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→Eric Foner political categorization
:That's ignoring the larger picture with selective cherry-picking. Who instigated the First Red Scare? Progressives. (the "Old Guard" conservatives opposed rabid persecutions of anarchists and Communists at the time because of the massive civil liberty violations) Into the 1920s and 30s, the same progressives who fought for labor rights, a graduated income tax, public power, etc. simultaneously were the most virulently anti-Bolshevik, i.e. Southern Democrats and the Second KKK. At one point, a black member of the Indiana Socialist Party referred to the Klan as "working for the things that the Socialist party want but cannot get." Progressives vs. socialists/Communists was essentially like Trotskyism vs. Stalinism, two rivaling leftist factions competing for the same constituency.
:That's ignoring the larger picture with selective cherry-picking. Who instigated the First Red Scare? Progressives. (the "Old Guard" conservatives opposed rabid persecutions of anarchists and Communists at the time because of the massive civil liberty violations) Into the 1920s and 30s, the same progressives who fought for labor rights, a graduated income tax, public power, etc. simultaneously were the most virulently anti-Bolshevik, i.e. Southern Democrats and the Second KKK. At one point, a black member of the Indiana Socialist Party referred to the Klan as "working for the things that the Socialist party want but cannot get." Progressives vs. socialists/Communists was essentially like Trotskyism vs. Stalinism, two rivaling leftist factions competing for the same constituency.
:See, the problem with ''your'' usage of "progressive" in the initial complaint above is that you employ it in ''the very context and format modern-day leftist propagandists use it''; You create a sense of synonymy between "communist" and "progressive" with zero mention of the long rivaling history between the two. A bit hypocritical on your part to bash Foner as a left-wing propagandist while quietly employing such deception yourself, eh? —[[User:LT|<code><span style="background:#FF8181">'''LT'''</span></code>]] '''''[[User talk:LT|<sup>(Matthew 26:52)</sup>]]''''' Monday, 10:51, May 15, 2023 (EDT)
:See, the problem with ''your'' usage of "progressive" in the initial complaint above is that you employ it in ''the very context and format modern-day leftist propagandists use it''; You create a sense of synonymy between "communist" and "progressive" with zero mention of the long rivaling history between the two. A bit hypocritical on your part to bash Foner as a left-wing propagandist while quietly employing such deception yourself, eh? —[[User:LT|<code><span style="background:#FF8181">'''LT'''</span></code>]] '''''[[User talk:LT|<sup>(Matthew 26:52)</sup>]]''''' Monday, 10:51, May 15, 2023 (EDT)
I do not see why it is deception or why it really matters. Yes, the progressives did indeed perhaps take a part in the First Red Scare through things like the Palmer Raids, and this likely was because they had an inherently big government philosophy that disregarded the importance of civil liberties during the time. While it is interesting that you bring up the Troyskyite-Stalinist comparison, I would argue that mentioning the Progressive Movement is ultimately irrelevant in the context of this conversation, however. Our job is to decipher whether Eric Foner's political inclinations warrant the communist template regardless of whether or not his writings have been helpful, which I would argue they do because of his communist ties and because in ''Why There is No Socialism'' he reveals himself to be a commiesymp. If it is better for me to use a label other than progressive to describe Foner, (like leftist or left-winger) I am fine with that, though I don't really understand why we need to bring up the Progressive Era here. -[[User:Mr. Nationalist|Mr. Nationalist]] ([[User talk:Mr. Nationalist|talk]]) 13:07, May 15, 2023 (EDT)