Difference between revisions of "Decline of leftism"

Revision as of 12:23, November 25, 2017

The dissolution of atheistic, communist Soviet Union on December 26, 1991 was a watershed moment in terms of the decline of leftism and the secular left (See also: Decline of the secular left). Politically, atheists have a history of skewing politically to the left (see: Atheism and politics).

According to the University of Cambridge, historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power."^[1] The collapse of atheism in the former Soviet Union led to rapid desecularization in the region of the former Soviet Union and was a significant blow to the secular left.

USA and the Britain: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Reagan was a movement conservative who succeeded in moving the nation to the right in terms of reducing federal regulation and lowering taxes. He promoted Individual Liberty and the conviction that government was the problem and private enterprise the solution. He cut taxes but despite his proposals, spending and the federal deficit went up. After a short sharp recession early in his first term, the economy was strong by 1984. Proclaiming "It's Morning Again in America", Reagan carried 49 of 50 states to win reelection. He moved the Supreme Court and the federal courts to the right with his appointments.

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and the first woman to hold the position. Her leadership permanently moved Britain to the right and reshaped the nation's political environment to stress economic growth and international competitiveness. The Labour Party in response under Tony Blair jettisoned their old leftist ideas and followed Thatcher-lite programs. Despite being in power for 13 years from 1997 to 2010 Labour did not remove any of Thatcher's anti-union legislation and has refused to even consider doing so.

Decline of 21st century leftism in the Western World Anglosphere

Since 2010, there has been a marked decline of leftism in the United States and Britain.^[2] Democrats lost 1,042 seats—including U.S. House, Senate, state governorship, and state legislative seats—during Barack Obama's eight years in office.^[3]

Political conservatism has grown in Australia. John Howard, who became prime minister in 1996, was the first holder of the office to describe himself as a conservative.^[4]

Decline of the 21st century atheist movement in Western World Anglosphere and the decline of the secular left in the world at large

The 2011 Elevatorgate controversy deeply fractured the Western World Anglosphere atheist movement and led to the decline of the atheist movement (see: Decline of the atheist movement and Western atheism, schisms and political polarization).

Since 1970, global atheism has been shrinking as a percentage of the world's population (see: Global atheism statistics). In addition, much to the dismay of the Communist Party of China, evangelical Christianity is experiencing explosive growth in China (see: Growth of Christianity in China.

Rise of right-wing parties in Europe

In the 21st century, right-wing nationalist parties have been growing in Europe due to: the Eurozone Crisis; Euroskepticism (backlash to the formation of the Eurozone); high youth unemployment in some European countries; low economic growth in various European countries; backlash to immigration; a growing Islamic terrorism problem and growing levels of government debt in various European countries.^[5]

References