chapotraphouse

i generally do agree to avoid the left-right terminology, because it's too simplistic and doesn't accurately place schools of thought together, but it's easier to say "left wing" this or "right wing" that because it's the most common type of ideology classification, albeit incredibly flawed.

i am actually australian! the socialist party i've been talking about is the victorian socialists. at some point they had a person in parliament but from what i know right now they don't hold any positions in government. they've been getting a lot of new members, though, and have finally expanded beyond victoria. the social democratic party is the australian greens. they're pretty solid socdems and actively pushed dental + mental health into our medicare coverage. they've also been staunch supporters of the LGBTQ community and were the first party to speak out against israel. sadly the leader of the greens lost his seat in parliament this year, but as a party they've been growing more than anyone else, especially amongst the youth.

we are also lucky in that our conservative party is incredibly stupid and incompetent. over a third of aussies are first gen immigrants, so the rhetoric of "the immigrants are taking your jobs" doesn't really work here. they've also made blunder upon a blunder in every single recent election and fucked up so badly this year that they lost half their seats, the leader included. even after such a historical loss, they can't help but shoot themselves in the foot by saying quite literally all the wrong things to this day, and it's very satisfying to watch.

our current issues is the housing and childcare crisis. we have one of the worst housing markets in the world, to the point of where it's impossible of getting a rental on your own as a young person. the current party in power is trying to do something, but whatever policies they've attempted to implement to curb the housing costs, they're not working that well. we've got a decent healthcare system where you pay next to nothing out of pocket for most things, and our social services have never been better. i'd put australia somewhere between the scandinavian states and the rest of europe in terms of livability.

as an individual, i've been doing a lot to help out in the community. for privacy reasons i won't disclose what org i'm a part of but it's been very fulfilling for me to volunteer and help people out. as miserable as the state of the world makes me sometimes, at least i know that i'm doing as much as an individual like me can, and that helps me stay sane.

i think one of america's core issues when it comes to politics and academia is just how anti-intellectual the society itself is. the education system is underfunded, outdated and exhausted. america's teachers have to beg for scraps from a government that would rather give ICE agents signing bonuses than put any of those funds towards building an educated youth. it's ridiculous how little the average voter knows about their own country and how it works, let alone anything outside of their western bubble. it's likely a big contributor as to how populist and nationalist rhetoric of trump and his associates took root in the country. the mccarthyism and the red scare leftovers that stayed past the cold war is also probably why any anticapitalist movement in america cannot fundamentally get any footing. when your old teach the young that even the concept of communism or the like is dangerous to the very fabric of their country's society, however flawed and dysfunctional it may be, they're bound to grow up not thinking twice about it, and oppose anything remotely socialist out of habit. but maybe, just maybe, the capitalist bubble of america will eventually pop. one can only hope.