Liberals and socialists are both headed towards the same finsh line—government control. In the past, the distinction was about velocity; libs were headed there comparitively slowly, while socialists were in a hurry. It’s kind of like the difference between getting drunk over the course of an evening by sipping wine, as compared to knocking down several boilermakers in a row, and getting there quickly. Just as with drinking, the distinction is becoming blurry.
Or, as P.J. O’Rourke put it, liberalism is communism sold by the drink.
Sigh...Mamet’s been a conservative since the early 1990s - who is he kidding? Anyone who saw the wonderful Oleanna knew this was a conservative playwright. Maybe his audience knew who he was before he did?!
And as someone who saw the hilarious “November” - his play about a stupid American president who has to commute the execution of a turkey while fighting off his lesbian chief of staff’s blackmail and the threats of a very large (think Ward Churchill) fake Indian - I know this is a very savvy, politically incorrect writer. Kudos to Nathan Lane who played the crazy president with such verve and energy!