• DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
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        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
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          1 year ago

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

          • DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
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            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
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      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
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        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”.