brito This is a terrible argument. If you don’t think that the two parties have consolidated power and control the politics that determine our laws, the economy, and elections in such a way that no other party will rise to challenge them, then you are shortsighted.

[@AvangionQ]

Put your quote directly into Google, zero results. I'd say you're now the author of that quote. Closest variation: “The greatest illusion is the illusion of choice.”

[@bernhardstil6128]

So "socialism" does not mean what Americans think it means? - Shocking... :D

[@dleet86]

@Riv Dog 90% of US media is held by 6 corporate donors. USA is 44th place on the Press Freedom Index for a reason. The oligarchic owners/donors hate democracy and destroy it abroad whenever it succeeds in establishing a presence. The media liars call democracies socialist but they are not. If Americans knew how good true democracy is the oligarchic feudalists would never get elected again and the America from 1933 to 1981 would be normal again instead of reagan's fascist lite aka Feudal American Republic of Corporate Elite or F.A.R.C.E. for short. The top scorers are what America was before reagan. I'm an expat and left the country to pursue the American Dream. 9.1% of US' GDP is religion and tax free. Many of the top scoring Democracies are 82% atheist. They have laws against grifting even in the name of Jesus. US religion would be the 16th largest global economy if counted as a country. Sky fairies and autocratic control to scam gullible Americans for more private jet donations is normal, for Jesus. Dinosaurs with saddles on a ship with a 600 year old captain that sailed 6000 years ago is just history in KY. www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2020/

[@moniqueloomis9772]

Your sarcasm. Chef's 😘

[@VentilatorenBumser]

Or as PragerU puts it: " I'm a citizen of Denmark, tHe DiSneYlAnD oF sOciAliSm"

[@KatarMilak]

I saw something earlier today that sums it up quite well: Tom and Jerry are best friends. They just pretend to hate each other, because if they don't, Tom's owner will replace him with a cat that will try to kill Jerry.

[@Lafv]

haha that’s actually genius

[@deisk2707]

But any of those replacements will fail anyway. That orange cat moving like an elictricity and that one automatic cat ( robot cat ), Jerry can get rid of them.

[@virusness1564]

You’re telling me that you think republicans and democrats are essentially the same?

[@KatarMilak]

@@virusness1564 They are both essentially right wing parties, it's just one is far more extreme than the other. America hasn't really had a left wing party for a while, largely because the fear of left wing Communism during the Cold War pushed everyone to the right.

[@thomasdouglas5701]

Hello there. How are you? Its nice to meet you and I hope to chat with you soon. Cheers. Nice comment

[@mustafamalik596]

"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum" -Noam Chomsky

[@michael3069]

America is a lot more politically divided than someone from another country might think. For example, Europe and America have completely different political spectrums anyway. Maybe the political compass works well for you, but it put me right next to Bernie and I'm a core conservative. In America, no one categorizes politicians as authoritarian or libertarian. Not to mention, our right/left mean completely different things than foreign right/left. American politics is mainly about Strong Centralized Government (our left) vs Weak Dispersed Government (our right). Therefore, Hitler would be classified as 'left' in America. The only exception to this rule is moral/ethical disagreements. Most Europeans and Americans simply don't understand each others politics because we categorize ideologies completely differently. Therefore, it is ludicrous to even try to place American politicians on this political compass.

[@samyrandome425]

@@michael3069 sounds like an excuse to not look at the broader political trends in the world. Americans just seem like way more capitalist and conservative Europeans. Aka more right leaning. The spectrum isn't perfect, but America still fits on it.

[@WanderTheNomad]

@@michael3069 For me at least, credibility drops when you copy and paste the same comment under multiple threads.

[@user-mh9dx7nz2r]

@@samyrandome425 A left leaning spectrum isn't much better.

[@srfrancium9728]

@@YouReadMyName Adam smith sounds like a commie socialist other buzzword by American standards :/

[@Lothbroksson]

I did this test twice. It put me in the centre of the left-libertarian quadrant. I guess I'd be a "radical leftist" by US political standards. That's funny because, here in Brazil, it's quite common and there are some political parties which are situated almost in the vertex of the same quadrant.

[@Cubicstudios]

what scares me is how this american perspective on the political spectrum has been seeping into european politics

[@joiceraiana]

Everywhere! Epecially the far-right that is backed up by racists, chauvinist and overall insane people who believe in conspiracy theories about the commies trying to destroy their culture, family and countries. It's Bannon war, recycling the worst of the cold war propaganda using the internet to spread it. I'm brazilian and that insanity brought us Bolsonaro as president. And a very anti left rhetoric that it will make even harder the life of the poorer people in the country

[@AxenfonKlatismrek]

I live in EU, and i agree with your opinion. We should really distance from American perspective, even if that meant building jingoistic "EUROPE NO1" country

[@diegogervasoni3432]

@@AxenfonKlatismrek yeah... europe but also canada australia new zaeland and japan should distance themself from america... i love eu :)

[@AxenfonKlatismrek]

@@diegogervasoni3432 I agree with you

[@user-dg3ug7ny5d]

@@diegogervasoni3432 Yep. I'm from Australia and the amount of US political rhetoric I've seen (especially during the pandemic) is insane. I don't think they realise what they're saying, or agreeing with, because you could tell them that they should go to the US if they believe in those ideologies, and they'd become offended for being "discriminated against" and being seen as on-par with the USs' political landscape. But they won't mind telling immigrant families/non-Anglo presenting people to "Go back to where you came from!" so... :/ Australia and New Zealand have also historically carried anti-Chinese sentiments, but the news of the hate-crimes in the US really sparked things down here. Chinese people have lived and travelled in Australian waters and on land longer than the majority of the Australian population has. Honestly, I hope the next PM can grow some balls (whether they are male or not) and leave the US behind, because we're going to strung along into another war if we stay being pals with them. I mean, shit, Taiwan just declared war today with the CCP, so it's not going to be much longer until something happens, surely!

[@juststeve5542]

As a Brit, the American spectrum amuses me no end. Even our most right wing main-stream party, the Conservatives, would probably be at risk of a McCarthy investigation in the USA! The fact that being accused of being a liberal is taken as an insult in USA speaks volumes!

[@davidulanovsky8943]

Steve Evans Any leftist would agree that being called a liberal is an insult.

[@Koppu1doragon]

As an American that pays attention to your politics. You gotta licence for that opinion?

[@achubbs8641]

@@Koppu1doragon funny

[@Amusia727]

@@Koppu1doragon cOMeDY gOlD

[@Ledabot]

I don't think it's much better in the UK. Your labour boss just got outed by the most capitalist rat type ever born.

[@user-yb7kk8pj7p]

love when they call biden a radical leftist😂😂

[@chancerbox1935]

"Biden is a radical leftist that wants to turn the United States into a socialist country!" Man, I wish.

[@francoisdollfuss1935]

Even Trump is a radical leftist, he doesn't hate the poor and the disabled.

[@laytonjr6601]

@@francoisdollfuss1935 He does hate them tho?

[@francoisdollfuss1935]

@@laytonjr6601 You do not know the true meaning of "hate" if you think so.

[@fanny2081]

Trump is basically Viktor Orban or polands Pis (right and justice)

[@MegaMGstudios]

Got 2 years of political science in high school, this 7 minute video explained way more clearly what the political compass is

[@katsisvi8097]

High school poli sci is fucking stupid since they don’t trust high schoolers to understand and register their own opinions, they just tell them what to believe and what is inherently “correct” (at least in my experience). They don’t go into any detail about important theories or sub categories of economical and political belief, it’s very surface level. Hopefully, if you’re interested in the subject, you can take a few classes in college/uni. Much more information there

[@leehayward8609]

This really is an important issue which more people need to be aware of. Crazy to think that the American left vs right debacle is really just right vs right. This skewed perception is detrimental to a healthy political realm.

[@bmwm5324]

3:22 1900s: race mixing is communism 2000s: social distancing is communism 2100s: *_LAW IS COMMUNISM_* Edit: wow 2000 people agree with me Ur all 100% intellectuals

[@nguyenitwindows392]

Law is communism... ANARCHO-CAPITALISM INTENSIFIES

[@funny.gon-12]

Idk I'm white and I honestly dont see the benefits I have .

[@stanwinslow1068]

@@nguyenitwindows392 I was just about to say that. For a law to exist there has to be an acceptance by the community that it governs to fallow it other wise it is just a threat...or a suggestion.

[@funny.gon-12]

🤮

[@anrick1362]

Commie bad

[@WLDB]

It is insane. Here the Democrats would be considered pretty conservative.

[@mhk6943]

They certainly are when comparing to the UK or even Europe as a whole in general. It feels so wrong when Bernie Sanders is literally thought of as a Communist by some Americans when his political philosophy is more aligned to the Centre-Left and even the Centre politics of Europe. Heck, even almost all, if not then all the Far Right groups in Europe support the Welfare State meaning that some Americans would see them as leftist for their Economic perspective. I doubt even Sanders himself know what he's saying as he frequently calls himself a Socialist when he doesn't support widespread Nationalisation outside of Healthcare.

[@nevanmasterson46]

@@mhk6943 sanders is a social democrat, not a democratic socialist. there's quite the difference between the two and he's demonstrated in some notable speeches that he's more than aware of said difference. social democrats are more about nationalisation of services such as transport, healthcare, education, etc. while democratic socialism is nationalisation of a lot more than just services, to put it very bluntly. there are more differences between the two, of course, but i'll admit this is just about the limit of my knowledge.

[@benjamincarter6095]

Yeah, disagree with this. If you map politicians the way described in the video, then there is an entire section missing to the fat right off the map that isn't shown.

[@deithlan]

Today’s most far-right french candidate for presidency is Le Pen. She is considered to be further ON THE LEFT than OBAMA. Imagine living in a country where your most leftist president is more on the right than the most rightist president of France.

[@leonmuller8475]

MHK I live in Germany and compared to our system the democrats are left. The democrats support abortions till birth in most cases, are for accepting tens of genders, and all the other LGBTQ policies. These policies are only supported by our left and far left parties. So no democrats are not centrists in Europe as a whole.

[@eiteiei4063]

As a friend of mine likes to say, "The problem with society is the people in it"

[@jmca_power]

Conservatives be like: "Communism is when I don't have a actual argument against a societal issue and I think an economic system I don't Understand is an insult"

[@captaincapitalis1205]

As a conservative that is a fair point. I get pissed when people say it over minor things cause it lessens the impact the word should have. Same way some are called nazis for being right leaning. Strawmaning is just painful

[@madprole5361]

As a communist in the US, I get this illiterate nonsense from both sides. Granted, I get alot more conservatives calling me a liberal socialist, but I get more than one would expect from liberals doing the same thing. I've been accused of being a conservative and republican communist and have had libs tell me that Trump was a communist. Capitalists are just generally illiterate, tbh. The ones who are not illiterate tend to either be sociopaths or psychopaths.

[@madprole5361]

@@captaincapitalis1205 tbf, it's just faster to say Nazi or fascist than racist neo liberal imperialists. Socially speaking, capitalist right wingers have more in common with the Nazis, but economically more in common with Italian fascism. Economically speaking, the dems have more in common with the Nazis. The Nazis and capitalist German social democratic party teamed up to murder socialists and share ideas. German Nazism and Italian fascism both inspired and inspired by the US and British white supremacist capitalist empires. Hitler loved our racial laws and white supremacist military/police and Mussolini got really into Hayek and US corporatism. The US then got inspired by Hitlers highways and some social programs.

[@RobairtO-Dhoilingta-n16420]

​@@captaincapitalis1205We need more intelligent and educated conservatives

[@RockSmithStudio]

I tell my friends all the time that if the US Democratic Party were in most Europe nations, they'd be considered the political right party

[@ephraimboateng5239]

Yup in Canada too.

[@bob-2169]

Yes, even the conservatives in the UK wouldn't think of outwardly proposing privatising the NHS but yet the Democratic party seems to be happy with a private insurance based healthcare system

[@chrisb9996]

@@bob-2169 Not really. Democrats either support a public option or medicare for all.

[@avinashreji60]

Chris B That’s the base, not the party

[@ianmohr4031]

@@avinashreji60 the party follows the base even if it takes a few years (and all of the politcians support at least a public option)

[@ryguy7988]

“The United States is also a one party state but, with typical American extravagance, they have two of them “ -Julius Nyerere

[@angquangnguyenthac2833]

@Audie Lennemann It just means the illusion of choice is real tho...

[@andalilbitqueer]

@Audie Lennemann and yet he still needs the support of the democrats to succeed.

[@latjolajban81]

@Audie Lennemann Which sounds very much like North Korea actually. North Korea also has many different parties, even though they don't hold much or any influence. Be real. Democrats and Republicans really push the same economic policies. They fight over abortion and perhaps how much of an increase the military will get and whatever "flashfire" culture issue is the hot topic of the day. Be it statues, "believing women", legacy of the confederacy and so on.

[@Ace-uc5cj]

Fredrik Herre Your very wrong man, your very wrong. Democrats and Republicans are very different, lmfao 😂😂😂

[@BeautifulEarthJa]

@@Ace-uc5cj how so?

[@chronicallyboredenby]

Interesting fact: there was a survey done in Canada, which polled members of each policies like party and asked them who they would vote for in the United States. 58% of conservatives said they would vote Democrat, and all the other ones were in the 90%. This means that Canada’s Conservative party is closer in policy to the Democratic Party than the Republican Party.

[@haveabanana2930]

This needs to be shared by every single person in the US! 👍

[@righteousforest5538]

See, this is why I supported Sanders. He was the most viable candidate that even came CLOSE to meeting what I consider the bare minimum requirements.

[@MrHistory269]

exactly unfortunately the country isn’t ready yet still to many trumptards

[@Matt-ww9wv]

@@whannabi No, Sanders definitely wasn't and had some genuinely great ideas. Biden is better than Trump and it's still a significant difference on certain topics. Merely having a Democratic president promotes pressure for Biden to actually address real problems like climate change, healthcare in America, or student loans - which Biden at least has plans to address whereas Trump literally has nothing. In actuality, Trump makes each of those problems actively worse.

[@FlannGames]

@Volf Khat "guys I know you wanted change but let's just vote for someone who won't win"

[@FlannGames]

@trufiend138 that's just not true

[@Matt-ww9wv]

@Lorenzo Stewart Actually, it's impossible for even the market if regulated heavily to reach below 2C by 2100, even with substantial carbon taxes. That's important because at 2C we introduce the risk of a Hot House Earth effect which in totality could result in the Earth only being capable of sustaining 1 billion humans at our current resource expenditure. What is the "people" by your interpretation? Whether you like it or not, people only have rights due to a governmental covenant they have with one another. A democracy is supposed to be representative of the people. It's absolutely fine to believe America isn't a democracy, however. I don't believe it currently is one. Also, there was no meaningful incentive until recently for companies to go green. The only reason why is due to massive governmental subsidies into alternative means of energy along with environmental regulations against pollution - which fossil fuel lobbyists aim to minimize. Such funding towards innovation has made renewable sources cheaper but also the cost for obtaining our current sources of energy increases, especially if neoliberalism actually begins to make companies pay for the damage they cause to the environment which in turn ultimately promotes negative health effects resulting in currently hundreds of thousands of people already dying annually to climate change. I apologize but I can safely presume you're emotionally manipulated into acting against your own best interests based on the simplification you've said here. Please acknowledge you know little on what is ideal regulation for the energy and environmental requirements of our future due to climate change so you may try to improve from your current understanding of suggesting zero governmental influence. I'm not sure what media propaganda you consume, but I can safely assume it's brainwashing you into privatized interests of deregulation if you have this simplistic of an understanding on the topic. I can recommend better media outlets if you have an open mind beyond simply concluding government = bad. Don't worry, I think the government is bad too but that's not inherently true to some asinine degree. And I say that as a person that respects anarchism as promoted by Noam Chomsky, whom I'd recommend anyone learn from as he's perhaps the most intelligent political commentator alive. Other commentators that may reasonate better with you may be Jimmy Door or perhaps Kyle Kulinski. I recommend you listen to their perspective to consider more ideas. Still, I can sympathize with any perspective that wants less government, just as Chomsky ultimately does. However, that regulation is simply not sustainable by our current hegemony as a weaker government only implies a stronger means of corporate domination over said democracies. That ultimately promises plutocracy, which is already fairly dominant in America as 90% of media is owned by 5 companies with what are thought of as the most professional news networks being owned by AT&T, Comcast, and Murdoch. When you live in such a hierarchical world due to wealth inequality, it's only natural for the masses to be brainwashed to support its dominance over all aspects of their lives rather than retain any sense of stability a democracy provides. Anyway, I hope some of this has been helpful. At the very least, please don't be a cuck for corporations. It's really irrational. Corporations are naturally emotionless enterprises that have no desire other than to maximize profit within the regulatory means available to them. They're benign. Such enterprises are completely compatible throughout history with slavery, genocide, or any means of propaganda which promotes more profit for themselves. It's very important to the stability of democracy for people to understand the only purpose of companies given such a trajectory towards plutocracy is currently happening. Companies in of themselves are an incredibly hierarchical structures that require ethical regulation by a government to maintain any sense of stability. America's problem isn't government is bad or that corporations don't have enough power already. America's problem is a lack of ethical regulation due to corruption funded essentially from corporations weaponizing the freedoms of the democracy against itself.

[@flybeep1661]

I'm Western Euorpean and left leaning. I took the test and was in the middle of the left lower quadrant. Where I live I would be considered very moderate left. I would never fit in the US politically. You guys have some serious crazy ideas and opinions.

[@RuthCuadrado]

Fly Beep Living here as a moderate leftist has been an adventure for me!

[@DaydreamKitten]

JC1985 are you an anarchist too?

[@tysparks598]

Ain't that the Truth

[@ShredderZXTF2]

You are an idiot if you think the United States is more authoritarian than Western Europe.

[@carlosdumbratzen6332]

@@ShredderZXTF2 they dont argue about the states themselves. They argue about tolerance in public discurse. And tbf if we look at the options in elections there seems to be the same problem here as in the US: labour is periodically gutted for neoliberals in the UK, the alternative to the right in france is a neoliberal and the SPD in Germany got completely absorbed by the conservatives, but in doing so they had to drop cultural positions they hold for years. And if you look to the south, there were some genuine leftist movements in greece or spain for example. The array of public opinion is much wider.

[@edsova5089]

John Anderson: "Mr. Reagen, increasing our millitary spending, lowering taxes, and decreasing the size of our government are not all possible at once."

[@fanbuoy9234]

I'm not a Reagan fan, but surely it is possible? As long as you decrease government spending (outside of the military) enough to offset the extra spending on the military and the reduced income from taxes, that equation works just fine. Whether that's sound policy is another debate :)

[@bobkrazynski2205]

@@mrmrt7535 unless you are privatising the whole military it is an oxymoron (like reagan) as the military is a branch of government

[@findmestudios]

Damn you Second Thought! I want to start a KZbin channel and you've covered almost every topic I wanted to do 🤣 well done sir! Great content.

[@xxsknnylgndx1357]

Bernie sanders is one of the closest thing to a moderate candidate America’s ever had and he’s considered an extremist lmfao

[@monkeychezboy]

this is literaly the most smooth brained thing Ive ever heard

[@TheKalihiMan]

When the overwhelming majority of your politicians are different shades of hyper-capitalist, anyone espousing anything to the left of “maybe people should have things” is viewed as a Bolshevist vanguard.

[@CC-kj4yc]

That's the dumbest statement I've read on this video. Good job.

[@blink-reveluv-my6875]

ll you stating that something is dumb doesn’t make it dumb 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@CC-kj4yc]

@@blink-reveluv-my6875 Saying Sanders is the closet thing to a moderate America has shows you know nothing about American politics lmao

[@dhv2852]

As a radical Neo- Eco- Anarcho- post- social-Capitalist National Accelericionist (with Chinese characteristics), I often feel misrepresented in politics, so thank you for this video

[@Carlos7Matute]

I think I found my new religion.

[@nguyenitwindows392]

@@Carlos7Matute Join the Anti-Centrist movement

[@dhv2852]

@@Carlos7Matute here's our spiritual leader: kzbin.info

[@stealingfire5036]

-what actual far-lefties sound like. 👌

[@dhv2852]

@@stealingfire5036 every extreme is on the same team

[@ArtOnArms]

- "Let's start with a tool we're probably all familiar with" - Shows Trump

[@istankimjong-unbutcantstan3398]

He mispronounced "fool".

[@aAtom596]

Finally, someone who cites proper sources like r/politicalcompassmemes

[@tobiaskunst8488]

I will get my popcorn ready, controversial comments incoming.

[@Negasuki]

I DISAGREE!!! You gotta get nachos!! D:

[@lazergurka-smerlin6561]

I like sugar on my popcorn

[@tobiaskunst8488]

@@Negasuki But the real question is: Cheese or Salsa?

[@dididogster9994]

I’m really feeling fish and chips right now but everything is closed

[@devlinmcguire7543]

Joke's on you, there aren't any. Ironically...

[@pointless7014]

Its tough being an Anarcho-Monarchist these days...

[@kluhnahgoh5911]

Bruh

[@ziggytheassassin5835]

you think you have it bad? I'm an anarcho nazbol :/

[@angelbarajas9180]

Jreg?

[@Hyperventilacion]

Dude, don't even start, I'm an anarcho-analbeadist

[@fandomguy8025]

So you dislike the state but like a kingdom?

[@Timbotao]

@Second Thought, you should do a comparison of other countries on this same scale, so Americans can see where they fit in the World (hello from Australia!)

[@sirsmiles1915]

He should avoid France, we have like 300 or more political parties, including socialists, communists, republicans, royalists (yes, really) and more

[@Silverhawk100]

@@sirsmiles1915 Aren't all of France's royals dead? If they get their way, would they have to invent a new monarchy? Or do they have Louis XIV's great great great grandnephew waiting in the wings?

[@sirsmiles1915]

@@Silverhawk100 no no, there are still members of the royal family alive, thought I doubt they'd want to be in power As far as I know, there are 2 royalist parties that would place a Orléans in power, the third is unspecified which person would be king and the last and 4th one, I have practically no info on it apart from it's existence (it's Wikipedia page doesn't exist)

[@Silverhawk100]

I'm almost disappointed they don't want a Bonaparte on the throne.

[@sirsmiles1915]

@@Silverhawk100 well, Napoléon was emperor, not King, so an imperialist party would make more sense rather than royalist

[@Samantha-jv6xu]

*"The US is a 1 party state. But with typical american extravagance, they have 2 of them"* -Julius Nyerere

[@thewhitelynx8492]

Here in Sweden, we don't even have a legal minimum wage, because most of the working class is in unions.

[@cakeisyummy5755]

The nordic countries, Italy, and Austria don't have a legal minimum wage either.

[@theprinceofawesomeness]

True, not legaly by any ofgicial law writen down but the Union enforcess what is essentialy a minimum wage

[@johnromero6315]

If you try to unionize in the US you'd better be prepared for unemployment unless there's already an established union in your workplace. These companies will do anything they can to get rid of you the instant they hear that you want to unionize. Hell, my first couple of jobs all had mandatory "training" that boiled down to "if you join a union, it'll make things worse for everyone, especially you." And that, along with our government's lack of concern, is why $7.25/hour is our federal minimum wage still. And $7.25 an hour, objectively, isn't even worth the time, regardless of what kind of job you work.

[@gezi5927]

heaven

[@junct]

In the US, people would say immediately, "workers union? That's not good for business. Sounds like communism!" In the US, a lot of company even requires employee to attend hour-long meetings to hear anti-union consultants. It's basically propaganda

[@hellboy6507]

If you’ve ever read the manifestos of the two parties, what you’ll find is that the only thing they officially disagree on is the max income tax (Republicans want a slightly lower income tax) and abortion. That’s literally it.

[@danielhyman3396]

Paid sick leave, minimum wage, climate change, gun policy among others.

[@theloneyoutuber9585]

@@miroslavhoudek7085 There are already background checks on buying guns? Have you ever bought a gun before? Its not the same as buying a toaster lol, the democrats' end goal is to propose and pass an outright gun ban, or super heavy restrictions which dont work. Many have cited canada's strict gun laws and regulations... but they just recently had their largest shooting in YEARS...

[@ianhomerpura8937]

@@theloneyoutuber9585 that is the point. Better to lessen any chances of having shootings, than having those on an almost daily basis.

[@theloneyoutuber9585]

@@ianhomerpura8937 Removing guns from law abiding citizens would increase the amount of shootings, if youre gonna commit a crime you arent gonna follow the law.. Imagine if there was no murder, if only we banned murder... *sigh*

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

@@headphonejack6831 The Manifesto of Democrats and Republicans. Not Liberals vs Everyone Else (Conservatives.)

[@bt3743]

Holy shit i found the one person who actually knows that socialism means worker ownership and control of buisness

[@Kerosiin]

“Damn commies” The commies in question : “hey wouldn’t it be cool if we weren’t so authoritarian?”

[@istankimjong-unbutcantstan3398]

I used to be a "commie" but Comet kept scratching up everything and now I just use soft scrub products or Windex.

[@99wattr89]

The US system isn't just limited to one side of the compass, but to a single quadrant. It's scary how constrained political thought has become.

[@om6035]

99wattr89 the best economic system in the world is the islamic one read about it. Read about it youll be shocked

[@LuisBrito-ly1ko]

99wattr89 If you didn’t notice, those were the current candidates, not the whole history... that’s not a system dude.

[@tzaphkielconficturus7136]

@@LuisBrito-ly1ko More to the point, there was little indication of how these people were placed on this spectrum, aside from their voting records being paced in some kind of political compass test. If nothing else, this is survivorship bias, as they can only vote on bills that have been proposed, and most bills that are proposed are quite complex, with many congressmen trying to shove various tangentially related or unrelated content into the bill. on top of this, the video gives no indication of what test was used, or how the voting records were converted to positions on the graph. He provides three different quizzes, of which he is presumably using the first, but in that case, the test is answered based on political position, not congrssional voting record. Second Thought has made a claim, and been entirely unwilling to provide any evidence to support this claim.

[@joebloe4461]

That is correct, but the wrong quadrant is used in the video. America has no authoritarian politicians, they are all libertarian capitalist, even Bernie, who is slightly more to the economic left. That would be the bottom right sector. H1tler was indeed a socialist, but not a communist. These "right wingers" who call H1tler a leftist, are leftist capitalists themselves. Socialism has nothing to do with being anti war, just look at all the wars started by the USSR, and Fasc1st states. Authoritarianism vs libertarianism is also confused with social issues in this video, what if a dictator forced people into same sex marriages, and brought in millions of immigrants against the peoples will? That would be a liberal authoritarian. To sum it up, That square is incomplete, as politics is more of a cube with three dimensions, being economics, cultural/social stance, and governance style (authoritarian vs libertarian). Monarchy is economic and social right, and authoritarian. Fasc1sm is social right, authoritarian, and economic left. America (all parties and politicians) is economic right, libertarian, and social left. Stalinism is economic left, authoritarian, and social centrist ,maybe leaning more to the left. Just trying to clarify.

[@tzaphkielconficturus7136]

@@joebloe4461 Well, he does address that his two dimensional political compass is an extreme simplification, but at least a useful one. I'll be honest, I'm not terribly well versed on what constitutes right or left in an economic or social sense, at least outside of what people on either side of america will claim or do, but more concerned with the validity of the experiment itself. While I'm here, though, as you understand it, what constitutes economic right and left, and why would you argue that fascism is economic left?

[@eliasjakob3358]

As a German i have to admit you are speaking my thoughts out loud.

[@ntdscherer]

Just a minor English tip, that would be "speaking my thoughts out loud".

[@Edmonton-of2ec]

German is kind of stunted towards the left tbh. Not as bad as say America or Canada, but like..... Have you every seen a German show patriotism outside of a soccer game without being called a Nazi?

[@Driftwave_Beats]

@@Edmonton-of2ecIsn't this an example for beeing stunted to the right? At least in Germany we see patriotism as a more right concept. But also many people here, including myself, consider beeing proud of your country a rather stupid thing. Yes, we have a quite high standard of living, we try to improve the county (even if that leads to a wide variety of decisions) and we have some unique cultural aspects but thats the case in every country around us. There is just nothing that special about that country and even if it was the absolute best country in the world I was just randomly born here. There was nothing I had to achieve to make the country great or to get the right to live here.

[@lordkekz4]

​@@Edmonton-of2ec Also German here. Due to history it really is a problem. Showing patriotism can be misunderstood both ways. Either, you can be called a Nazi without being one, but those who would deserve that pretend they're just trying to show patriotism. Now, of course the party I'm primarily talking about (AFD) would still pretend to be a civic conservative party. Another reason for less patriotism is that schools generally do not promote the national identity nearly as much as in the US. For example: AFAIK in the US you sing the national anthem in the morning when school starts? We don't do anything like that in Germany. Also mandatory military service is suspended, which I think is a great thing, but it also leads to a slightly weaker national identity.

[@user-zy2bp2te8x]

@@lordkekz4 Jesus you sing the anthem every day ? Im from greece and that seems a little strange

[@devinmcmanus]

Great video and the quizzes are also insightful. It'd be nice if more people took a look at what they value and align that with how they vote. I guess I'm a dreamer.

[@wolfiesmith7674]

Wow, subbed, been looking for a decent channel for um... about 4 years.... glad I found you 👍

[@alejandroojeda1572]

In spain we have a saying: America has two parties: right and....more right

[@mathisr.44]

You guys aren't wrong

[@hs5312]

Neither party is right wing, both parties raise spending, recent republican president have never cut spending, push for more immigration, both parties support the welfare state and both parties support big government

[@hektur6770]

@@hs5312 The government supports big government, Republicans most definitely don't push for immigration, and I got nothing for never cutting spending cuz it's true

[@a.n.l.aantineoliberalismas4504]

So true

[@c.smidgeon2847]

@@hs5312 Ah yes, another galaxy brain who thinks that leftism is when the government does stuff and rightism (??? that sounds really awkward and bad) is when government doesn't do stuff You are right, the Republicans often raise spending. The key is that they raise spending where it will profit the people who own them (This is the same for the Democrats, by and large, with a few notable exceptions), such as military spending, subsidies for large corporations, etc. They cut spending like crazy for things that don't benefit the people that own them. They have slashed housing programs, public transit, government health care, and a vast array of other things. A leftist would say "OK, we can do big government projects, but we have to spend the money in such a way that the American people as a whole will benefit, not just a few wealthy people." This can manifest in things like universal health care, government housing programs, food programs, etc. That's the opposite of what republican (and to be fair, most democratic) presidents do.

[@cainikmaster6553]

Just going to throw in here, if anyone wants to make an argument about how USA is a world power and stronger than anyone, then dont attribute it to its politics. USA is situated on a big, massively resourceful continent. It has only 2 neighbors, both weak and friendly and it is protected by huge oceans. It is and was always near impossible to destroy them from the outside. This bubble of safety allowed them to grow and do whatever they wanted without any fear. THIS is one of the biggest reasons they are so strong and rich, NOT because of their political situation.

[@urwifuistrash]

Let’s look at the other side of the coin: the Soviet Union. Oh, why were former Soviet states so poor and crumby just following the USSR’s collapse? Take its political successor and largest republic, Russia. It’s huge, has an abundance of resources, had half of Europe under its heel, producing everything economically at the behest of Russia, it was a world super power. Russia doesn’t share the same secure borders as the US; however, their hadn’t been an invasion there since WW2. Other countries totally devastated by WW2 went through economic miracles and quickly got back on their feet. Even the losers did, west Germany, Italy, and Japan, all capitalist puppet states following the war, went through wonderful economic miracles. However, why did the Soviet Union stagnate and economically collapse when its position to recover was far greater? Perhaps the political system has something to do with a nation’s success. One final example: the lively political scene of the early Roman Republic vs the stagnant apathy of the late Roman Empire.

[@sentryion3106]

Smug Anime Face uhh no, the Roman republic flopped hard when might military commanders get so much fame they became more powerful than the senate. the senate was also becoming quite elitist and was already transforming to hereditary artisocrats (i.e. the people have little say). In a way the republic was destined to fail as the empire grew. Also the peak of the Roman Empire occurred during the time of the Emperors, not the Republic. Rome flopped because they don’t have n inifinite pool of talent in their royal families among many economic threat that existed since its expansion. The civil war exposes the economic weakness and that’s why west Rome fell. East Rome lasted for another 1000 years, way longer than the republic.

[@kneesnap1041]

I don't get it. Being situated next to Mexico / Canada is a political thing. There's literally a term for it, geopolitics. Furthermore, the US is a superpower in no small part to WW2, which was certainly a political event. It set the US up to lead the world in most fronts, and what we did was we helped other countries rebuild and turn into thriving countries. It's ALL about the politics, because politics affects such a huge variety of things, whether you realize it or not.

[@cainikmaster6553]

@@kneesnap1041 I get what you mean. I might have been too unclear, when i said "politics" i mostly meant their internal politics. Geopolitics is USAs biggest strength. Remember too, that one of the reasons USA was able to profit off WW2 and other wars so much is that they are so far away from all the conflicts that noone can do any serious damage to them. Their success in WW2 is also attributed to geography/geopolitics.

[@jakemitchell7786]

@@kneesnap1041 And during that time they were led by FDR, arguably the last truly left wing President America has ever had.

[@Joseph.A.J.C.Etheridge]

What's really funny is how he points out that most people only focus on the left to right part of the compass and then he literally only comments on the left to right and doesn't even mention how there's only like 4 people below the center line

[@DeosPraetorian]

And

[@najrenchelf2751]

Sir, you have earned yourself a new sub! 👏👏👏👏

[@dannym7026]

Second Thought getting radicalized in 2020 is making this year worth living in, tbh

[@SecondThought]

It’s been a few years, but I finally snapped and decided to make leftist content 😅

[@JohnDoe-dg1dl]

@@SecondThought Good on you :) I look forward to seeing the other videos that you put out on it. Keep it up

[@giantfrigginnerd]

@@SecondThought Honestly it seems this Virus has done more to ignite class conscious thought than any leftist movement for the last 20 years. It was Lenin who said there are some decades where nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen. :')

[@salokin3087]

@@SecondThought the you did a pretty poor job, the poltical compass has been throughly debunked as a legitmate metric

[@angusmcnay5449]

@@salokin3087 you mean like he says in the video? Ooh, you got him.

[@mghq-mobilegamerzhq2533]

The ignorance in America is beyond huge.

[@riglancer5473]

@potxman007 ?

[@emilyschwartz9536]

You'd be surprised how many ignorant people there are in every country. Americans only get put on the spot because, like it or not, global culture is pretty much influenced by the Americans nowadays.

[@latenightthinker4737]

*yuge

[@jackfarns6448]

Well the only reason you guys have such a great (not really) political spectrum is cuz of America. Also because we like to make money doesn’t make us ignorant so if anything you are ignorant. 🤦‍♂️

[@mghq-mobilegamerzhq2533]

@@jackfarns6448 America has one of the worst political spectrum.

[@Amy0Ame1]

Thank you for this, when talking with people from the US I am often taken aback because of how terms are used... Now I know to provide clear definitions instead of using the terms ^^

[@AmScEn]

Kudos for another great video.

[@HumanTypewriter]

The most right-wing party in Norway (my home) would be considered radical left in America.

[@LeonWagg]

Yeah, I also bet my Chancellor Merkel would be considered a communist in the US lmao.

[@giuliom3564]

Do you mean the progress party? I guess they are contradictory

[@sirsteam181]

And the most left party in America would be considered far right. Point being Politics is subjective depending on where you live.

[@HumanTypewriter]

@@sirsteam181 Not really. There is an international spectrum and Americans are mostly centrist but their politicians are far right.

[@sirsteam181]

@@HumanTypewriter True.

[@acornstorm6046]

This clears up a lot of things in my head about why America is the way it is

[@dleet86]

Fracked up?

[@Acidfrog475]

@@dleet86 yes

[@FireJach]

Bad education

[@TryptychUK]

There are three ideologies in the US. Right wing, Ultra right wing, and Trump.

[@MemesnShet]

The fact that they took THEIR ACTIONS and not their words to put them in the political spectrum it's so good

[@ceoofwalls6751]

Government does anything People: is that communism I hear

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

@@nickarjoma5350 I get how Bernie Sanders is farther to the left personally it is definitely true he is severely limited in what policies he can vote on or what he can call for. But how is american politics not so far limited to the authoritarian right? I am deep into being Libertarian Socialist, I aim for everything from the forced abolishment of privately owned businesses to socializing services like Health Insurance and Education. Where is my representation in the u.s. Or on the upper end where is the representation of people wanting a state that plans and controls the marketplace for Authoritarian leftism? And of course the last group who ngl when I encounter them they are just people who don't realise they are calling for a world where Walmart can hire a private militia that also endorses freedoms like gay marriage, also known as the Libertarian Right? Where is the political thought not limited in the u.s. when the Green Party, american Communist party, and Libertarian Party are so under-represented. And yes I do realize these are loaded questions.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

​@Dan Groom Ronald Reagan literally did more damage to the global economy than any president before him and most after him. He was the dipsh*t that put forward the concept of the Laffer Curve and wages immediately stagnated upon him entering office.

[@randonlando418]

Nick Arjomand You mean by objectively looking at what both parties tend to support, while also comparing them to traditionally right/left-leaning politics and then making an educated conclusion?

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

@Tats There are a long list of historical reasons behind the miniscule representation in political thought. We can go over the entire history of Leftist oppression in the u.s. ranging from Pinkertons publicly beating the crap out of Union Leaders. Targeted hate campaigns against Socialists like MLK Jr and then eventually erasure of him being a Socialist from history books. The Red Scare movement lead to a mass-shutdown of Marxist economic theory and moved the Overton window so that it would be literally suicidal for a candidate to talk about Socialist policy. Even after that we are now in a state where the biggest financial backers of politicians are from Oil barons, the private health insurance industry, and Sugar/corn lobbies are also massive. Meaning candidates are pushed or threatened into maintaining and pushing for their values. By all standards Leftists historically were victims. Even right now Leftist protestors are being mislabelled as Antifa and gunned down by state and federal officers while being complimented by trump. Conservatives have barely ever had to deal with jack sh*t in this country in comparison. Yet the Left keeps pushing onward, we have been winning the cultural battle and given time we will keep pulling the overton window farther left. And mind you those are all just for Libertarian left movements. That isn't discussing Libertarian Right or Authoritarian Left. And candidates like Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Justice Democrats have been gaining in power but are at a huge disadvantage based on how they fund their programs. According to surveys and Data their Libertarian Left platforms and policy ideals have a lot of support, those policies have just never been up for discussion due to those factors I mentioned. And also this disregards the political fields and thought that our peers occupy. You don't see the E.U. or Canada only having politicians in the same box we do.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

@Tats There is literally no point in me debating you further, you just gave the same speech my grandfather gave me when I tried to discuss different healthcare systems. You also just strongly implied if not outright stated that Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Justice Democrats are Communist enemies of the country showing a complete disregard of their positions, history, current theory, and what people support. But I will point something out from your comment: You believe public schools as well as colleges and universities agree with Leftists and progressives. If you then want to argue against those groups you better be ready to argue against science and education itself. I am sorry to say this but facts don't care about your feelings and you honestly have a misunderstanding on what values our country was founded on. The claims you are making are spitting in the face of Enlightenment-era thought which is what the Constitution (despite its issues) was written based on.

[@declan8577]

"the land of the free" yet almost every politician falls in the authoritarian side of the spectrum

[@Thor.Jorgensen]

And when you arrive at anarcho-capitalism, it's still not free, as it dissolves into monopolies and aristocracies of wealth makes right. Check out the Cyberpunk universe for an accurate depiction of what that world would look like. It's a dystopia.

[@atomisedman6235]

@@Thor.Jorgensen There's nothing anarchist about that meme of an ideology.

[@goat6354]

@@atomisedman6235 ?

[@matteste]

@@Thor.Jorgensen Don't the American's already live in such a world? Just without the fancy gadgets.

[@aguspuig6615]

i mean that chart he showed at the beggining of a video is fake af, trump is literally at the top right corner right where hitler would be, now compare those two and tell me... yeah the problem is that, yes most american politics fall on that quarter of the chart, but FAR, FAR closer to the center

[@ytai]

At some point I became intrigued with the curious coincidence that left and right usually tend to end up about 50-50. Then it occurred to me that it's no coincidence: natural selection of the political system would tend to draw each party at close as possible to the median in order to get as many voters as possible. So what we see here is not a reflection of the overall political spectrum of the American voters, but rather a clear indication of where the median lies. Would be interesting to see a chart with where different countries are on this spectrum.

[@kurtkemp2263]

Hey man thanks for your content.

[@eyyy2271]

Please keep these political videos up. You have a large platform, use it effectively!

[@d3athmak3r3]

Good video. I wish you'd have mentioned the role that our first past the post electoral system plays in the two party duopoly, and given an example, like one of a country such as Norway which has a more balanced and robust political spectrum.

[@guillermojarne2803]

Great video, thanks!

[@quilsniv5628]

It surprises me that people label Sanders as a full-out Communist, when they give Tulsi Gabbard the stance of “the only reasonable one”. Now, I love Gabbard, but if you look at that chart in the video, she’s arguably more progressive than Sanders. So is it just that Sanders uses a rhetoric that feels more aggressive than Tulsi, or is it just that Sanders is an easy punching bag? (T. Social Democrat)

[@formerlyknownaseasrob]

Yes, so much of politics especially in this country is more rhetorical/framing as opposed to substantive/policy, which is not good, and has been a point that even some of Sanders’ allies have pointed out (such as Kyle Kulinsky saying for a while he should’ve framed himself as an FDR type candidate…substantively doesn’t mean anything but rhetorically may have done wonders and is something the Biden campaign attempted to take recently, though I’m not sure if it was thanks to someone on his team watching Kulinsky so much as that person on Biden’s team being opportunistic given these times)

[@danielvelasco4003]

Largely because Tulsi uses language that's more agreeable but also focuses on putting her most reasonable stance forwards (non-interventionism, reducing military spending and world presence)

[@SeanCurcio]

Thats why I have a problem with that chart. Biden is nowhere near far right. He has to be Center right with me. Yet, even then I barely agree with Joe. Something is missing.

[@jukebox_heroperson3994]

@@SeanCurcio His brain is what's missing. He's just old, and can't get a point across. And on the OP's point, yes, Sanders is a Communist because he advocates wealth redistribution. As soon as someone believes in that, they are a communist.

[@openlyvaaultist1662]

jukebox_hero person LOL. That last comment of yours gave me a good chuckle me. Bernie Sanders’ ideology is far far far to the right of communism. It’s social democracy, which is an ideology that is advocated for by many successful politicians throughout the world.

[@santiagogarzon5312]

I remember a teacher trying to convince me that the difference between the USSR and the US is that the US was a democracy and the USSR was communist. Those are completely different things. Yes, every communist country in history hasn’t been a democracy but that doesn’t mean communism in of itself is not democratic. The same way that democracy isn’t necessarily capitalist.

[@gwills9337]

Your teacher was wrong. we're a kleptocracy or a republic WAYY before we're a democracy

[@hellboy6507]

The difference is that we don’t have an SR at the end of our country name.

[@iammrbeat]

Two different axes.

[@Iandar1]

A lot of it has to do with people believing in hear say instead of actual research. If you take a look at research papers when the Russian government opened the Soviet archives. For instance we know that Stalin wasn’t a dictator, the deaths by starvation in the USSR are a bi product of trying to rapidly industrialize, the great purge was trying to eliminate industrial sabotage but got out of hand do to radical local (non communist party members) officials who lead the charge due to the army (including the NKVD (precursor to the KGB)) was so small like .2% of the entire population small.

[@clipboss8052]

OK look: I agree that America is DRASTICALLY uneducated in the realm of Political Theory & Philosophy. But Communism was never a realistic system to implement much less a Democratic system. It's much like when people point to Fidel Castro's extraordinary advances in his country's literacy rate. But at what cost? He was still totalitarian and because education was funded by such an Autocratic government, they used this increased literacy rate to indoctrinate young children to be loyal to their nation. You cannot argue the efficiency of any system without discussing the trade off (no matter how good that system (or at least aspect of the system) may be). Before you call right-wing bias from me, I am a Social Democrat. Communism is still an extreme ideology no matter what country it is in. It doesn't matter what was intended from the many bloody Communist Revolutions which occurred a full Century ago. The outcome was almost always catastrophic.

[@rb1054]

Thank you for your work!

[@kosinusify]

My politics teacher once said: America has a far-right leaning and a center-right leaning party. Both are economically libertarian, and their only major disagreement is which guy to put in charge, because they're all so similar.

[@lucyloving1Direction]

it's always been so puzzling to me when I see Americans call Bernie Sanders a radical and a communist for advocating for things such as socialised healthcare when that is the most basic of things in our country and even the most right wing parties support the welfare state. It's like their views on the "left" are so skewed they can't see the whole picture. Where I'm from we view the Democrats policies and ideals as similar to those of our more right wing parties (not even the center right parties).

[@chaosXP3RT]

I'm American and I can't imagine being so dependent on the state to live. That's what's wrong with the welfare state

[@lucyloving1Direction]

@@chaosXP3RT I can't imagine being so disregarded and not having your basic human rights covered by your own government.I guess it's every man for himself where you're from, personally, I'd much rather live in a society that values collectivism and taking care of each other.

[@chaosXP3RT]

@@lucyloving1Direction I agree the government should work for the people, but everyone is in charge of their own destiny. I really don't want to take care of someone else. Taxes are provide things we all use, not raise people imo

[@purplebrick131]

In Germany the welfare state is even engrained in the Constitution, it cannot be abolished, not even by popular vote or referendum, the same applies to federalism and democracy

[@lucyloving1Direction]

@@chaosXP3RT health care is something we all use from the moment we are born, literally, and a healthy population helps everyone in the long run

[@corwin32]

I knew I was a strong lefty, but I was _super_ deep into the Libertarian- collectivism green. My dot was almost trying to escape. Damn.

[@MrHistory269]

Lmao I’m center left

[@larenzdechavez442]

@@MrHistory269 Same, I want to go further left

[@YourLocalAntifascist]

Same

[@sonicrocks2007]

That is why hitler is more left than Hilary, Joe Biden, and Bloomberg. Obama has the nearly the same X value as hitler. ( Not y value) according to political compass. 2 axes sucks, 9 is more accurate. Take the 9 axis.

[@pad9x]

i wish more people understood the concepts in this video 😔

[@koalasquare2145]

Imagine how bad McCarthyism will be in the internet age.

[@rageraptor7127]

Finally someone who explains this well

[@SecondThought]

Glad you liked it!

[@taylormatthews6086]

@@SecondThought I don't understand I took that test and I was not far from burn onless a little tiny bit more wright but that doesn't make sense , maby because it didn't have all the questions like U said, I wish the us was more like Australia but still more rightwing tbh

[@prototypep4]

@@taylormatthews6086 Australia is pretty centrist, though the libs are doing their best to make us a right wing shithole. No thanks.

[@JR7noir]

Jahahahahhahaha

[@sgurlrox67]

I've been loving this recent content! So funny that this pandemic kind of made everyone snap and finally start speaking out against the US' corruption. I know it can be very scary talking politics on social media. I live in Canada, and we're by no means perfect, but we've been watching in horror as everything has unfolded in the US. Wishing everyone safety and financial security.

[@silvanadair4888]

It ain’t that bad here. Don’t trust the news

[@tylerarmstrong8699]

Yeah, not that bad. Pretty smooth recovery so far. The economy is going to struggle until we open back up. Trump closed things down pretty early, so we are definitely better off than a lot of other countries for this.

[@strangestcraze7743]

Umm, if better off you mean 40th in testing per capita and 9th in deaths per capita, then I suppose you are correct. Good gracious. When facts are so blindly visible, some people just turn them away and say "we're doing fine, don't trust the news." What a shame. Millions of Americans still haven't gotten financial aid yet and the only thing Republican politicians are concerned about is their special interests. We are absolutely not fine.

[@postmasters6453]

My eyes read this as, “America’s stuck political speedrun”

[@americangizmopied]

I wish this video was shown in every school in America

[@briseboy]

This quiz is very often given in introductory college US govt. classes to allow students to understand their own individual heuristics arising from their own early experience[s] and conclusions. thank you for bringing it to the broader public! (I took the survey in class almost 20 years ago)

[@LITTLEMUSTANGFILLY]

It’s amazing how polarized we are despite so few differences

[@Mariah203]

I believe it's an illusion that main stream media propagates for ratings and for the benefit of the ruling rich elites. It's old school divide and conquer. If the working class is divided amongst dems and republicans and constantly fighting they'll be too busy fighting each other to realize that they're ultimately being exploited by the rich who the dems and republicans represent.

[@Ak1Lonewolf]

@@Mariah203 that is actually the most sane comment I've read so far in this thread.thing is we see the country so polarized politically because it's what the loud mouth want us to think.if we start looking around us ,peoples have a lot more in common behind the brainwash than we are lead to believe

[@avancalledrupert5130]

You just argue about guns and abortion so much nothing else seems to matter.

[@jacobsawyer1383]

Its a facade

[@GewalfofWivia]

The abhorrent conflict of ideas and constant squabbling aren't a result of enlarged political difference, but the frame of reference that is getting smaller and smaller, and a whole lot of ignorance and misunderstanding stemming from decades of indoctrination.

[@burden9809]

Always relevant very important message.

[@DaZwaehn]

on the compass I'm shaking hands with Ghandy. And his words are backed with Nuclear Weapons. :D

[@turkustreetview1445]

Coming from a Nordic country, I would agree with the chart. Even Sanders isn't a very libertarian leftist by Nordic standards.

[@alexavalencia4369]

@Shaman Shaman Just to play Devil's advocate I mean Bernie only radical Idea or an Idea that seems far fetch and can't possibly be achieved. "Jobs for all" 0 unemployment rate no country has ever achieved that Not Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany Nobody has achieved that. Other than that I agree with Bernie Sanders most of his ideas I don't agree with all-cause agreeing with everything a USA Politician says is well stupid in my opinion.

[@albiontomorrow6354]

Americans when they discover that alot of the "Far-Right" in Europe actually hold Economically left ideals: "What is this communism!"

[@urhsusnikvrecic1478]

do you mean protectionism? that's not a left wing policy, pal

[@Fr_87]

@@urhsusnikvrecic1478 So you just assume he means something and then attack him for daring to probably believe it, that's pretty low IQ

[@nathanflynn6092]

Fr_87 I mean, I get where you’re coming from, but it isn’t an attack

[@Fr_87]

@@nathanflynn6092 I'm not saying it's a "i'm gonna batter you with a pan" kind of attack, there ain't just one kind of attack

[@thegreenscreengeek]

I heard some people consider Fascism authoritarian center-right and hard-right on the cultural axis

[@hampuskullberg9932]

The good thing about broadening your understanding of the political spectrum is that you can see the nuances and therefore can hate on people for what they actually believe in and not just because they don't believe exactly in the same things as you. That gives you A LOT more reasons than just one to hate on people! :D

[@matthings4133]

When he's talking about socialism, every point he made was like : you don't have this in america?

[@Monosekist]

This is why people label me as a leftist when I consider myself a centrist.

[@richmcgee434]

I know the feeling. People don't even know what a moderate is any more.

[@sladikk]

The issue is that we play the Left-Right game too much--it plays right into the authoritarians' hands. What we really need to focus on is the authoritarian-libertarian struggle, as evidenced in the """"Democratic""""" primary

[@cameronburke8002]

I vote for a right wing party in Ireland. I'm apparently a communist by US standards.

[@infoprod7731]

@@richmcgee434 agreed. In Korea, Patriots are usually leftist, so if you are a patriot you are a commie.

[@nocucksinkekistan7321]

Even "right-wingers" in the U.S are left-wing. You're probably a literal marxist.

[@Gamer-uf1kl]

3:23 if that's called communism, i really support it

[@michael3069]

Amen, it's not your social distancing, it's our social distancing.

[@cloudthief8918]

Welcome, comrade.

[@AmateurContendr]

Honestly.

[@joeldvs777]

America needs socialism. When it is freebies and bailouts for corporates it's corporate welfare and it is legal, acceptable and taken for granted. But for citizens its illegal and communism and socialism. Never seen such a twisted society.

[@teridactyl1250]

Ah, a video about American politics. I’m sure the comments section will be perfectly civil and respectful

[@bbcb1856]

Thank you!