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@Second Thought ~ since you’re obviously interested and all, standard political models are based upon subjective rhetoric, not objective laws.. where objective laws are applied, political theory instead emulates physics. Understanding accretion and dispersion are key.. You see, there were ancient civilizations that knew what “Co”mm”Uni”sm was before the U.S. founders did, “We the People”, and then Marx. It means we’re dealing with a timeless empirical science of no one’s invention.. When your curiosity gets the better of you. Lmk.. I’ll be around.. ✊🌎✊
"Okay, maybe not the Trot" 😂 Real Left Unity is in hating the Trots! I've heard rumors that the PSL is descended from Trots, and gets their people kettled by police as if on purpose. Can I get some informal input about this?
It's the political equivalent of the Myers-Briggs. It's a fun little personality test on the internet, but people who treat it as prescriptively perfect are ridiculous
“What you think may be totally different from what you actually do.” Nothing truer has been said on RUclips ever. To live according to your beliefs is exceptionally difficult. The vast majority choose to think/speak about things that make them feel superior to others…understandably, we mimic our surroundings, requiring significantly less thinking and work. Just say what we tell you to say is easier.
I agree. It's kind of annoying when people pose an argument against me that is basically like "oh, you bought something. You couldn't possibly hate capitalism then!"
@@Supernimo735 as an ex-vegan i empathise a lot , i really do. but it's actually quite inane, hypocritical, unhealthy and just reality-defying to think that living organisms do not consume other living organisms. people keep cats and it's okay if their cat eats rats or birds or their pet lizard eats maggots or whatever the fuck but god forbid if a human consumes the flesh of another creature for food!!! that being said i want factory farming to stop because it is abhorrent and needlessly cruel.
most people just wanna fucking grill you know? i adore the tenacity and courage of those who fight for a better world for us to live in but at the end of the day, those activities will often give you fines or prison time. it's kind of difficult to have a livelihood while being politically active as well, unless you're entrenched in the system of parliamentary or municipal politics and trying for praxis that route, which is a lot better than what i do (fuckall except trying to spread the word) but still very close to "fuckall".
One thing I'll say about the political compass is that it's better than what came before. A line with 'Democrat' at one end and 'Republican' at the other.
Yeah. Thats no scale at all. Fact is.... In policies, there is almost zero difference between the two. Neither of them will push for ANY kind of reform of legal & justice, prison systems, or police. Neither of them will give people proper healthcare or education. Neither of them will ever reign in the insane military spending, fix poverty, homelessness, nothing at all. There is a reason they are called "Corporate Democrates" Because the Dems are exactly as in love with corporate money as the Republicans. These people go to the same countryclubs to play golf. They are in on the same grifts, scams, and money hustles. THey are extremely opposed in CULTURE, but almost the same in actual policies.
@@akorn9943I kinda don't mind it as "liberal vs conservative" is mostly a culture war and has nothing to do with economic systems. You can very much interpret the "liberal" as being progressive and then be called "very very liberal".
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"
In history class in 2004, we looked at the initialism for the Nazi party from back to front. By our teacher simply commenting on each letter in combination with the one that had come before (while going from back to front, as said). While it's not like we students needed to be told that the Nazis weren't socialists, it still was a great way to make clear within less than a minute, that they were very much not socialists. This would work less well with the English initialism/name for the party, but with the German one, it worked. (Most of us were at least moderately left-leaning 18 and 19-year-olds in Bern, Switzerland.)
To be fair, it's often more so because they think having ,,socialist'' in name makes you a socialist - specifically in this example. Though sadly this sort of thinking is not limited just to the right or people who are not engaged in politics, you'll find plenty people on the left - or atleast they claim to be on the left - who endlessly simp and defend any regime which calls itself communist or socialist, even when nothing they do has anything to do with socialims or communism in the slightest.
Reply to add: Just in general, it's an issue to look at the party's name in English. It's unclear which words belong together or are what kinds of words. The fact that "nationalsozialistische" (national socialist) and "Arbeiterpartei" (worker's party) are compound words - one an adjective, one a noun - is vital. There are ways to misread the name of the party when translated into English.
In Portugal, the most widely distributed political compass ahead of the 2019 election was prepared by the Mises Institute, some of whose members are also a part of Iniciativa Liberal, an extreme free-market party. It was full of loaded statements like "Publicly-owned enterprises should continue to be run by the state, no matter how much money they lose", designed to get even people in favour of an interventionist state to say that they disagree.
That totally makes sense as the whole reason these specific two-axises tests became popular in the first place is because the Libertarian party of the USA wanted to "show" people that their party is not only different from the Democrats and Republicans, but that a lot of people "naturally" fall closer to them ideologically. It is kind of true that a lot of Americans are less authoritarian than Republicans but it was also kinda true that a lot of Americans were (much) further left than the Democrats or the Republicans. The libertarians test "corrected" that unfortunate finding by loading their questions as you demonstrated.
*adjusts tie* "You disagree because you don't want the state to intervene in corporate business. I disagree because I don't want a state. We are not the same."
For anyone interested in Portuguese political parties at the moment (from left to right): -PCP (commies) -BE (a block of diverse left wing parties) -PAN (an animal rights party) -PS (the one currently in power, are social democrats) -PSD (call themselves social democrats, they are center right) -IL (neo liberals) -Chega (the big conservative party, a bit fascistic if you ask me)
And the worse part of the political compass is, that it tries to act as internationally compatible test for all of the world but for people outside the west it might as well be completely useless due to the questions they ask.
@@AholeAtheist I'm from Quebec, and a big political axis here is "sovereignist versus federalist", which has nothing to do with being on the Left or the Right, or being Authoritarian or Libertarian.
@@princevesperalmakes sense. In Europe a lot of it is also pro federation or anti. Some good greens are anti nuclear and Salvini is pro nuclear You have socialists who are also anti vax and proeurope. It's a mixed bay
Especially in the question of "Religion". Religion and Culture are INSANELY different per each places. In the US, religion probably more connotative of "Televangelists" or "Megachurches". In England it might be "The English church". In Iran it would be "The Ayatollah", in most state in Africa, it might mean "Family" or "Tribal Culture". A lot of variable to discuss besides "Your Agreement to religion puts you on Authoritarian and Right wing Side of the Politics". Imagine calling the incredibly egalitarian idea of "Zakat";and "Qurban" of Islam or the Salvation Army as """"right wing"""",
I love how positive and uplifting this is! We socialists are really good at being mad and sad and your channel and this video have such an encouraging energy.
It's not easy, but you have to learn how to emotionally detach yourself from the world's problems. You'll still be able to care about them but it won't be such a burden on you
Wage labor is renting yourself via "self ownership". Employment is literally renting another human being as if they're property. The employer-employee relationship is a very insidious dynamic. Employment is a rental contract, like if you rented capital (say, a chainsaw from Home Depot), you pay rent for the "time preference" (basically the cost of time) for a piece of property. Capitalism is based on a principle of self ownership, which sounds empowering, until you realize that most people don't own enough capital goods to make enough income other than themselves, and must rent out the authority over themselves as pieces of "human capital". This is a process of dehumanization where human beings are valued for their return on investment as capital goods. This is why, at the very least, capitalism needs unions and safety nets (or abolishment), or else the system won't value people for their human value. Importantly we must also think about our sick, elderly, and disabled people, as they can't provide competitive economic return for the investor class to value. We must figure out a way to change this economic system if we wish to value each other.
I'm a fan of capitalism with very strong unions and regulations. Personally, I'm just trying to live a decent life, and I think most people are just trying to do the same. Personally, idc if the grocery store owner makes more than me, but I want that money to come from maintaining an innovative enterprise and not from controlling markets, exploiting workers, and bribing politicians. Ofc, whether this is achievable is up for debate. After all, history has shown that people with tons of capital try to do all those things I mentioned. Although, I do think the best quality of life can be found in countries which use capitalism to efficiently generate resources while using regulation (and in turn strong union) to help reduce some of the negative side effects.
@@monkemode8128 As much as I understand the "push towards Denmark" and I think that it is a preferable situation of capitalism, but it still pushes negative externalities onto developing or undeveloped country. It's not about the jealousy of somebody earning more money than somebody else, it's the power imbalance that creates unfavorable cost-shifting due to the authority of private property and incentives of profitability. Cooperatives that cooperate with other cooperatives allow people to arrange production and distribution in ways that allow for people to take care of each other without the underlying need to maximize profit for a few capitalists. As a Democratic Socialist I am not opposed to social democracy as a form of transitional change that could last a while, but I think eventually we will need to reduce alienation by allowing labor to control capital. Not about jealousy it's about liberation.
I don't think the employer-employee is naturally insidious, it's just naturally insidious under capitalism. Power dynamics will always naturally form under any system.
@@sunphoenix1231 Power imbalances will always form, but the insidious thing about capitalism is the regularity that it creates capital bias even with union bargaining. It biases capital profits over workers, local communities, global communities, and the planet itself.
No one should ever have a "political identity". They should just have political opinions. Opinions can change with more information, grow, become more developed. An identity is a fixed thing where you are desperate to find other people who think like you. This can lead to an echo chamber and groupthink. Accept ideas, challenge ideas, develop ideas, but don't become an ideologue.
I only feel comfortable using the terms “Leftist” or “Anti-Capitalist”. Even those may seem extreme to some but I’ve found they’re much less alienating than Socialist or Marxist. My starting point when engaging in friendly discourse with another from the working class is always “We’re forced to participate in this system”…
I feel as though hiding behind nebulous terms like "Leftist" and "Anti-Capitalist" is just giving in to cold war propaganda and ceding ground to reactionary trains of thought.
Fear is an expression of ones lack of knowledge, thats why the greatest fear is of the unknown and those most fear-monger-y are the least knowledgeable or comfortable in regards to the things they fear.
@@maya07_11and they won't bring up the Holomor unlike they always do when you say Socialism or Communism. The debate ends up becoming a Whataboutism argument. It's more accurate to see Socialism in the lense of the idea of Republics was back in the 1800's (like the French Revolution).
8:25 "Does the creator share their sources?" To add, if they do but those sources are opinion pieces, you still need to be skeptical. For example, The Epoch Times, The Daily Wire, and PragerU are not good sources to reference.
This is so valuable. As an old person, I still feel that it’s important to be involved. I’ve moved so much more left over the years as I’ve educated myself When I was young, the internet was not even a thing. I’ve learned so much. This video is inspiring me to get more involved. Sometimes the problems we have in this world can seem insurmountable and maybe they are. But doesn’t mean there isn’t something you can do or try.
Thanks for suggesting alternatives to books as a viable option. I've always been a reader (and even won those silly awards for it back in school) but after chemo I have a hard time sitting down with a book and have it hold my attention. Things are just different now. There are a LOT of people on the left that snap "READ SOME THEORY!" to every question that has been addressed somewhere in some dusty old book, but I thought that on the left we were into helping those less able to do some things. Much appreciated, man.
Yeah genuine conversations are how we actually build momentum. Even RUclips, Reddit, or Discord is still towards that superficial level where you need to organize unless it's local or if you're at some higher organizational level.
Hakim is a great aggregate of left theory imo. Also Spotify has a bunch of theory in audio form, reading capital with comrades made Das capital much more enjoyable
I really appreciate 2nd thought’s willingness to explicitly decry intellectual smugness and advocate for educational videos to supplement self education, not just hefty daunting literary tomes. If we want to build a true working class movement we need to be accessible and welcoming. Looking down on someone for not diving immediately into dense primary source literature even when they are putting in effort to self educate is gross bourgeois behavior that should be left to the pmc.
Pfft, even the PMC can do better - largely won't, but could. That said - part of accessibility is minimizing the use of jargon. We can get around 'bourgeois' and 'PMC', for ready instance. And while doing so, also avoid condescension - people who aren't all that politically engaged won't have the theory and the vocabulary those of us who are do, but they damn sure will have the same sorts of brains.
Most workers in past socialist movements never read theory, or if they did they read distilled theory. The vast majority of people are unable or unwilling to truly study politics.
@@CarrotConsumer Well - depth varies. 19th century workers were frequently illiterate and texts weren't as cheaply available as now, but unions had readings of works that were not exactly lightweight. But yeah, that distilled theory plays a hugely important role in accessibility. It's not nothing and it should be widely promoted.
I use the political compass in my political sociology class to show students that there is more that "left" and "right" and that the democrats are not even close to as "left" as the republicans say they are. It gets the point across as an introduction but I do tell them that even that chart has major flaws because political thought is very diverse.
Well, I'd say there is politics that benefits a few (based on ancestry, religion, race, gender etc.) and nurtures the exploitation of the rest. That's fascism, it's generally authoritarian, even though it may hide behind a democratic front. And there is politics that try to make life livable for all people. You could call that democracy, humanism, something like that. Of course there may be different ideas or priorities for reaching one goal or the other. But effectively it's always down to the question which general direction you are heading towards.
Man, you have come such a long way and your videos and encouragement is beautiful. Really worthwhile and a solid addition to the ever onward march, thanks for the assistance.
I’m a socialist. I got more of an education by watching one day of content from The Daily Wire, and then researching every claim they made than I did by just watching stuff that’ll feed into my confirmation bias while I become glazed over, and just wallow in my own beliefs being validated. I learned what the opposition claims or believes, how to argue against them, and how to formulate my own positions. But this type of exploration isn’t for everyone. My parents were generally liberal. But after 2016, their conservatism is so mindless, I still haven’t removed the parental block of Fox News.
@@Luke5100 right? I don’t know if we’ll ever find those commonalities. We can all recognize the same problems.: education, billion dollar corporations contributing to campaign finances, bailouts for some of the wealthiest corporations on earth, etc.. We all just want what’s best for our families, and especially our children. But as long as some insist on legislating from the pulpit, there’s always going to be some level of alienation that will be a roadblock. The tea party in the early 2000s and Occupy Wall Street were basically saying the same things about the problems, and the manifold that divided us was made up of rugged individualism, bootstraps, and religious affiliation. As long as those are informing, our political agendas and ideologies, we can’t agree on anything.
I already knew that political compass is nothing more than a meme, but still found in this video so usefull, like not forcing yourself studying a book unless you are well prepared and in a good company of comrades. Thanks for the video!
I think the way these tests boil ideology down to one big gradient of poorly defined labels are partly responsible for one of my biggest political annoyances - the obsession over ridiculously specific tendencies some people get into. Once you start describing yourself as like an “anarcho mutualist with monarchist tendencies” or something I know you’re just using politics as a replacement for arguing about music subgenres.
Dude, how did you learn to communicate like this? Genuine question, i feel like you strike a crazy balance between comedy, solid info, transparency, and directness. You were one of the people that got me into politics years ago, and videos like this are so helpful to show to friends or family.
Can I just say even though he sounds trust worthy, sites his sources, and is calm and direct, which is great. Doesn’t mean you can do your own research and find a credible source that juxtaposes him. Things can be spun in many ways
Also, I would recommend ''WHAT IS POLITICS?'' channel because literally is about explains Politics in an easy and digestive way. Some of his videos are: 1. Worbs: when political terms have no meaning | What is Politics? 3. The Left-Right Political Spectrum is about Class Conflict | What is Politics? 5. How we know what Left and Right actually mean: who’s who, 1789-1917 8. Materialism vs. Idealism: How Social Change Happens | What is Politics? 11 - Why Every Communist Country is a One-Party Dictatorship
The problem is this model assumes that economic issues are the only real issues, and social issues only exist as a means to divide people to keep them from uniting on economics. As if people only adopt socially conservative views because rich people brainwash them, and as if a non-capitalist society would lack any disagreement on social issues.
Huh, what a coincidence. A mere few days ago, I posted a long rant on the political compass subreddit outlining all of my issues with it. Cool that you're also doing a video on it now. I would also recommend halim alrah's video about this.
Too many people have a tribalist, team-based mode of thinking, and think that fitting into different quadrants of the political means they have to defend their team and beat all the others in some type of rhetorical competition. However we should try to start from a place of understanding what we have in common: we want what's best for ourselves and what's best for each other. Let's create an environment that in good-faith creates the best outcomes for everyone to achieve happiness, health, and a sense of fulfillment.
As a leftie living in a small country that has been exploited and scarred by being a part of the soviet union, nothing makes me cringe harder than Russians advocating for communism.
The political compass was invented by a man named David Nolan, and this is why it's sometimes called the "Nolan Chart". Nolan was one of the founders of the US Libertarian Party. The inherent biases, such as where it treats all government intervention as authoritarian, make a whole lot more sense when you realize that. Also consider weird crap like anarcho-capitalism or monarchism. How does a monarchist (yes, they exist, even in the Yoo Ess) answer that first question about humanity vs transnational corporations? Like the video mentions, an ancap would struggle with that question because they see the concepts as intertwined, not opposing. There's another question asking if corporations should be regulated since they won't voluntarily protect the environment - how does a monarchist answer that? I could go on but hopefully you get the gist of it.
so you have no problem with big gov violating your consent? how can intervention ever be justified on an ethical basis? that's the kicker that destroys and legitimacy to any Marxist cause. you don't care how many OTHER peoples rights you people have to trample to get there, so long as you get equal results and to get back at your school bullies.
I personally don’t agree with many of your takes, but I do like your channel. It is nice to find opinions that aren’t your own online. Keep up the great work :>
I see the compass as a question of how much influence/control the public (be it via government or otherwise) should exert over 1. The means of production (left right), and 2. The people(up down). The furthest left means public owner operator, right means private with zero regulation. Top means government enforces cultural norms via criminal law, bottom means they stay completely out of such matters. The exact placement of a given concept is ambiguous and doesn't really matter. -3 could mean heavy regulation of otherwise for-profit industry, or a hybrid of what's allowed to be private. Thing is, someone at a -3 would probably opt for either if given the chance. In that sense, it is valuable. I agree that it would be great if we could control for more parameters to reduce ambiguity, but I anything more complicated than this will just have people's eyes glaze over...
I am glad you mentioned the enjoyment part of it, I am definitely feeling the hopelessness the more I expose myself to socialism while living in the West.
It's a big problem. It - and divisiveness - can make for really miserable left communities, especially the easily available online ones where engagement incentivizes complaint. I try to remember and practice that the core of socialism is thoughtful, practical kindness and that it's something we can apply with each interaction.
Organise. Join a union or another kind of social organisation. Doesn't need to be communist. The basis of socialism and anarchism are mutual aid and it is very fulfilling to practice that.
@@aetherkidThen you are not a socialist. Being a socialist is having the goal of working towards socialism. What you are is a doomer. If you need therapy I recommend that and if you need to find some hope. Well, there's hundreds of good people out there. Talk to them.
@@aetherkid You would rather die on that old rotted dung hill of an ideology than consider much more practical alternatives and pat yourself on the back for loyalty to the cause than have a chance in hell at actually improving peoples everyday lives you claim to care so much about? Jeez that's sheer self-righteous attitude in the face of being patently wrong on everything, even when its hurting your self esteem, sums up everything wrong with Marxism. its Christianity for people who think Christianity is too soft and offers unsurprisingly the same real world results.
AI's are only as neutral as their programmers biases make them. They choose where to sample, so if you only sample twitter and facebook your AI will have a drunk uncle bias.
I found political books so hard to read at first. I'd have to re-read sentences and paragraphs again and again just to even begin to grapple with what they were describing. I'd have to google definitions for words. But I realized I just didn't have a foundation of definitions and applications of those definitions. It took awhile, but once you build that foundation, books become so much easier to read. It's worth it to stick with it, but it's difficult.
I love that you're honest about your biases, and the ones in the compass, even though it supports your position. I dont think ive ever seen this on the conservative side. Mr. Beat does this, but idk if he could be called a conservative.
Awesome video! I’ve been through a lot the last 3 years. I started learning about political theory from memes I didn’t understand. Then buddy of mine was a graduate student in Poli Sci and guided me through finding credible sources. From there I just binge watched Zinn and Chomsky lectures. I’m now 1/2 way through an organizational sociology degree! Also your videos helped a bunch ;)
SrslyWrong is a really great podcast for political education, while also being very funny! They put a lot of effort and research into their episodes, and it’s such an entertaining listen
Absolutely love SRSLY WRONG. Their Social Ecology trilogy is super informative, very funny and even has some heartwarming moments :) Their episodes on the “imaginary tragedy of the imaginary commons”, mutiny and “the revolution will be hilarious” are great. The episodes with David Wengrow or Zoe Baker are also super interesting
God, I love this channel! It's amazing that you're trying to take away the stigma from people who don't have much knowledge about politics and socialism, as well as that of "unscientific" media like videos, streams, and podcasts. This is the way forward!
As an anarchist I must say that Anarchism, even though socialist and communist, is vastly different from some other movements such as MLs. We seek a qualitative change in lifestyle, not only more economical equality.
tbh. your better of DISTANCING yourself from marxism. because historically they ALWAYS stabbed anarchist groups in the back whenever we were no longer useful to them. just a freindly heads up from a fellow "organize however you want" anarchist.
ML groups have always tended to be the one stressing different lifestyles outside of your organising, especially MLM groups with cultural revolution. Though a form of it exists in ml groups, namely, actually taking of your body; exercising, taking self defence classes, not abusing drugs and alcohol - far too much of the left socialise in unproductive manners and in ways that numb you from the reason you might've actually gone into politics. Anarchists in our country just do their little book fair, invite trade and tenant Unionists, and smugly shat on them asking questions like 'do you not feel bad being a paid Unionists, aren't you exploiting your members with that?!' Luckily because they have no historical roots in my country they tend to be small patches of weirdos completely disconnected from their communities
I hate how people align themselves in politics. Somehow, through "independent" thought, it seems like a large percentage of populations just so happen to have developed views that perfectly align with a specific political ideology/party. If they are single issues, it makes sense, but the 2 major parties in the US are broad and have opinions on so many different issues. I can't think anyone who supports 100% of their platform is really thinking for themselves.
It is because achieving anything significant requires large scale cooperation, and the part of the cost of that cooperation is horse-trading: I.E. I'll support some of the stuff that you want (even though I don't actually care about it), if you will do the same for me. That compromise manifests itself as a political party.
This whole statement only works for a broken democracy. If you want true democracies Germany is your best bet with more independent views and activity changing ideologies.
This is probably the only time I've ever been able to predict what issues would be brought up in a video like this. These are problems I've brought up to other people who have done the test too. I don't expect to ever have this knowledge beforehand ever again.
As a terminally online doofus, this is probably the best video I've ever watched... Excellent job. Gonna show this to my center-right leaning partner. Thank you!
Thank you again for the video, and it is definitely nice to see suggestions of learning more, instead of taking for granted broad brushstrokes of abstract labels. Labels are useful places to start, but lose use once delved deeper. It would still be nice to see your interpretation of a political spectrum, the key axes on such a spectrum, and where notable political parties, movements, and ideologies fit on it.
- The Political Compass test is not a great test and has biases. - The questions in the test are worded in a way that most people will land in the bottom left quadrant. - The test relies on assumptions that may not be agreed upon by everyone. - The separation of economics and government into two distinct axes comes from liberalism, which is not the only political ideology. - The test has blind spots and may not be compatible with different explanations of how the world works.
Truly an optimistic ending. I went through an intense depressive episode recently, and my new views on politics (leftist/socialist) started just upsetting me while watching videos or thinking about the general of state of life. This was helpful, thank you.
One of my new favorites ideas is that well educated people measure their changing political ideology in books, not in years. (I also like to include videos and podcasts in there as well.)
12:32 Definitely felt that. I joined Louisville's Campus YCL and CPUSA Chapter and within just a few months I have gotten involved in a bunch of different things. Great stuff
Yo The Deprogram is literally my favourite treat I reward myself with everyday 😂 You guys are so funny together thank you so much comrades honestly you bring so much fun in our lives ❤
I guess one good thing about the political compass test is I took it (and 8values) two years ago then started getting Second Thought in my recommendations, soon thereafter came across Paul, then Hakim, then Yugo... and all of you got me reading (for starters 😘)
I used to be a part of a club at my university, most of them were from the IMT. Unfortunately, most of the leadership graduated and the rest of us were too busy/socially inept to properly run the club and it kind of just fell apart. Still in the short time it was there, it was an incredible experience. Going in I was a baby leftist. But there were incredibly well read and highly intelligent people. They taught me a lot and just being able to talk commie shit for an hour once a week was incredible. Liberating beyond my wildest expectations. Being with comrades gave me hope. It makes you realize that yes, the movement is possible. We really do have a chance at something better.
I'm glad he pointed out that most people will not want to read a book on political theory. A long time ago I had to accept that I'm the weirdo in actually caring about this stuff enough to learn more about it. I'm reading an illustrated version of Marx's Capital, and honestly I feel like I'm actually getting a better understanding of some Marxist concepts. I also relate to being worried about how to categorize my beliefs when I was younger. The truth is, it's a lot easier to talk to "normies" if you use general terms and start from there. Also, almost nobody outside other political nerds knows or cares about the differences between types of communism or anarchism or whatever.
Thank you for making that point about videos vs books. I've been saying for a while now that we need to have to have better introductory materials than just recommending old German political theory books translated into English.
I think our culture of employment predicated on experience makes many young people feel like they're not qualified to start participating in anything until they're fully educated or trained in it. This can discourage people from wanting to get politically active because they feel ill-equipped or undereducated, especially when confronted with other people (like more seasoned activists) who seem to have extensive knowledge of political theory or history. Luckily, Second Thought and other intro-level and higher political education channels exist! And it's important to remember that it's never too early or too soon to become politically active. You don't need to know all of twentieth century political and economic history to know that you don't feel good about police assaulting homeless people. You don't need a degree in political science to know it feels wrong for literal N*zis to be marching down the streets of your city. As a person on the planet whose wellbeing is affected by political and economic forces, your political opinions are valid from your earliest point of engagement, even if they may not yet be educated opinions, they're still valid. Putting your values to the test in real life by actively participating will help you hone your beliefs, and may change your opinions, and hopefully will encourage (rather than discourage) your curiosity to drive you to seek out more education. Keep up the good work everyone! ✊🏼💚
If you're wealthy and have the connections, you can get into any career even if you are completely unqualified, as seen with certain members of Congress (ex: Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene)
glad to see 8values was brought up too. it's still flawed and has a bias but i do appreciate it being notable more nuanced than the compass even if it's still not the most accurate. i find it helpful in attempting to break an American out of the Left/Right dichotomy mindset propagated by the 2 Party System less of an end-all-be-all authority on your identity and more of a stepping stone to ask yourself "okay, what now?" on a different topic, and I hate to shoehorn my hobbies into a political video but wow did 12:23 hit home as someone who found his place in the furry community. still haven't taken the plunge yet as far as DSA or a similar organization but that statement you made sorta touched a familiar nerve and made me realize that it could actually help my mental health further to reach out on that topic of political engagement as well. i'm still scared an plagued by social anxiety but at some point the need to "belong" will override it
Thank you soo much for this video J.T. ! You've given me a starting point that I desperately needed. Also, I'd never take a test like that; I know they are not even remotely neutral. I'd rather hear what people like you have to say. Thanks again for all your hard work!
Politics always seemed like a tedious and charged subject to explore - in some cases, it still is. But one thing I've been learning over the years is that once you get over that initial hump of doubt and apprehension, it can be a rewarding and informative journey, just as you said. Even on a surface level of known what the different levels of government and parties are talking about, politics is something that, as you mentioned, is interconnected with a lot of what we do in society. I know I still have a long way to go with deepening my understanding, but I feel like I still have a vested interest in learning more. I just hope I can find those meaningful conversations with people about stuff like this... and not have to deal with vitriolic poison.
Great video. Another side effect of educating yourself on politics is it makes is harder and harder to watch entertainment uncritically and you start to see must how much propaganda is in your TV and movies.
Howdy, friends! I hope you enjoy the video. For this month only, Nebula is offering lifetime memberships again! This isn't a discount, the annual plan is just 30 bucks a year, but if you're looking for the absolute best way to support the channel and help Nebula accelerate its growth without accepting outside funding, this is the way to do it! Help support the streaming platform built and owned by creators! Exclusive content, no ads ever, and home to some of the best educational creators around. go.nebula.tv/lifetime?ref=secondthought
Thanks for the video JT, here's hoping it doesn't get buried by the algorithm once again
@Second Thought ~ since you’re obviously interested and all, standard political models are based upon subjective rhetoric, not objective laws.. where objective laws are applied, political theory instead emulates physics. Understanding accretion and dispersion are key..
You see, there were ancient civilizations that knew what “Co”mm”Uni”sm was before the U.S. founders did, “We the People”, and then Marx.
It means we’re dealing with a timeless empirical science of no one’s invention..
When your curiosity gets the better of you. Lmk.. I’ll be around..
✊🌎✊
How come your previous video isn't on nebula???
JT i wanna have ur kids
"Okay, maybe not the Trot" 😂 Real Left Unity is in hating the Trots!
I've heard rumors that the PSL is descended from Trots, and gets their people kettled by police as if on purpose. Can I get some informal input about this?
Compass? That's old tech, what we need is a political gyroscope.
3D compass time
I think you probably meant a flux value or direction finder.
Some compass systems use gyroscopes but compasses and gyroscopes are not similar.
@@Grandude77here I was trying to be a smart, and you come along and outsmarter me. well that's life
Political Motion Control+ is where I'm putting my bets.
What about a sphere?
The political compass is like a buzzfeed test. Kinda fun to look at if you're bored, but you should never use it as an framework for life.
Yep
This is exactly how I see it. I took the test ages ago when my views where very different and it's fun to see my dot moving towards the left lol
It's a very good reminder that it is not about pure left or right, it's about idea by idea, problem by problem
Your framework for life should never be based on a single test, book or manual.
It's the political equivalent of the Myers-Briggs. It's a fun little personality test on the internet, but people who treat it as prescriptively perfect are ridiculous
“What you think may be totally different from what you actually do.”
Nothing truer has been said on RUclips ever.
To live according to your beliefs is exceptionally difficult. The vast majority choose to think/speak about things that make them feel superior to others…understandably, we mimic our surroundings, requiring significantly less thinking and work.
Just say what we tell you to say is easier.
@@rabbitcreativeveganism is hypocritical
I agree. It's kind of annoying when people pose an argument against me that is basically like "oh, you bought something. You couldn't possibly hate capitalism then!"
@@azieg9ygeb many communists detested homosexuality
@@Supernimo735 as an ex-vegan i empathise a lot , i really do. but it's actually quite inane, hypocritical, unhealthy and just reality-defying to think that living organisms do not consume other living organisms.
people keep cats and it's okay if their cat eats rats or birds or their pet lizard eats maggots or whatever the fuck but god forbid if a human consumes the flesh of another creature for food!!!
that being said i want factory farming to stop because it is abhorrent and needlessly cruel.
most people just wanna fucking grill you know?
i adore the tenacity and courage of those who fight for a better world for us to live in but at the end of the day, those activities will often give you fines or prison time. it's kind of difficult to have a livelihood while being politically active as well, unless you're entrenched in the system of parliamentary or municipal politics and trying for praxis that route, which is a lot better than what i do (fuckall except trying to spread the word) but still very close to "fuckall".
One thing I'll say about the political compass is that it's better than what came before. A line with 'Democrat' at one end and 'Republican' at the other.
Tru ! Nothing hurts more than trying to figure out where to put myself on a line from “very conservative” to “very liberal” ☠️
Yeah. Thats no scale at all. Fact is.... In policies, there is almost zero difference between the two. Neither of them will push for ANY kind of reform of legal & justice, prison systems, or police. Neither of them will give people proper healthcare or education. Neither of them will ever reign in the insane military spending, fix poverty, homelessness, nothing at all. There is a reason they are called "Corporate Democrates" Because the Dems are exactly as in love with corporate money as the Republicans. These people go to the same countryclubs to play golf. They are in on the same grifts, scams, and money hustles. THey are extremely opposed in CULTURE, but almost the same in actual policies.
Let me guess it didn't have a neither option?
@@nightfall3332 You have guessed correctly. 😄
@@akorn9943I kinda don't mind it as "liberal vs conservative" is mostly a culture war and has nothing to do with economic systems. You can very much interpret the "liberal" as being progressive and then be called "very very liberal".
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"
Or you hear "I have watche TIK History and am, like him, to stupid to distinguish "Gleichschaltung" from seizing the means of production"
In history class in 2004, we looked at the initialism for the Nazi party from back to front. By our teacher simply commenting on each letter in combination with the one that had come before (while going from back to front, as said). While it's not like we students needed to be told that the Nazis weren't socialists, it still was a great way to make clear within less than a minute, that they were very much not socialists. This would work less well with the English initialism/name for the party, but with the German one, it worked. (Most of us were at least moderately left-leaning 18 and 19-year-olds in Bern, Switzerland.)
To be fair, it's often more so because they think having ,,socialist'' in name makes you a socialist - specifically in this example. Though sadly this sort of thinking is not limited just to the right or people who are not engaged in politics, you'll find plenty people on the left - or atleast they claim to be on the left - who endlessly simp and defend any regime which calls itself communist or socialist, even when nothing they do has anything to do with socialims or communism in the slightest.
Reply to add: Just in general, it's an issue to look at the party's name in English. It's unclear which words belong together or are what kinds of words. The fact that "nationalsozialistische" (national socialist) and "Arbeiterpartei" (worker's party) are compound words - one an adjective, one a noun - is vital. There are ways to misread the name of the party when translated into English.
He said he was.
He lied.
I dont think you can describe his economic theory as anything but stealing from everyone and anyone.
In Portugal, the most widely distributed political compass ahead of the 2019 election was prepared by the Mises Institute, some of whose members are also a part of Iniciativa Liberal, an extreme free-market party. It was full of loaded statements like "Publicly-owned enterprises should continue to be run by the state, no matter how much money they lose", designed to get even people in favour of an interventionist state to say that they disagree.
And it was inverted upside-down for some reason lol. Observador is THE liberal shit-fest.
That totally makes sense as the whole reason these specific two-axises tests became popular in the first place is because the Libertarian party of the USA wanted to "show" people that their party is not only different from the Democrats and Republicans, but that a lot of people "naturally" fall closer to them ideologically.
It is kind of true that a lot of Americans are less authoritarian than Republicans but it was also kinda true that a lot of Americans were (much) further left than the Democrats or the Republicans. The libertarians test "corrected" that unfortunate finding by loading their questions as you demonstrated.
*adjusts tie* "You disagree because you don't want the state to intervene in corporate business. I disagree because I don't want a state. We are not the same."
For anyone interested in Portuguese political parties at the moment (from left to right):
-PCP (commies)
-BE (a block of diverse left wing parties)
-PAN (an animal rights party)
-PS (the one currently in power, are social democrats)
-PSD (call themselves social democrats, they are center right)
-IL (neo liberals)
-Chega (the big conservative party, a bit fascistic if you ask me)
Weren't those the guys that practised the quack science of praxiology?
And the worse part of the political compass is, that it tries to act as internationally compatible test for all of the world but for people outside the west it might as well be completely useless due to the questions they ask.
Even within the West, there are certain political axis that are crucial for certain countries or regions, which the test does not take into account.
@@AholeAtheist I'm from Quebec, and a big political axis here is "sovereignist versus federalist", which has nothing to do with being on the Left or the Right, or being Authoritarian or Libertarian.
Bullshit.
The map of the world is the same wherever one lives.
All that changes is one's position upon it.
@@princevesperalmakes sense. In Europe a lot of it is also pro federation or anti.
Some good greens are anti nuclear and Salvini is pro nuclear
You have socialists who are also anti vax and proeurope. It's a mixed bay
Especially in the question of "Religion".
Religion and Culture are INSANELY different per each places.
In the US, religion probably more connotative of "Televangelists" or "Megachurches". In England it might be "The English church". In Iran it would be "The Ayatollah", in most state in Africa, it might mean "Family" or "Tribal Culture".
A lot of variable to discuss besides "Your Agreement to religion puts you on Authoritarian and Right wing Side of the Politics". Imagine calling the incredibly egalitarian idea of "Zakat";and "Qurban" of Islam or the Salvation Army as """"right wing"""",
I love how positive and uplifting this is! We socialists are really good at being mad and sad and your channel and this video have such an encouraging energy.
How can you not be mad when the entier world is build upp to destroy itself and it keeps deny that it does every time we point out the wrongs
He's just so incredibly based
It's not easy, but you have to learn how to emotionally detach yourself from the world's problems. You'll still be able to care about them but it won't be such a burden on you
@@ispilloilthats true, theres a mindset of accepting the things you cannot control
Still struggling here in enjoying life while getting educated in politics and sociology. 🥲
Wage labor is renting yourself via "self ownership". Employment is literally renting another human being as if they're property. The employer-employee relationship is a very insidious dynamic. Employment is a rental contract, like if you rented capital (say, a chainsaw from Home Depot), you pay rent for the "time preference" (basically the cost of time) for a piece of property. Capitalism is based on a principle of self ownership, which sounds empowering, until you realize that most people don't own enough capital goods to make enough income other than themselves, and must rent out the authority over themselves as pieces of "human capital". This is a process of dehumanization where human beings are valued for their return on investment as capital goods. This is why, at the very least, capitalism needs unions and safety nets (or abolishment), or else the system won't value people for their human value. Importantly we must also think about our sick, elderly, and disabled people, as they can't provide competitive economic return for the investor class to value. We must figure out a way to change this economic system if we wish to value each other.
I'm a fan of capitalism with very strong unions and regulations. Personally, I'm just trying to live a decent life, and I think most people are just trying to do the same. Personally, idc if the grocery store owner makes more than me, but I want that money to come from maintaining an innovative enterprise and not from controlling markets, exploiting workers, and bribing politicians.
Ofc, whether this is achievable is up for debate. After all, history has shown that people with tons of capital try to do all those things I mentioned. Although, I do think the best quality of life can be found in countries which use capitalism to efficiently generate resources while using regulation (and in turn strong union) to help reduce some of the negative side effects.
@@monkemode8128 As much as I understand the "push towards Denmark" and I think that it is a preferable situation of capitalism, but it still pushes negative externalities onto developing or undeveloped country. It's not about the jealousy of somebody earning more money than somebody else, it's the power imbalance that creates unfavorable cost-shifting due to the authority of private property and incentives of profitability.
Cooperatives that cooperate with other cooperatives allow people to arrange production and distribution in ways that allow for people to take care of each other without the underlying need to maximize profit for a few capitalists. As a Democratic Socialist I am not opposed to social democracy as a form of transitional change that could last a while, but I think eventually we will need to reduce alienation by allowing labor to control capital. Not about jealousy it's about liberation.
I don't think the employer-employee is naturally insidious, it's just naturally insidious under capitalism. Power dynamics will always naturally form under any system.
@@sunphoenix1231 Power imbalances will always form, but the insidious thing about capitalism is the regularity that it creates capital bias even with union bargaining. It biases capital profits over workers, local communities, global communities, and the planet itself.
this is actually a good comment. bravo
No one should ever have a "political identity". They should just have political opinions. Opinions can change with more information, grow, become more developed. An identity is a fixed thing where you are desperate to find other people who think like you. This can lead to an echo chamber and groupthink. Accept ideas, challenge ideas, develop ideas, but don't become an ideologue.
Watch Second Thought and then Ben Shapiro.😊
Still waiting for an Urban Planning video and it's vast impact on society. Hopefully with a Climate Town colab ❤️
It's a seemingly apolitical topic, but once you look into it, there's many reasons why it should be covered on a channel like this.
Climate Town, Not Just Bikes and Second Thought discussing the climate and political implications of city planning? Sign me the fuck up for that 😂
@@Zyo117 Same 🔥🔥🔥
I only feel comfortable using the terms “Leftist” or “Anti-Capitalist”. Even those may seem extreme to some but I’ve found they’re much less alienating than Socialist or Marxist. My starting point when engaging in friendly discourse with another from the working class is always “We’re forced to participate in this system”…
I feel as though hiding behind nebulous terms like "Leftist" and "Anti-Capitalist" is just giving in to cold war propaganda and ceding ground to reactionary trains of thought.
Fear is an expression of ones lack of knowledge, thats why the greatest fear is of the unknown and those most fear-monger-y are the least knowledgeable or comfortable in regards to the things they fear.
true, it scares people less when you say that
@@maya07_11and they won't bring up the Holomor unlike they always do when you say Socialism or Communism. The debate ends up becoming a Whataboutism argument.
It's more accurate to see Socialism in the lense of the idea of Republics was back in the 1800's (like the French Revolution).
I've often chosen to go with social libertarian, or left libertarian.
When I want to intentionally scare people I just say I'm an anarchist.
8:25 "Does the creator share their sources?"
To add, if they do but those sources are opinion pieces, you still need to be skeptical. For example, The Epoch Times, The Daily Wire, and PragerU are not good sources to reference.
Good addition!
also watch out for armchair theorists as sources! people will say “this important person said this, therefore it’s true”
I love the high production quality of these newer videos.
This is so valuable. As an old person, I still feel that it’s important to be involved. I’ve moved so much more left over the years as I’ve educated myself When I was young, the internet was not even a thing. I’ve learned so much. This video is inspiring me to get more involved. Sometimes the problems we have in this world can seem insurmountable and maybe they are. But doesn’t mean there isn’t something you can do or try.
You guys are my favorite channel for politics!
Based
Thanks for suggesting alternatives to books as a viable option. I've always been a reader (and even won those silly awards for it back in school) but after chemo I have a hard time sitting down with a book and have it hold my attention. Things are just different now.
There are a LOT of people on the left that snap "READ SOME THEORY!" to every question that has been addressed somewhere in some dusty old book, but I thought that on the left we were into helping those less able to do some things.
Much appreciated, man.
Yeah genuine conversations are how we actually build momentum. Even RUclips, Reddit, or Discord is still towards that superficial level where you need to organize unless it's local or if you're at some higher organizational level.
Left: "It's not my job to educate you!"
Right: "I'll educate you whether you want me to or not!"
And that's how we get so many chuds.
@@ashkitt7719 You need to be educated
Hakim is a great aggregate of left theory imo. Also Spotify has a bunch of theory in audio form, reading capital with comrades made Das capital much more enjoyable
I really appreciate 2nd thought’s willingness to explicitly decry intellectual smugness and advocate for educational videos to supplement self education, not just hefty daunting literary tomes. If we want to build a true working class movement we need to be accessible and welcoming. Looking down on someone for not diving immediately into dense primary source literature even when they are putting in effort to self educate is gross bourgeois behavior that should be left to the pmc.
Pfft, even the PMC can do better - largely won't, but could. That said - part of accessibility is minimizing the use of jargon. We can get around 'bourgeois' and 'PMC', for ready instance. And while doing so, also avoid condescension - people who aren't all that politically engaged won't have the theory and the vocabulary those of us who are do, but they damn sure will have the same sorts of brains.
If you agree with your own words, then you shouldn’t be encouraged by this video’s attitude towards the political compass.
READ THEORY, SECOND THOUGHTS VIDS ARE INTROS SO YOU CAN READ THEORY! THE WORKERS BEFORE US DID JUST FUCKING FINE READING THEORY, YOU FUCKING CAN TOO
Most workers in past socialist movements never read theory, or if they did they read distilled theory. The vast majority of people are unable or unwilling to truly study politics.
@@CarrotConsumer Well - depth varies. 19th century workers were frequently illiterate and texts weren't as cheaply available as now, but unions had readings of works that were not exactly lightweight. But yeah, that distilled theory plays a hugely important role in accessibility. It's not nothing and it should be widely promoted.
I use the political compass in my political sociology class to show students that there is more that "left" and "right" and that the democrats are not even close to as "left" as the republicans say they are. It gets the point across as an introduction but I do tell them that even that chart has major flaws because political thought is very diverse.
Good for you!
Well, I'd say there is politics that benefits a few (based on ancestry, religion, race, gender etc.) and nurtures the exploitation of the rest. That's fascism, it's generally authoritarian, even though it may hide behind a democratic front.
And there is politics that try to make life livable for all people. You could call that democracy, humanism, something like that.
Of course there may be different ideas or priorities for reaching one goal or the other. But effectively it's always down to the question which general direction you are heading towards.
Good thing you mentioned you attend political sociology classes, so we know your opinion is worthless and you're disconnected from reality.
I don’t happen to be a Socialist myself. But if National Socialism is Socialism then Saddam’s Republican Guard were members of the GOP.
Man, you have come such a long way and your videos and encouragement is beautiful. Really worthwhile and a solid addition to the ever onward march, thanks for the assistance.
I’m a socialist. I got more of an education by watching one day of content from The Daily Wire, and then researching every claim they made than I did by just watching stuff that’ll feed into my confirmation bias while I become glazed over, and just wallow in my own beliefs being validated.
I learned what the opposition claims or believes, how to argue against them, and how to formulate my own positions. But this type of exploration isn’t for everyone. My parents were generally liberal. But after 2016, their conservatism is so mindless, I still haven’t removed the parental block of Fox News.
You put a lock on Fox News? 😂 A+, good on you.
@@Luke5100 right? I don’t know if we’ll ever find those commonalities. We can all recognize the same problems.: education, billion dollar corporations contributing to campaign finances, bailouts for some of the wealthiest corporations on earth, etc.. We all just want what’s best for our families, and especially our children. But as long as some insist on legislating from the pulpit, there’s always going to be some level of alienation that will be a roadblock.
The tea party in the early 2000s and Occupy Wall Street were basically saying the same things about the problems, and the manifold that divided us was made up of rugged individualism, bootstraps, and religious affiliation. As long as those are informing, our political agendas and ideologies, we can’t agree on anything.
@@Luke5100Exactly. I think it’s incredibly hard for liberals to become socialists. I think they’re further away from us than we are to conservatives
@@socire72No.
@@socire72Conservatives understand collectivism, common prosperity in a way
You admit bias yet are always welcoming to people who don't think like you & I respect it
Thanks so much!
I already knew that political compass is nothing more than a meme, but still found in this video so usefull, like not forcing yourself studying a book unless you are well prepared and in a good company of comrades. Thanks for the video!
I think the way these tests boil ideology down to one big gradient of poorly defined labels are partly responsible for one of my biggest political annoyances - the obsession over ridiculously specific tendencies some people get into.
Once you start describing yourself as like an “anarcho mutualist with monarchist tendencies” or something I know you’re just using politics as a replacement for arguing about music subgenres.
Dude, how did you learn to communicate like this? Genuine question, i feel like you strike a crazy balance between comedy, solid info, transparency, and directness. You were one of the people that got me into politics years ago, and videos like this are so helpful to show to friends or family.
I felt this video lacked direction tbh. They have much better videos than this one on their channel.
Can I just say even though he sounds trust worthy, sites his sources, and is calm and direct, which is great. Doesn’t mean you can do your own research and find a credible source that juxtaposes him. Things can be spun in many ways
Also, I would recommend ''WHAT IS POLITICS?'' channel because literally is about explains Politics in an easy and digestive way. Some of his videos are:
1. Worbs: when political terms have no meaning | What is Politics?
3. The Left-Right Political Spectrum is about Class Conflict | What is Politics?
5. How we know what Left and Right actually mean: who’s who, 1789-1917
8. Materialism vs. Idealism: How Social Change Happens | What is Politics?
11 - Why Every Communist Country is a One-Party Dictatorship
This!! Love that channel!!
The problem is this model assumes that economic issues are the only real issues, and social issues only exist as a means to divide people to keep them from uniting on economics. As if people only adopt socially conservative views because rich people brainwash them, and as if a non-capitalist society would lack any disagreement on social issues.
It also does a great job of framing everything in terms of money.
Your channel is one of the first places I send people to get into politics.
Definitely want that nebula series. I'll watch anything from you guys
FINALLY someone said it
Personally I was already thinking of a 3D Political Compass
Because only 4 directions are WAY to limiting
Authoritarians up, libertarians down.
Socialists left, capitalists right.
Conservatives back, progressives forth.
Like this?
WHAT!? I"m NOT supposed to take it seriously????
Well.... that whole back full-colour tattoo of my results seems like a bad idea now...
"Okay, maybe not the trot"
*ice axe intensifies*
Huh, what a coincidence. A mere few days ago, I posted a long rant on the political compass subreddit outlining all of my issues with it. Cool that you're also doing a video on it now. I would also recommend halim alrah's video about this.
Too many people have a tribalist, team-based mode of thinking, and think that fitting into different quadrants of the political means they have to defend their team and beat all the others in some type of rhetorical competition.
However we should try to start from a place of understanding what we have in common: we want what's best for ourselves and what's best for each other. Let's create an environment that in good-faith creates the best outcomes for everyone to achieve happiness, health, and a sense of fulfillment.
You got my thumb when you say "may be not a trot".
Kiss from France
Thank you for constantly encouraging learning, organizing and real world praxis.
"It's more expensive than Reddit, but it's not Reddit" 🤣
New second thought video??
Nice.
Also, yeah, the political compass is interesting?? To say the least.
Спасибо тебе большое Ти Джей, за твою работу и твой труд🙂 За социализмом и коммунизмом будущее 😌
Hell yea brother
Това не е руски, просто ми се пише на кирилица за да обърквам хората ✊✊
based and commiepilled
cyka blyat comrades
As a leftie living in a small country that has been exploited and scarred by being a part of the soviet union, nothing makes me cringe harder than Russians advocating for communism.
The political compass was invented by a man named David Nolan, and this is why it's sometimes called the "Nolan Chart". Nolan was one of the founders of the US Libertarian Party.
The inherent biases, such as where it treats all government intervention as authoritarian, make a whole lot more sense when you realize that.
Also consider weird crap like anarcho-capitalism or monarchism. How does a monarchist (yes, they exist, even in the Yoo Ess) answer that first question about humanity vs transnational corporations? Like the video mentions, an ancap would struggle with that question because they see the concepts as intertwined, not opposing. There's another question asking if corporations should be regulated since they won't voluntarily protect the environment - how does a monarchist answer that? I could go on but hopefully you get the gist of it.
so you have no problem with big gov violating your consent? how can intervention ever be justified on an ethical basis? that's the kicker that destroys and legitimacy to any Marxist cause. you don't care how many OTHER peoples rights you people have to trample to get there, so long as you get equal results and to get back at your school bullies.
I personally don’t agree with many of your takes, but I do like your channel. It is nice to find opinions that aren’t your own online.
Keep up the great work :>
I see the compass as a question of how much influence/control the public (be it via government or otherwise) should exert over 1. The means of production (left right), and 2. The people(up down).
The furthest left means public owner operator, right means private with zero regulation. Top means government enforces cultural norms via criminal law, bottom means they stay completely out of such matters.
The exact placement of a given concept is ambiguous and doesn't really matter. -3 could mean heavy regulation of otherwise for-profit industry, or a hybrid of what's allowed to be private. Thing is, someone at a -3 would probably opt for either if given the chance. In that sense, it is valuable.
I agree that it would be great if we could control for more parameters to reduce ambiguity, but I anything more complicated than this will just have people's eyes glaze over...
I am glad you mentioned the enjoyment part of it, I am definitely feeling the hopelessness the more I expose myself to socialism while living in the West.
It's a big problem. It - and divisiveness - can make for really miserable left communities, especially the easily available online ones where engagement incentivizes complaint. I try to remember and practice that the core of socialism is thoughtful, practical kindness and that it's something we can apply with each interaction.
Organise. Join a union or another kind of social organisation. Doesn't need to be communist. The basis of socialism and anarchism are mutual aid and it is very fulfilling to practice that.
I have no hope. I'm a socialist, and have been for years, but I know we're all going to die without accomplishing a damn thing.
@@aetherkidThen you are not a socialist. Being a socialist is having the goal of working towards socialism. What you are is a doomer.
If you need therapy I recommend that and if you need to find some hope. Well, there's hundreds of good people out there. Talk to them.
@@aetherkid You would rather die on that old rotted dung hill of an ideology than consider much more practical alternatives and pat yourself on the back for loyalty to the cause than have a chance in hell at actually improving peoples everyday lives you claim to care so much about? Jeez that's sheer self-righteous attitude in the face of being patently wrong on everything, even when its hurting your self esteem, sums up everything wrong with Marxism. its Christianity for people who think Christianity is too soft and offers unsurprisingly the same real world results.
I need to design you a shirt that just has "Big Ol' Commie" on it lmao
This is a great video on how to get involved. Definitely going to share this around to folks.
That explains why ChatGPT also got a left-liberal result on this test, though its position literally can't be any other than centrist.
AI's are only as neutral as their programmers biases make them.
They choose where to sample, so if you only sample twitter and facebook your AI will have a drunk uncle bias.
I found political books so hard to read at first. I'd have to re-read sentences and paragraphs again and again just to even begin to grapple with what they were describing. I'd have to google definitions for words. But I realized I just didn't have a foundation of definitions and applications of those definitions. It took awhile, but once you build that foundation, books become so much easier to read. It's worth it to stick with it, but it's difficult.
I love that you're honest about your biases, and the ones in the compass, even though it supports your position. I dont think ive ever seen this on the conservative side. Mr. Beat does this, but idk if he could be called a conservative.
TFW the thing that "sucks" is already way more sophisticated than the average American's conception of politics.
I always thought something was sus about it
Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь ✊
Ok
Awesome video! I’ve been through a lot the last 3 years. I started learning about political theory from memes I didn’t understand. Then buddy of mine was a graduate student in Poli Sci and guided me through finding credible sources. From there I just binge watched Zinn and Chomsky lectures. I’m now 1/2 way through an organizational sociology degree! Also your videos helped a bunch ;)
I love this series so much!
SrslyWrong is a really great podcast for political education, while also being very funny! They put a lot of effort and research into their episodes, and it’s such an entertaining listen
Can confirm ^^ They also have a really good episode about the political compass and other tests
Absolutely love SRSLY WRONG. Their Social Ecology trilogy is super informative, very funny and even has some heartwarming moments :)
Their episodes on the “imaginary tragedy of the imaginary commons”, mutiny and “the revolution will be hilarious” are great. The episodes with David Wengrow or Zoe Baker are also super interesting
God, I love this channel! It's amazing that you're trying to take away the stigma from people who don't have much knowledge about politics and socialism, as well as that of "unscientific" media like videos, streams, and podcasts. This is the way forward!
Another second thought banger. I appreciate what you do
As an anarchist I must say that Anarchism, even though socialist and communist, is vastly different from some other movements such as MLs.
We seek a qualitative change in lifestyle, not only more economical equality.
tbh. your better of DISTANCING yourself from marxism. because historically they ALWAYS stabbed anarchist groups in the back whenever we were no longer useful to them. just a freindly heads up from a fellow "organize however you want" anarchist.
ML groups have always tended to be the one stressing different lifestyles outside of your organising, especially MLM groups with cultural revolution.
Though a form of it exists in ml groups, namely, actually taking of your body; exercising, taking self defence classes, not abusing drugs and alcohol - far too much of the left socialise in unproductive manners and in ways that numb you from the reason you might've actually gone into politics.
Anarchists in our country just do their little book fair, invite trade and tenant Unionists, and smugly shat on them asking questions like 'do you not feel bad being a paid Unionists, aren't you exploiting your members with that?!'
Luckily because they have no historical roots in my country they tend to be small patches of weirdos completely disconnected from their communities
JT, you have taught me more about politics, than ANY other single source - you freakin ROCK!
I hate how people align themselves in politics. Somehow, through "independent" thought, it seems like a large percentage of populations just so happen to have developed views that perfectly align with a specific political ideology/party. If they are single issues, it makes sense, but the 2 major parties in the US are broad and have opinions on so many different issues. I can't think anyone who supports 100% of their platform is really thinking for themselves.
It is because achieving anything significant requires large scale cooperation, and the part of the cost of that cooperation is horse-trading: I.E. I'll support some of the stuff that you want (even though I don't actually care about it), if you will do the same for me. That compromise manifests itself as a political party.
people keep making up shit nonexistent ideologies that go nowhere, and the ones that have existed for years are the ones who do shit
This whole statement only works for a broken democracy. If you want true democracies Germany is your best bet with more independent views and activity changing ideologies.
This is probably the only time I've ever been able to predict what issues would be brought up in a video like this. These are problems I've brought up to other people who have done the test too.
I don't expect to ever have this knowledge beforehand ever again.
As a terminally online doofus, this is probably the best video I've ever watched... Excellent job. Gonna show this to my center-right leaning partner. Thank you!
Halim Alrah's comedic slander video on the political compass is one of my favorites. Highly recommended.
Thank you again for the video, and it is definitely nice to see suggestions of learning more, instead of taking for granted broad brushstrokes of abstract labels. Labels are useful places to start, but lose use once delved deeper. It would still be nice to see your interpretation of a political spectrum, the key axes on such a spectrum, and where notable political parties, movements, and ideologies fit on it.
how have i never found this channel
_it has 1.6 million subscribers_
I think the 10 groups test is a better test than the 8values because of the more axies that it can give a more nuanced view.
I like 12axes best
- The Political Compass test is not a great test and has biases.
- The questions in the test are worded in a way that most people will land in the bottom left quadrant.
- The test relies on assumptions that may not be agreed upon by everyone.
- The separation of economics and government into two distinct axes comes from liberalism, which is not the only political ideology.
- The test has blind spots and may not be compatible with different explanations of how the world works.
This is what I like to see, an entry point into a socialist way of thinking. We need to build more bridges. Thank you JT❤
We should put bridges on the border so immigrants can cross the border safely without getting hit by border patrol.
Personally I use the political log pose, it points straight to the nearest ideology with a magnetic field
Gonna piss off a lotta extremely online teenagers with this one, brother
"Learning about politics is a really easy way to slip into having a bad time." 16:20 Subscribed Immediately
Truly an optimistic ending. I went through an intense depressive episode recently, and my new views on politics (leftist/socialist) started just upsetting me while watching videos or thinking about the general of state of life. This was helpful, thank you.
15:52 Haha, nice save!
I was like "Uh, but that last one, JT -"
Having such self aware content emerging brings me a small level of true assurance and hope
Shout out Halim Alrah's video on the political compass, too.
One of my new favorites ideas is that well educated people measure their changing political ideology in books, not in years. (I also like to include videos and podcasts in there as well.)
12:32 Definitely felt that. I joined Louisville's Campus YCL and CPUSA Chapter and within just a few months I have gotten involved in a bunch of different things. Great stuff
Yo The Deprogram is literally my favourite treat I reward myself with everyday 😂 You guys are so funny together thank you so much comrades honestly you bring so much fun in our lives ❤
Ayyyy we’re glad you like it!
15:50 LMAO i had the exact same reaction "a trot... uhhh.... not sure about that one"
Generally speaking, generalisations are stupid.
In other news, I am currently drowning in irony, please send help.
I guess one good thing about the political compass test is I took it (and 8values) two years ago then started getting Second Thought in my recommendations, soon thereafter came across Paul, then Hakim, then Yugo...
and all of you got me reading (for starters 😘)
The reason the political compass sucks so much is that "libertarian" and "authoritiaran" are pointless
I'm loving the new look. Who knew you had such pretty curls.(also I loved the video)
I used to be a part of a club at my university, most of them were from the IMT. Unfortunately, most of the leadership graduated and the rest of us were too busy/socially inept to properly run the club and it kind of just fell apart.
Still in the short time it was there, it was an incredible experience. Going in I was a baby leftist. But there were incredibly well read and highly intelligent people. They taught me a lot and just being able to talk commie shit for an hour once a week was incredible. Liberating beyond my wildest expectations. Being with comrades gave me hope. It makes you realize that yes, the movement is possible. We really do have a chance at something better.
Another banger of a video! Love everything you do, please keep it up. The world need more like you now more than ever ❤
I'm glad he pointed out that most people will not want to read a book on political theory. A long time ago I had to accept that I'm the weirdo in actually caring about this stuff enough to learn more about it. I'm reading an illustrated version of Marx's Capital, and honestly I feel like I'm actually getting a better understanding of some Marxist concepts. I also relate to being worried about how to categorize my beliefs when I was younger. The truth is, it's a lot easier to talk to "normies" if you use general terms and start from there. Also, almost nobody outside other political nerds knows or cares about the differences between types of communism or anarchism or whatever.
Can you give a link to Capita's illustrated version? Sounds interestingly weird
@@brandonmorel2658 Just Google "Marx's Capital Illustrated". There should be some non-Amazon sources to get it from if that's your thing.
Thank you for making that point about videos vs books. I've been saying for a while now that we need to have to have better introductory materials than just recommending old German political theory books translated into English.
I think our culture of employment predicated on experience makes many young people feel like they're not qualified to start participating in anything until they're fully educated or trained in it. This can discourage people from wanting to get politically active because they feel ill-equipped or undereducated, especially when confronted with other people (like more seasoned activists) who seem to have extensive knowledge of political theory or history.
Luckily, Second Thought and other intro-level and higher political education channels exist!
And it's important to remember that it's never too early or too soon to become politically active. You don't need to know all of twentieth century political and economic history to know that you don't feel good about police assaulting homeless people. You don't need a degree in political science to know it feels wrong for literal N*zis to be marching down the streets of your city. As a person on the planet whose wellbeing is affected by political and economic forces, your political opinions are valid from your earliest point of engagement, even if they may not yet be educated opinions, they're still valid. Putting your values to the test in real life by actively participating will help you hone your beliefs, and may change your opinions, and hopefully will encourage (rather than discourage) your curiosity to drive you to seek out more education.
Keep up the good work everyone!
✊🏼💚
If you're wealthy and have the connections, you can get into any career even if you are completely unqualified, as seen with certain members of Congress (ex: Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene)
You speak so openly and pass so much honesty in your speech, I really appreciate it. Thank you for your work! Congrats from Brazil 🇧🇷
Always breaking systems and BS down. You're very much needed in this space - thank you!
I enjoy watching you teach 101 content and it teaches me how to teach.
love that this beginner-level stuff is being made! political compass stuff muddies discourse all to often lol
glad to see 8values was brought up too. it's still flawed and has a bias but i do appreciate it being notable more nuanced than the compass even if it's still not the most accurate. i find it helpful in attempting to break an American out of the Left/Right dichotomy mindset propagated by the 2 Party System
less of an end-all-be-all authority on your identity and more of a stepping stone to ask yourself "okay, what now?"
on a different topic, and I hate to shoehorn my hobbies into a political video but wow did 12:23 hit home as someone who found his place in the furry community. still haven't taken the plunge yet as far as DSA or a similar organization but that statement you made sorta touched a familiar nerve and made me realize that it could actually help my mental health further to reach out on that topic of political engagement as well. i'm still scared an plagued by social anxiety but at some point the need to "belong" will override it
Thank you soo much for this video J.T. ! You've given me a starting point that I desperately needed. Also, I'd never take a test like that; I know they are not even remotely neutral. I'd rather hear what people like you have to say. Thanks again for all your hard work!
Politics always seemed like a tedious and charged subject to explore - in some cases, it still is. But one thing I've been learning over the years is that once you get over that initial hump of doubt and apprehension, it can be a rewarding and informative journey, just as you said.
Even on a surface level of known what the different levels of government and parties are talking about, politics is something that, as you mentioned, is interconnected with a lot of what we do in society.
I know I still have a long way to go with deepening my understanding, but I feel like I still have a vested interest in learning more. I just hope I can find those meaningful conversations with people about stuff like this... and not have to deal with vitriolic poison.
Great video. Another side effect of educating yourself on politics is it makes is harder and harder to watch entertainment uncritically and you start to see must how much propaganda is in your TV and movies.
It sucks that almost all media is reactionary. The question is, what do we do with it? Ban it all? As in almost all media?
This is a great call to organizing!! I'm in NYC DSA and hope that I meet some people who joined because of your video.
"ok, maybe not a trot" is the most accurate thing ever and I laughed out loud at that
I've been accused of being both a tankie and a trot.