Left leaning

As Thomas Sowell pointed out, it is always surprising and amusing that the Left, after years of scientific analysis, continually announce the ground-breaking discovery — in their Einstein moment — that somehow life is unfair. One begins to question why they haven’t yet won Nobel Prize for science.

However, the greatest deception the Left deserves credit for, is their ability to skilfully pull off the claim that they are the ‘rightful’ defenders and champions of the disadvantaged and exploited masses. And this claim was historically accompanied by criticism of capitalism.

These days, some have come to accept some aspects of capitalist society … to some extent. Yet many still advocate that capitalism is in its final cycle and that soon the economy will be returned to the ‘rightful’ owners — socialism.

It seems that the Left have trouble remembering the failures of socialism but are more than happy to give a 10-minute speech on the failures of capitalism. They ignore the Communist Soviet experiment — which almost brought an end to the world in the Cuban missile crisis – and the abysmal history of North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Communist China, Venezuela and Cuba.

Any rational person who has tried to reason with the Left by citing history will have been met by the same cavilling excuses: “They were led by evil leaders” … “they differed from ‘true’ socialism” … “China’s economy seems to be strong.”

Speaking personally, I’ve noticed a definite trend towards the Left in high schools and universities. Almost all students at my school are inclined to the Left, captured by the well-marketed rhetoric of ‘equality’. And this is parallel in the US, where Bernie Sanders won almost three times the amount of votes from young people under 30 in comparison to Clinton in the 2016 Democratic nomination.

As memories of the cold war era fade away with the Boomers, and our current younger generations take their place, the further slide towards collectivist, socialist-based politics seems inevitable. It’s a fearful prospect…

Tony Peng is a Year 10 student at James Ruse High School, undertaking work experience at the Centre for Independent Studies.