CMV: The reason things seem so politically hopeless in America for the left is because their expectations are too high

My basic thesis is that the left in America is like MAGA in the way they yearn for a time that no longer (or never) really exists. They want to go back to the 1950s and 60s when taxation rates were high, we had a great compression, and lower income inequality. We had universal programs that raised a generation of Americans out of the great depression. We had civil rights and liberalism was the name of the game for a long time Unions were strong. We hear all the time from the left that wages went up with productivity until the 1970s. If only we could go back to those days! Then everything changed when the Ronald Regan attacked.

The problem is that this rests on the belief that society should always get better. Unlimited growth is not sustainable. America doesn't have the stranglehold over the world economy like it did before the 1970s. People are too skeptical of the government and polarization guarantees no party will be in power long enough to fundamentally change things. The reality is that life has sucked fundamentally for the vast majority of people forever. It's unrealistic to expect everyone to make more than $15/hr no matter where they live or what their job is. Things are ultimately way better than they were 100 years ago. If the left managed their expectations a little bit things wouldn't seem so hopeless under a trump administration.