I'm sure some smart people here have some reasons why not. But here's my take: It would be a rhetorical advantage to claim that a left-right political model only describes a capitalist democracy. Because we're neither capitalists nor democrats then it simply doesn't apply to us.
We're not left or right. The qualities of socialism have conservatism and liberalism mixed in because the primary ideological characteristic is so vastly different. The right have some good ideas, so does the left. We take the best of them. Out centralism the centralists.
It's not a different team, it's a completely different sport.
Because of the centers attack on 'leftism' that's only going to hot up, I think this would be a good way to parry the blows. Instead of arguing that they're wrong about leftism, say yeah, we're not leftists tho.
At the very least it'll frustrate the argument.
Thoughts?
I think a better take would be to not associate yourself with the "left" when talking to family and coworkers. I've had decent success in discussions when I come from the POV of a worker. Americans don't comprehend left and right the same way we do. If you say you're a leftist, most average family and co-workers will assume you mean Democrat.
But I like to speak in terms like these: "Pelosi is just as corrupt as someone like Lindsey Graham, they don't have our best interests at heart. Wages haven't gone up in 40 years yet the owner class is raking in billions. That's fucked up for people like you and me, isn't it? Isn't it fucked up how most of us are only 2 paychecks away from being out on the street? Why is that normal and okay?"
I'm bringing zero idpol or culture war bs into the talk, and I've managed to make bridges with some chuds as well as liberals. People need to start approaching politics from a material argument, and not a Democrat vs Republican view.