Finding labels for different groups on the left has come up in the town halls and now on two straight Bonus Episodes.
Here’s my try at finding terms I think are respectful but hopefully clear, followed by an example of an issue that shows what I think they have in common and what distinguishes them from each other.
GROUPS ON THE LEFT
1] Leftists
2] Progressive left
3] Populist left
4] Liberals
IMO, I think Jill Stein would be a leftist, Jordan & John would be progressive left, Cenk & Ana would be populist left, and Kamala Harris would be a liberal.
Let’s consider trans rights as an example. Supporting the trans community unites all of us on the left as a fundamental principle. We all agree on this. But there are different positions on some specific issues, like trans women playing in women’s pro sports.
Using these terms, I would say:
1] A leftist strongly supports including trans women in pro sports. They’d say we need to actively fight for this since it is a fundamental right. It doesn’t matter whether or not it’s a popular position. If a candidate doesn’t support it, it’s a deal-breaker.
2] Someone on the progressive left agrees with including trans women in pro sports. They think this should eventually happen, possibly encourage the Democratic Party to adopt it. But it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker if a politician didn’t support it as long as they support trans rights more broadly.
3] Someone on the populist left may or not personally support trans women in women’s pro sports. What matters is we should not fight for it now because it’s not a popular position, isn’t a fundamental right, and it doesn’t affect many people. They support the trans community, but since this specific issue hurts the left politically, they oppose running on it electorally.
4] A liberal may or not have an opinion on trans women in women’s sports. They’ll support what the Democratic Party decides is best because like most things, the GOP is much worse overall on trans issues than any Democrat would be. We should support the Democratic candidate and defend or at least not oppose their position on this issue.
I think it’s important to remember there can be good- and bad-faith actors for any of these. All progressives aren’t good, all of them aren’t bad. There are good-faith leftists and bad-faith leftists, the same goes for liberals, etc. We should be united against bad faith actors who only want to fight, misrepresent, or insult the other side, but welcoming and open to anyone who’s willing to have an honest discussion.
Hope this helps advance the discussion (or at least doesn’t make things worse!). Whether or not you agree with these terms, we have much more in common with others on the left than we do with the right. As we do the important work of reaching out more to the right to find our common ground, it’s also important not to forget the shared values that unite us — or at least should unite us — on the left.