> I think the "F-word" is so loaded with ideological and emotional
> connotations that it is extremely difficult for people to look at
> instances of actually existing F's. For instance, any F state must be the
> most evil state imaginable, even though I can easily rattle off a long
> list of names of regimes far more repressive than some of the F ones --
> like those in China, Saddam's Iraq (hell, probably today's Iraq), North
> Korea, and loads of countries in the Middle East. Fuck, Cuba is likely
> more repressive than Fascist Italy. (Admittedly, none of these states are
> militarized or aggressive, except Iraq.)
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This is certainly an eclectic list, running the gamut from anarchists to
admirers of Italian fascism. I've previously noted that my definition of
"left" is restricted to those who, whatever their disagreements, have
supported the objectives of the trade unions and other social protest
movements against those who would destroy them. In periods like the present,
when such conflicts are muted and mostly electoral, there's not the same
compulsion to take sides, and it's easy for those like Chris to adopt an
"even-handed" approach. Alas, in times of crisis, when forced to choose,
such intellectuals typically follow their impulses to the right.