Having been around extreme leftists (not radicals as such) and having been one myself for nigh on 15 years, yeah I can say, generally speaking, as a political movement they're both stupid and deluded. I'd put it down to a few things. Firstly, the international workers movement and the radical, leftist critique of capitalism, though having made immense and vital gains and many a piercing argument, ultimately failed. For different reasons, neither really exist any more. Plainly stated the existence of the evil empire and its international supporters provided space in which a critic could be respectably heard and considered a worthy adversary to the proponents of state captialism and the religion of markets. The critiques are still valid but there aren't too many people advocating the prognostic parts of Marx, and for good reason.
The second, though somewhat romanticised, is simply that we burnt through and then burnt out. Radicals of the 60's and 70's fought for things worth fighting for; Opposition to aggressive foreign policy, most notably in Vietnam and Latin America, and the uncritical acquiescence or downright support from liberals and conservatives alike. Civil rights at a time when they really had to be fought over. Advocating conversations on the changing dynamics and relationships between men and women; the sexual revolution. Rebelling against societal convention right down to the clothes one wore and the attitude one had to authority. These were all transformative and a threat to established norms.
Fast forward 30 or 40 years and the left mostly concerns itself with gender pronouns and a supply and demand problem with regard to "Nazis." It's just one failure of morally serious and intellectually honest, position assuming after another. Be it on immigration, sexism, totalitarianism, Islamism, hell even free speech we can't get right any more. And we used to be the unwavering champions of freedom of speech. Trace that back all the way to Thomas Paine for Christ's sake. No wonder the term "regressive leftist" was conceived.
For the longest time, euphemism, and debasing the currency of words was so much the weapon of the right. Leftists these days put them to shame. We've basically lost most of the principles and the sense of proportion that came with being on the hard left.
Having said all that, I only just realised that I've been catching up with a bloke who turns out to be a co-founder of the Brisbane chapter of the Jordan Peterson fan club. And let me tell you, the right is pretty fooking stupid too.
Anyways, just me rambles...
