9. The two psychological tendencies that underlie modern leftism we call “feelings of inferiority” and “oversocialization.” Feelings of inferiority are characteristic of modern leftism as a whole, while oversocialization is characteristic only of a certain segment of modern leftism; but this segment is highly influential.
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===LA PSICOLOGÍA DEL ACTUAL IZQUIERDISMO===
9. A las dos tendencias psicológicas que subyacen en el actual izquierdismo las denominaremos "sentimientos de inferioridad" e "hipersocialización". Los sentimientos de inferioridad son característicos de todo el actual izquierdismo, mientras que la hipersocialización es propia solo de una fracción determinada del mismo, pero una fracción muy influyente sobre las demás.
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===FEELINGS OF INFERIORITY===
16. Conceptos como ''autoconfianza'', ''iniciativa'', ''emprendimiento'', ''optimismo'', etc., no son importantes en el vocabulario del izquierdismo. Los izquierdistas son anti-individualistas y pro-colectivistas. Quieren que la sociedad resuelva los problemas de todos, satisfaga las necesidades de todos y cuide a todos. No son la clase de personas que confían en su propia capacidad para resolver sus problemas y satisfacer sus necesidades. A un izquierdista le disgusta de idea de competir porque, en el fondo, se siente un perdedor.
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17. Art forms that appeal to modern leftish intellectuals tend to focus on sordidness, defeat and despair, or else they take an orgiastic tone, throwing off rational control as if there were no hope of accomplishing anything through rational calculation and all that was left was to immerse oneself in the sensations of the moment.
1817. Modern leftish philosophers tend to dismiss reasonLos actuales izquierdistas son atraídos por expresiones artísticas enfocadas en la sordidez, sciencela derrota y la desesperanza, objective reality and to insist that everything is culturally relativeo las que apelan a los apetitos o pasiones desenfrenadas, al abandono del control racional. It is true that one can ask serious questions about the foundations of scientific knowledge and about howLas obras que prefieren son la que expresan la falta de confianza en que se puede lograr algo mediante la planificación racional y la convicción de que lo único que se puede hacer es dejarse llevar por las sensaciones del momento. 18. Los actuales filósofos de izquierda tienden a rechazar la racionalidad, if at allla ciencia, the concept of objective reality can be definedla realidad objetiva y a afirmar la relatividad cultural. But it is obvious that modern leftish philosophers are not simply cool-headed logicians systematically analyzing the foundations of knowledgeEs cierto que se puede indagar seriamente sobre los fundamentos del saber científico y sobre si es posible y cómo definir la realidad objetiva. They are deeply involved emotionally in their attack on truth and realityEs obvio, sin embargo, que los actuales filósofos de izquierda no son sólo lógicos que analizan desapasionadamente los fundamentos del saber. They attack these concepts because of their own psychological needsEstán emocionalmente involucrados en sus ataques a la verdad y a la realidad y lo están debido a sus propias necesidades psicológicas. For one thing, their attack is an outlet for hostility, andSu ataque es una válvula de escape para su hostilidad y, to the extent that it is successfulen la medida en que es exitoso, it satisfies the drive for poweruna satisfacción para su búsqueda del poder. More importantlyMás importante aún, the leftist hates science and rationality because they classify certain beliefs as true los izquierdistas odian la ciencia y la racionalidad porque ambas consideran que hay creencias verdaderas (i.e.es decir, successful, superioreficaces o superiores) and other beliefs as false y otras que son falsas (i.e., failedes decir, inferiorineficaces o inferiores). The leftist’s feelings of inferiority run so deep that he cannot tolerate any classification of some things as successful or superior and other things as failed or inferiorLos sentimientos de inferioridad de los izquierdistas son tan profundos que no pueden tolerar que se clasifique a algunas cosas como eficaces o superiores y a otras como ineficaces o inferiores. This also underlies the rejection by many leftists of the concept of Este rasgo también explica el rechazo de muchos izquierdistas del concepto de enfermedad mental illness and of the utility of IQ y de la utilidad de los testsde cociente intelectual. Leftists are antagonistic to genetic explanations of human abilities or behavior because such explanations tend to make some persons appear superior or inferior to othersLos izquierdistas se oponen a las explicaciones genéticas de las destrezas y comportamientos humanos, porque tiende a mostrar que algunas personas son superiores o inferiores a otras. Leftists prefer to give society the credit or blame for an individual’s ability or lack of itPor eso prefieren atribuir a la sociedad el crédito o la culpa por las habilidades o falta de habilidades de las personas. Thus if a person is “inferior” it is not his faultDe este modo, but society’ssi una persona es "inferior", because he has not been brought up properlyno es su culpa sino de la sociedad que no lo ha formado adecuadamente.
19. The leftist is not typically the kind of person whose feelings of inferiority make him a braggart, an egotistLos izquierdistas no son por regla general la clase de personas cuyos sentimientos de inferioridad los hacen ser fanfarrones, a bullyengreídos, a self-promotermatones, a ruthless competitordespiadados. This kind of person has not wholly lost faith in himselfEsta clase de personas no ha perdido del todo la fe en sí mismas. He has a deficit in his sense of power and self-worth, but he can still conceive of himself as having the capacity to be strongTiene un déficit de autoestima y de su capacidad de logro, and his efforts to make himself strong produce his unpleasant behavior. pero todavía puede imaginarse fuerte y el origen de sus desagradables comportamientos son precisamente sus esfuerzos para ser fuerte[1] But the leftist is too far gone for that. His feelings of inferiority are so ingrained that he cannot conceive of himself as individually strong and valuableLos sentimientos de inferioridad de los izquierdistas son tan intensos que no pueden imaginarse a sí mismos como individuos fuertes y valiosos. Hence the collectivism of the leftist. He can feel strong only as a member of a large organization or a mass movement with which he identifies himselfDe allí su colectivismo, ya que sólo pueden sentirse fuertes como parte de la organización o el movimiento de masas con que se compenetran.
20. Notice the masochistic tendency of leftist tactics. Leftists protest by lying down in front of vehiclesNótese la tendencia masoquista de las tácticas izquierdistas, they intentionally provoke police or racists to abuse themque protestan tirándose al suelo delante de vehículos, provocando a la policía o a los racistas para que abusen de ellos, etc. These tactics may often be effectiveEstas técnicas frecuentemente son efectivas, but many leftists use them not as a means to an end but because they PREFER masochistic tacticspero los izquierdistas las usan porque ''prefieren'' las tácticas masoquistas. Self-hatred is El odio a leftist traitsí mismo es un rasgo izquierdista.
21. Leftists may claim that their activism is motivated by compassion or by moral principlesLos izquierdistas suelen alegar que su activismo está motivado por la compasión o por principios morales, and moral principle does play a role for the leftist of the oversocialized typey estos factores son efectivamente importantes para los del tipo hipersocializado. But compassion and moral principle cannot be the main motives for leftist activismSin embargo, la compasión y los principios morales no son los motivos principales del activismo izquierdista. Hostility is too prominent a component of leftist behavior; so is the drive for powerLa hostilidad es un factor prominente del comportamiento izquierdista, como lo es la búsqueda del poder. MoreoverMás aún, much leftist behavior is not rationally calculated to be of benefit to the people whom the leftists claim to be trying to helpgran parte del comportamiento izquierdista no está planificado para beneficiar a las personas que los izquierdistas proclaman querer ayudar. For examplePor ejemplo, if one believes that si el ejercicio de derechos negados (''affirmative action is good for black people'') es bueno para la gente de color, does it make sense to demand affirmative action in hostile or dogmatic terms¿tiene sentido llevarlo a cabo de modo agresivo o dogmático? Obviously it would be more productive to take a diplomatic and conciliatory approach that would make at least verbal and symbolic concessions to white people who think that affirmative action discriminates against them Obviamente sería mejor un encaramiento más diplomático y conciliatorio, con concesiones verbales y simbólicas que eviten que la gente blanca se sienta agredida o discriminada. But leftist activists do not take such an approach because it would not satisfy their emotional needsLos izquierdistas no eligen este encaramiento porque no satisface sus necesidades emocionales. Helping black people is not their real goalAyudar a la gente de color no es su verdadero objetivo. Instead, race problems serve as an excuse for them to express their own hostility and frustrated need for powerEl racismo les sirve de excusa para expresar su hostilidad y su frustrada búsqueda de poder. In doing so they actually harm black peopleAl obrar de esta manera dañan en la práctica a la gente de color, because the activists’ hostile attitude toward the white majority tends to intensify race hatredporque la agresividad de los activistas hacia las mayorías blancas tiende a intensificar el odio racial.
22. If our society had Si su sociedad no social problems at alltiene problemas sociales, the leftists would have to INVENT problems in order to provide themselves with an excuse for making a fusslos izquierdistas los ''inventarán'', creando así una excusa para hacer lío.
23. We emphasize that the foregoing does not pretend to be an accurate description of everyone who might be considered a leftistEnfatizamos que dicho antes no pretende ser una descripción exacta de un izquierdista cualquiera. It is only a rough indication of a general tendency of leftismEs sólo la identificación de una tendencia generalizada del izquierdismo.|-->|}valign=top|
===OVERSOCIALIZATION===
32. The problems of the leftist are indicative of the problems of our society as a whole. Low self-esteem, depressive tendencies and defeatism are not restricted to the left. Though they are especially noticeable in the left, they are widespread in our society. And today’s society tries to socialize us to a greater extent than any previous society. We are even told by experts how to eat, how to exercise, how to make love, how to raise our kids and so forth.
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===HIPERSOCIALIZACIÓN===
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24. Psychologists use the term “socialization” to designate the process by which children are trained to think and act as society demands. A person is said to be well socialized if he believes in and obeys the moral code of his society and fits in well as a functioning part of that society. It may seem senseless to say that many leftists are oversocialized, since the leftist is perceived as a rebel. Nevertheless, the position can be defended. Many leftists are not such rebels as they seem.
25. The moral code of our society is so demanding that no one can think, feel and act in a completely moral way. For example, we are not supposed to hate anyone, yet almost everyone hates somebody at some time or other, whether he admits it to himself or not. Some people are so highly socialized that the attempt to think, feel and act morally imposes a severe burden on them. In order to avoid feelings of guilt, they continually have to deceive themselves about their own motives and find moral explanations for feelings and actions that in reality have a non-moral origin. We use the term “oversocialized” to describe such people. [2]
26. Oversocialization can lead to low self-esteem, a sense of powerlessness, defeatism, guilt, etc. One of the most important means by which our society socializes children is by making them feel ashamed of behavior or speech that is contrary to society’s expectations. If this is overdone, or if a particular child is especially susceptible to such feelings, he ends by feeling ashamed of HIMSELF. Moreover the thought and the behavior of the oversocialized person are more restricted by society’s expectations than are those of the lightly socialized person. The majority of people engage in a significant amount of naughty behavior. They lie, they commit petty thefts, they break traffic laws, they goof off at work, they hate someone, they say spiteful things or they use some underhanded trick to get ahead of the other guy. The oversocialized person cannot do these things, or if he does do them he generates in himself a sense of shame and self-hatred. The oversocialized person cannot even experience, without guilt, thoughts or feelings that are contrary to the accepted morality; he cannot think “unclean” thoughts. And socialization is not just a matter of morality; we are socialized to conform to many norms of behavior that do not fall under the heading of morality. Thus the oversocialized person is kept on a psychological leash and spends his life running on rails that society has laid down for him. In many oversocialized people this results in a sense of constraint and powerlessness that can be a severe hardship. We suggest that oversocialization is among the more serious cruelties that human beings inflict on one another.
27. We argue that a very important and influential segment of the modern left is oversocialized and that their oversocialization is of great importance in determining the direction of modern leftism. Leftists of the oversocialized type tend to be intellectuals or members of the upper-middle class. Notice that university intellectuals [3] constitute the most highly socialized segment of our society and also the most left-wing segment.
28. The leftist of the oversocialized type tries to get off his psychological leash and assert his autonomy by rebelling. But usually he is not strong enough to rebel against the most basic values of society. Generally speaking, the goals of today’s leftists are NOT in conflict with the accepted morality. On the contrary, the left takes an accepted moral principle, adopts it as its own, and then accuses mainstream society of violating that principle. Examples: racial equality, equality of the sexes, helping poor people, peace as opposed to war, nonviolence generally, freedom of expression, kindness to animals. More fundamentally, the duty of the individual to serve society and the duty of society to take care of the individual. All these have been deeply rooted values of our society (or at least of its middle and upper classes [4] for a long time. These values are explicitly or implicitly expressed or presupposed in most of the material presented to us by the mainstream communications media and the educational system. Leftists, especially those of the oversocialized type, usually do not rebel against these principles but justify their hostility to society by claiming (with some degree of truth) that society is not living up to these principles.
29. Here is an illustration of the way in which the oversocialized leftist shows his real attachment to the conventional attitudes of our society while pretending to be in rebellion against it. Many leftists push for affirmative action, for moving black people into high-prestige jobs, for improved education in black schools and more money for such schools; the way of life of the black “underclass” they regard as a social disgrace. They want to integrate the black man into the system, make him a business executive, a lawyer, a scientist just like upper-middle-class white people. The leftists will reply that the last thing they want is to make the black man into a copy of the white man; instead, they want to preserve African American culture. But in what does this preservation of African American culture consist? It can hardly consist in anything more than eating black-style food, listening to black-style music, wearing black-style clothing and going to a black- style church or mosque. In other words, it can express itself only in superficial matters. In all ESSENTIAL respects most leftists of the oversocialized type want to make the black man conform to white, middle-class ideals. They want to make him study technical subjects, become an executive or a scientist, spend his life climbing the status ladder to prove that black people are as good as white. They want to make black fathers “responsible,” they want black gangs to become nonviolent, etc. But these are exactly the values of the industrial-technological system. The system couldn’t care less what kind of music a man listens to, what kind of clothes he wears or what religion he believes in as long as he studies in school, holds a respectable job, climbs the status ladder, is a “responsible” parent, is nonviolent and so forth. In effect, however much he may deny it, the oversocialized leftist wants to integrate the black man into the system and make him adopt its values.
30. We certainly do not claim that leftists, even of the oversocialized type, NEVER rebel against the fundamental values of our society. Clearly they sometimes do. Some oversocialized leftists have gone so far as to rebel against one of modern society’s most important principles by engaging in physical violence. By their own account, violence is for them a form of “liberation.” In other words, by committing violence they break through the psychological restraints that have been trained into them. Because they are oversocialized these restraints have been more confining for them than for others; hence their need to break free of them. But they usually justify their rebellion in terms of mainstream values. If they engage in violence they claim to be fighting against racism or the like.
31. We realize that many objections could be raised to the foregoing thumbnail sketch of leftist psychology. The real situation is complex, and anything like a complete description of it would take several volumes even if the necessary data were available. We claim only to have indicated very roughly the two most important tendencies in the psychology of modern leftism.
32. The problems of the leftist are indicative of the problems of our society as a whole. Low self-esteem, depressive tendencies and defeatism are not restricted to the left. Though they are especially noticeable in the left, they are widespread in our society. And today’s society tries to socialize us to a greater extent than any previous society. We are even told by experts how to eat, how to exercise, how to make love, how to raise our kids and so forth.