Militant Left

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
--The Who

Some people are voicing surprise at the recent escalation in the militant nature of the left. But it should be no surprise. Leftists are statists. When they sense that their statist institutions are being threatened, leftists will do what they can to neutralize the threat.

In pretense that the state does not act aggressively, however, leftists will rarely begin with overt force. Instead, they will follow a familiar progression that unfolds as follows:

Social pressure. Public ridicule, belittlement, etc. aimed at embarrassing or shaming the target into 'voluntarily' removing the threat.

Legal action. Laws, law suits, arrests, impeachment meant to keep the threat at bay.

Physical violence. When the previous two measures don't work, then overt physical force is employed against the threat.

Because leftists are collectivists, they mistakenly believe that ridicule and shaming work against members of out-groups just as effectively as against members of their in-group. They fail to realize that out-group members are often less influenced by rhetoric than leftists are. As such, no matter how loud the left shouts--and they have been shouting--little social pressure is actually exerted on out-groups. Consequently, this tactic has been largely ineffective in quelling recent threats to the state.

Until recently, running to the courts to obtain legal recourse against state threats has been an effective fallback tactic. However, since President Trump took office, he has been nominating judges for benches from the Supreme Court on down that promise to tilt the balance of judiciary power away from leftist agendas.

Because legal channels are also failing them, leftists are increasing turning to overt violence as a preferred measure for preserving the state. This explains rising militant tendencies of the left.