Writings

Democratic Factions

Home

Democrats are just as divided as the Republicans, and some of them are just as ideological.

Those on the Far Left (FL) want government to ensure the basic needs of citizens. Their ideology is Socialism.

The Peace (P) crowd is equally ideological. Not that many are actually engaged in peace work. However, of those infuriated by the Iraq war, only some would be P. The others would be mostly just partisan.

There are many single-issue (SI) groups. Some are ideological (e.g., those primarily concerned gender equality, the Feminists), and I would include the pro-abortionists as ideologues. What remains of the race issue also tends to be ideological, but I believe the Dems retain the support of the black voters because those voters believe the Dems will deliver in practice.

The trade unions (TU) tend to be purely practical and self-interested rather than ideological. Interestingly, many of their members vote Republican, probably because they have achieved middle-class social and economic status and herefore have something to protect, which tends to make one more conservative. Same principle applies to older voters who move from left to right as they establish their careers and possess more assets.

The academic establishment (AE) is a mixed bag. Many of them are no doubt of the FL, but others are policy wonks sans ideologies.

Some of those who are hostile to big business simply don’t like the extent of corporate economic power because it affects so many social issues. I suppose those (like me) who oppose Consumerism as an effective ideology could be counted as anti-Consumerist ideologists (AC)

The Religious Left (RC), those emphasizing the Social Gospel [see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_gospel ] is not very prominent and could best be described as Idealistic rather than Ideological.