A Bookwormish Guide to Leftist Memes

It’s always fun to track the little memes that creep into and out of leftist discourse. Back in the day, they included “premature anti-fascism,” “McCarthyite witch hunt,” “peaceful co-existence,” “Venceremos!,” “Bush Lied, Children Died,” and other absurdities.

Here’s a look at some of the current crop of “progressive” memes:

Shared Sacrifice—This is the new chestnut from Obama’s lips. It’s code for “let’s milk the rich and make ‘em pay for our plans to continue expanding the federal government.” Its proponents immediately raise objections to any suggestions that people who have very little tax burdens might want to “have more skin in the game” by being asked to contribute a bit more themselves.

Implicit in “shared sacrifice” are two assumptions the left cannot question without losing its identity: 1.) The federal government’s continued growth is vital to the survival of the free market and the United States of America. Starving it of needed taxes is much like starving a healthy child who is just entering a growth spurt. 2.) The acquisition of wealth is suspect at best and borderline criminal at worst. What’s at work here is a sublimated acceptance of the Marxist notion that labor alone gives value to a commodity or good. Since the rich don’t really work, the value of their products doesn’t really belong to them.

Narratives—This is one words that often marks its user as an unreflective relativist. In Left Land, all accounts of “reality” (notice the scare quotes) are conflicting narratives based on how centers of power—or powerlessness—see the world and would organize it according to their position. Although there is no objective truth, and all narratives are relative, some narratives are better because they can lead to social justice (see below). How one thing can be better than another when there is no such thing as better, is never explained.

White Skin Privilege—At one time, this was a serious and substantial characterization, especially in the South and in Democratic cities of the North. Today, though, it is racial code talk for middle-class values, which do not particularly take race into account. The people who use this term are either academics trying to get one more grand hand-wring out of their liberal guilt, or lower-class ethnics of any race who disdain such repressive practices as graduating from high school, delaying sexual gratification, learning how to show up at work on time, using normal business English, and not selling dope to their neighbors.

Fundamentalism—This is a leftist meme that is never explained because that would require a rudimentary knowledge of the thing—usually religion—that is being condemned. It is designed to summon images of barefoot, sexually frustrated women, illiterate hicks who cower in fear before the printed word (or NPR), and prigs who would torture gays—oh, wait, that’s the Religion of Peace—and refuse to believe that the universe created itself out of nothing and has been one accident after another ever since.

Social Justice—This is the Holy Grail of progressivism. It is code for the elimination of whatever it is you want eliminated in the name of justice and equality: borders, aptitude tests, strength tests, marriage eligibility criteria, workfare, sexual differences, income disparities, etc. For leftists, it is the most wonderful catch-all phrase ever invented, with the possible exception of  “We shall overcome.” “Yes, we can!” [With thanks to DL Sly for a better suggestion.]

Externalities—A useful economics notion that has been twisted into a hammer that sees every enterprise and market innovation as a nail. Simply put, an externality is a hidden cost that may not become apparent until later. For example, building an interstate highway system may improve the general economy of the country by allowing for faster, more efficient movement of goods. But one externality that only later becomes apparent is that in bypassing towns that once depended on through traffic from the predecessor highways for their commerce, the interstates led to those towns’ decline and even deaths.

Usually you will see the term applied to situations where it will reinforce a leftist point of view. A good example is the ongoing leftist hate fest against Wal-Mart. The meme goes that Wal-Mart moves into a bucolic little town and destroys the colorful mom-and-pop stores that give the place character and community. This destruction is the externality.

However, if you were to view another externality that never gets mentioned, it would wreck the leftist narrative. Think of an isolated place so far along the supply chain that it gets little choice in what goods it can buy and must pay a high price for them to cover the cost of transporting them so far. So, even though they’re forced to charge high prices, the cute little mom-and-pops cannot pay their help or themselves much money. The local economy is stuck in a place where it can’t really create a surplus.  

Now Wal-Mart comes in, with its huge buying power and economies of scale. Its per-hour pay rate is more than competitive with the mom-and-pops, and it likes to hire old people and part-timers (a big plus in farming communities). Because Wal-Mart centralizes access to many goods and services, people spend less on gas while buying those goods and services at a lower rate than they ever could have at the mom-and-pops. Net effect: the local standard of living goes up because people’s incomes stretch further.

This is a positive outcome, but note that the externality of the drag that small, inefficient stores put on rural citizens is never noted. Doesn’t fit the narrative.

Racism—Use of this term has devolved almost entirely into a situation where the pot is calling the kettle black. The notion that criticizing Obama is racist betrays the accusers’ closeted racism, which cannot see beyond Obama’s skin. Because for the left it is Obama’s skin, not Obama the man, they elected.

The most amusing use of the word is when leftists indignantly call people who criticize Islam “racists.” The Arabs, who are a Caucasian people, as well as the Iranians and many Pakistanis, would be surprised to learn that their religion is a race. Again, implicit in leftists’ use of the word race is a race consciousness that surpasses anything you’ll ever find among conservatives. Remember, it is “progressives” who firmly believe as one southern wag once said, “America is the only country on earth where a white woman can give birth to a black baby, but a black woman can never, ever give birth to a white baby.”

Fox News—Fox is not only the left’s bête noire, it also reveals its deep down perception that its own captive media have lost their mojo. Come on, when you compare Fox’s total viewership with the combined figures for all the other cable news channels, as well as the networks, the mainstream media, NPR and PBS, it has only a fraction of as many viewers. Yet Fox looms like Leni Riefenstahl in the leftist mind: Its visual magic can transform millions of flyover trash into letter writers, poll watchers, voters, raving racists, roving homophobes, and openly pro-Israel supporters—all in the space of only one Hannity segment.

Do you have any memes you’d like to add to this list?