• @[email protected]
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    203 months ago

    Similarly to how ‘reactionary’ just means ‘bad’ to these people. For the record a ‘reactionary’ is somebody who wants to restore a previous status quo. It’s not inherently good or bad.

    • @[email protected]
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      3 months ago

      Reactionary, in political science terms, is the opposite of radicals. Radicals are to the left and reactionaries are to the right. In practice, people on the internet tend to use radical for both, but I wish the distinction was made more clear.

      • @denshirenji
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        23 months ago

        You are correct. Radicals want things to change in an extreme way, and reactionaries are just that, reactionary to change. Not sure why you got downvoted for knowing what you are talking about.

        Language does change, though, and often laymen use words differently than subject matter experts.

        • @[email protected]
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          23 months ago

          While I usually try not to be prescriptive with language, it has a place. The distinction between radical and reactionary is a useful one.

      • @[email protected]
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        13 months ago

        No. Radical is simply somebody who wants to fundamentally change society. It’s not the opposite of a reactionary, in fact, you can be radical and reactionary at the same time.