The Life Support Left
Between Gary Stevenson and Adolescence, the Left’s ideological deadness is clear.
It should’ve been obvious for a long time the Left is dead. While the pointless legacy media chunter on about the latest policy failure or November’s budget repercussions, few bother to mention the ideology itself has left the building for the great beyond. Of course, left-wing politics should have been put out of its misery a long time ago. The fall of the Berlin War and the USSR should have been the last rites. But thanks to the usual Trojan-horsing of liberalism (third-way, wokism) and the likes of USAID (1), dead ideas hold on for dear life and have been continually astroturfed from above. As I’ve pointed out elsewhere its supporters fall for a list of logical fallacies and are now in full-on sunk-cost mode.
This brings us to the Left’s latest brain fart attempts to stay relevant. Between the emergence of Gary Stevenson (2) and the bizarre attempt to manufacture consent via Netflix’s Adolescence (3), we see the ‘progressive’ ideologue’s desperate attempt to hang onto dear life. Gary’s presence is nothing more than an appeal to Authority (he was a City trader, don’t you know!) and an attempt to bin off woke and return to economic class warfare – a Marxist sunk-cost fallacy. Despite Gary’s credentials, he seems to have zero understanding of the Laffer Curve Pete Watson on X: "Why the Laffer Curve always has the last laugh" / X which is what always destroys leftist economics. Gary trades in symptoms neglecting causes (ballooning welfarism, bailing out banks, quantitative easing, increased taxes, and uncontrolled mass immigration - so mostly the results of leftism).
Then we get the opposite which is the desperate attempt to resuscitate wokism via the education system AKA the ridiculous exposure Adolescence is getting and its policy offshoots - because ‘toxic masculinity’ is the biggest problem facing Britain today if you’re a leftist. Keir Starmer twice referring to the drama as a documentary (3/4) shows how this Labour government is stuck in its own hyperreality. Attempting to re-wire boys (5) will backfire tragically as charted here (1) Pete Watson on X: "The children of the children of the revolution…" / X but it may convince enough people attacks on free speech online are desirable. Even here, Labour is still relying heavily on the idea the public cares about the arts and actors… on the other hand, we see Labour’s comms chief resign (6) a man who most probably understands none of this is landing. The sad truth is there is only one thing keeping the Left alive…
Solutions
…In the UK at least, the only thing keeping the Left alive is the catastrophically bad centre-right. Farage’s mind-bendingly stupid fracas with Rupert Lowe exposed Nige as a campaigner but not a leader; a man who is unable to build a broad church and recognise the philosophical position needed is reclaiming (genuine) progress from progressives as detailed here Pete Watson on X: "Back to the Future – Reclaiming Progress From ‘Progressives’" / X. Farage was not only extraordinarily vindictive in his treatment of Lowe who has been the most effective MP for years, but he is also falling into the Boris trap of wanting to be popular with Guardianistas. Farage is unable to recognise the Left isn’t a movement that should be brought onside, but destroyed with facts and logic like here (2) Pete Watson on X: "The 5 fallacies at the heart of ‘progressivism’" / X – Pandering to these idiots get us nowhere. They are small in number but loud. Ignore them…
Apart from Reform who until a month ago had all the momentum, there’s the Tories who are done as a credible party without a wholesale clear-out of the current PCP based on their record, and the Lib Dems under Ed Davey are a joke. They are a party who under proper leadership attached to classically liberal and democratic values could clean up. Hey ho. The only upside is we have 4 years until the next election – Labour will continue to kill themselves and expose themselves as evil as they did by not having a national inquiry into grooming gangs Pete Watson on X: "The Labour Party 1906-2025: An Obituary" / X, but the credible alternatives need to get their act together to become a party for all Restorers… otherwise the zombie will somehow stay alive.
References:
References:
1) Other governments 'weaponising' Trump language to attack NGOs: rights groups
2) (7) BBC host Fiona Bruce takes issue with Gary Stevenson on Question Time - YouTube
4)
5) Boys’ behaviour is defining issue of our time, says Education Secretary
6) Keir Starmer’s communications chief quits after nine months | Keir Starmer | The Guardian