• DragonTypeWyvern
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          This is the kind of explanation that doesn’t explain anything to the people who need it explained.

          If it helps, consider horseshoe theory as the idea that all authoritarian systems start doing similar things, completely independent of economic models.

          It’s still not great, but at least there’s an observation in there.

          You can start a separate conversation on whether there’s any value to conceptualizing a left/right spectrum at all (there isn’t)

          • irmoz@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            4
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            The extreme left isn’t authoritarian. It’s communism or anarchism, which are both stateless

            • DragonTypeWyvern
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              3
              ·
              1 year ago

              Yes, someone that knows what words means knows that, but the people that unironically talk about horseshoe theory don’t, so all they see is someone who clearly doesn’t understand that “Them commies love dictators”

      • MaungaHikoi@lemmy.nz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

        Just to flip this, do you have any sources that horseshoe theory is a real thing? That’s the funny thing about language, someone put Theory in the name and now people think it’s a real thing.

        To save you the trouble, it hasn’t held up under academic study. Plenty of info on Wikipedia about it.

        • irmoz@reddthat.com
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          It doesn’t deserve even that much effort

          Just the basic definition of the two extremes tells you enough to know there is no similarity, and no serious thought behind the “theory”.