Religion & Liberty Online

Jeremy Corbyn would destroy the US-UK special relationship

Citizens across the UK are casting their votes in the 2019 general election. Jeremy Corbyn “seems in equal parts blind to the violence of socialism, the goodness of the West, and anti-Semitism in his own party,” I write in my new article for The American Spectator.

The voters’ decision will have a decisive impact on the United States and the West as a whole. The Labour Party leader would destroy the special relationship of the U.S. and the UK. After noting Corbyn’s history of praising Marxist dictators, honoring terrorists, and turning a blind eye to the Labour Party’s anti-Semitism, the article quotes a Corbyn ally who states antipathy toward Jews emanates from “the left of the party”:

That brings up an issue that receives too little attention: Corbyn’s economic collectivist extremism. Corbyn has endorsed the greatest combination of progressive taxation and nationalization since the pre-Thatcher era of the 1970s. The man Corbyn has handpicked to become chancellor of the exchequer, John McDonnell, has casually confessed, “I am a Marxist,” and believes there is great wisdom to be had from reading Das Kapital. Corbyn has mentioned offhand that in his spare moments he daydreams about socialism. Even if he wanted to maintain a pro-American stance out of realpolitik — of which there is no evidence — the weak, sluggish UK he’d create would lack the resources to be of much use.

The Acton Powerblog recently shared the heartbreaking story of a Venezuelan immigrant whose father died in Caracas, not out of malice, but from the accumulated shortages caused by socialism. Economic shortages could kill transatlantic strategic alliances, as well.

Corbyn’s popularity in the UK’s 2019 general election, which will determine the strength of the global democratic alliance, is further proof the West’s biggest challenges come from within.

Read the whole article here.

(Photo credit: Jeremy Corbyn faces left during a general election rally in Birmingham. Jeremy Corbyn. This photo has been cropped. CC BY 2.0.)

Rev. Ben Johnson

Rev. Ben Johnson (@therightswriter) is an Eastern Orthodox priest and served as Executive Editor of the Acton Institute (2016-2021), editing Religion & Liberty, the Powerblog, and its transatlantic website. He has extensively researched the Alt-Right. Previously, he worked for LifeSiteNews and FrontPageMag.com, where he wrote three books including Party of Defeat (with David Horowitz, 2008). His work has appeared at DailyWire.com, National Review, The American Spectator, The Guardian, Daily Caller, National Catholic Register, Spectator USA, FEE Online, RealClear Policy, The Blaze, The Stream, American Greatness, Aleteia, Providence Magazine, Charisma, Jewish World Review, Human Events, Intellectual Takeout, CatholicVote.org, Issues & Insights, The Conservative, Rare.us, and The American Orthodox Institute. His personal websites are therightswriter.com and RevBenJohnson.com. His views are his own.