We have to be realistic that people moving out of the liberal mainstream will necessarily gravitate towards ideas that aren't too far afield. The fact that people are becoming open to new ideas is important though, and those of us who have better understanding of political theory can help them develop better understanding as well.
Absolutely, I have talked with people who are functionally spicy socdems but who hadn't yet been intercepted by "tankie" propaganda and thought Marx, Mao, even USSR and sometimes even modern China was to some degree cool, which caught me by surprise. Definitely made ensuing conversation much easier.
We have to be realistic that people moving out of the liberal mainstream will necessarily gravitate towards ideas that aren't too far afield. The fact that people are becoming open to new ideas is important though, and those of us who have better understanding of political theory can help them develop better understanding as well.
Absolutely, I have talked with people who are functionally spicy socdems but who hadn't yet been intercepted by "tankie" propaganda and thought Marx, Mao, even USSR and sometimes even modern China was to some degree cool, which caught me by surprise. Definitely made ensuing conversation much easier.