I think that someone's move from "left" to "right" on the political spectrum varies a lot among individuals. Sometimes, a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged (to quote the cliché). On a larger scale, a lot of people have shifted right simply because the leftist mass movement has atomized due to political disappointment, government subversion (e.g., Cointelpro against the "new" left of the 1960s), and sometimes superficial victories (e.g., Nixon's (temporary) abolition of the draft). Sometimes leftist sectarianism, itself a sign of the movement's decline, contributes to the process (as when some jerk criticizes a doubter as being a class traitor or whatever). Economic incentives help the rightward move, since most of capitalism rewards obedience to the system and the like. Those who publicly break with their old views and espouse establishmentarian ones (e.g., the "god that failed" crowd) often get big rewards (e.g., CIA subsidies for their journals). These, of course, make it hard to "go back."
(As usual, the words "right" and "left" are not used rigorously.) ------------------------ Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine - > From: Michael Perelman > Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2004 8:11 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Thomas Sowell > > > David makes a good point, but with so much money and so many > resources flowing to > amenable conservatives, careerism is a legitimate suspicion. > To raise such a > suspicion is not to deny that conservatives are real people. > > I do not mean to imply that careerism is a part of most > conservatives mindset, but > the suspicion does seem legitimate for the movement > conservatives, such as Sowell. > > > On Tue, Jun 29, 2004 at 06:26:09PM -0700, David B. Shemano wrote: > > To the extent this has any relevancy, I do not think this > applies to Sowell and certainly does not apply to Thomas. > Again, this highlights the very point repeatedly raised by > Sowell and Thomas -- the refusal of Lefties to treat them as > real people with their own mind who believe what they say > based upon honest reflection. > > David Shemano > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Larry Shute > > Economics > > Cal Poly Pomona > -- > Michael Perelman > Economics Department > California State University > Chico, CA 95929 > > Tel. 530-898-5321 > E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu >
