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Are You Right Wing or Left Wing?
Keep track of your disposition on the issues below and you will find out if your political philosophy is right wing or left wing. As used here the terms have the news media created meanings that left wing is a blend of socialism and liberalism and right wing is everything else.

Basic philosophy
Left- Every person is born into a club. The club is called society and it has rules.
Right- A person is born as a free agent into a situation. He/she belongs to any club by volition only.
Political philosophy
Left- a democratic government is an historical organization that has unlimited power to control every thing and everybody in the jurisdiction. It takes direction from the will of the majority.
Right- a democratic government is a creation of the people, so the government is accountable to them and its power is limited by fundamental rights and possibly a written constitution.
Economic philosophy
Left- an economy provides the means for everyone to obtain a minimum standard of living.
Right- an economy provides everyone with their subsistence needs and the opportunity for more, based on merit.
Social philosophy
Left- there are no differences between persons that justify discriminating selection.
Right- there are some important differences between persons that justify discriminating selection.
Fundamental rights
Left- there are no ‘a priori’ rights, only the rights granted by government or espoused by the United Nations.
Need begets a right to have the needs provided by everyone else.
Right- there are ‘a priori’ rights and they come before governments and their laws and before the UN. Governments are at fault if they are violated.
Need does not beget a right.
Immigration policy
Left- our borders should be open, not barring anyone but criminals.
Right- the people of a country must control who crosses the borders or else there is no real country.
Justice
Left- everyone should get about the same because he/she is a human being. It is called “social justice” and is measured on a basis.
Right- justice means that a person should get what he/she deserves. It is therefore meaningful on the basis of the individual, not the .
Crime and punishment
Left- crime is, for the most part, the result of living conditions. Punishment should be based on social values.
Right- crime is the manifestation of personal morality. Punishment should accord with what the convicted person deserves.
Science
Left- science should be corrected to include the latest liberal thinking.
Right- science must remain objective and protected as a believable store of knowledge.
Gender orientation
Left- gender is a spectrum from extreme male to extreme female and one’s position in this spectrum is by personal inclination, not necessarily by anatomy.
Homosexuality has the same value to society as heterosexuality.
Right- gender is related to anatomy and a person is typical to his/her sex or atypical. Male-female coupling is the obvious pattern in nature and is necessary to procreate the species.
Homosexuality does not have that value but is allowable by fundamental rights.
Education system
Left- all students, from university down to kindergarten, should be indoctrinated in left wing ideology because it is undeniably true.
Right- education should not include indoctrination of any kind, particularly in an optional political ideology. Left wing indoctrination has become a serious matter.
Free Speech
Left- when speech and writing seriously challenges left wing ideology it has gone too far and should be banned.
Right- there should be no censoring of ideas. It is how we find the truth.
Abortion
Left- a woman may choose to abort a baby in her womb at any time up to birth and this choice should be protected by law.
Right- the baby in the womb is a new human being and therefore has the fundamental rights that all human beings have. The first is security of his/her life and this should be protected by law.
Desired future society
Left- a steady, completely undifferentiated society of people with all having approximately the same standard of living and access to all institutions. A new Garden of Eden.
Right- a dynamic society of people with opportunity and justice, and many projects underway, driven by the twenty percent who take responsibility, risk their assets in business, and do eighty percent of the work.

Tell me if this is a good approach for facing the division between left and right wing people. If you like it please pass it on. Probably, there are better ways to present the list of categories and positions but I am not good with word processors.

Robert Stephen Higgins

BobHiggins 5 Jan 11
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8 comments

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0

Right and left are far too simplistic.

0

My view is that right wing and left wing are meaningless terms. Also Socialist and capitalist. If you have a bank account you are capitalist. If you believe in a social safety net you are a socialist. the reality is that we are all both. The real debate should be central planning and control versus handing back power to individuals and society (personal responsibility).

That is oversimplification. There is a philosophic base under the terms socialist and capitalist altho the former is more ideological and the latter about an economic system.

0

Your description of the left is OK, the right, not so much.

How would you improve it? I am looking for constructive criticism.

@BobHiggins The description of both is too simplified. Both the left and the right are far more complex than described. The right especially so. The right is composed, for instance, of conservatives (those who like the status quo), those like me who would like a return to the original Constitution, and also libertarians. The right is a very disparate group.

@lawrenceblair Right an Left, as well as being vague meaningless terms, is also speak that is being use to create division. How often do we see media labeling those they are at odds with as extreme right. This creates an immediate comparison with Facisim.

@Eric123 It is a game played on the citizen by the PTB. We bitch at each other while they rob us blind and take what freedom we have left away.

@lawrenceblair You're right in that the right wing is varied. That is why I put a preamble that the right is "everything else", i.e., not left wing. In the summary of right wing positions I had to do a considerable amount of condensation. Maybe the result is inaccurate and that is what I am trying to detect before advancing this post to other on-line media.

@lawrenceblair The full description of left and right positions is a long article. But you know that attention span with on-line people is very short. I have tried to condense the philosophical positions of people on each side of the cultural (actually philosophical) divide so that a person can make up his/her mind on this dichotomy. I foresee that things may get very serious, especially with the way things are trending with the Democrats circling for the kill on Donald Trump.

0

Hello. Is this your own descriptions of the left and the right? It must've taken you ages to compose the post, and i appreciate it. I observe that your descriptions show your own bias - you're definitely right wing, no?

Yes, I am right wing (by the list of issues). However, I tried to represent each side accurately and I would not be surprised if my treatment could be improved. Remember tho, that an accurate representation of a side may not be favorable to it.

@BobHiggins If this post is meant to serve as a survey or the like (I'm assuming so because of the question you pose 'Are You Right Wing or Left Wing?'😉, the descriptions of each side need to be more objective IMO. Still, your post provoked a few thoughts, and I thank you for it. 🙂

0

False dichotomy.

0

"Right- there should be no censoring of ideas. It is how we find the truth."

Would you not censor ISIS recruiters?

"Left- all students, from university down to kindergarten, should be indoctrinated in left wing ideology because it is undeniably true.
Right- education should not include indoctrination of any kind, particularly in an optional political ideology. Left wing indoctrination has become a serious matter."

This isn't true and shows your bias and how indoctrinated you actually are.

The article is for the whole Western World. What I said is certainly true in Canada where I live.

The existing curbs on free speech are incitement of violence or libel/slander. So, no, I wouldn’t censor an ISIS member, or a Fascist or a communist for discussing ideas. That’s why it’s legal for a Communist Party to exist in America, or for the US Supreme Court to allow a Nazi march outside Chicago.

The extreme left is exactly like the extreme right in its quest to shut down the speech of the other side. In many ways, society is becoming far too immature for the gift of free speech.

On the other hand, if an ISIS recruiter or a Marxist or a President is inciting violence, then that must to shut down.

Free speech isn’t about ideology, it’s about intent.

@BobHiggins "Left- all students, from university down to kindergarten, should be indoctrinated in left wing ideology because it is undeniably true.
Right- education should not include indoctrination of any kind, particularly in an optional political ideology. Left wing indoctrination has become a serious matter."

this just shows your right wing bias and faux-victimhood i'm afraid.

1

I think the terms left and right have been misunderstood and generalized to the point of being meaningless.

Thugs are thugs, whether attacking the Capitol or declaring an independent zone in Seattle. Both are more and more confrontational. Both are now seeking to overturn the power structure. Both are resisting authority. Both feel under-represented and cheated by the voting system. Both know how to play the victim.

In addition the goal posts are constantly moving. A Kennedy Democrat in the 1960’s would appear right of centre in 2021. What’s considered “right wing” in Canada may look socialist in America.

Opinion is always a mix of ideas, and there will always be big business Democrats and even, on certain issues, left leaning Republicans. Better points of reference might be more specific: globalist/nationalist, elitist/populist, urban/rural, educated/uneducated, interventionist/isolationist.

The left vs right labels fit the prevailing narrative, but are useful only in creating false division.

Hello GeeMc, "What’s considered “right wing” in Canada may look socialist in America." What is considered 'right wing' in England would also look socialist to Americans. Also, the word 'liberal' has different meanings between America and Britain/Europe.

3

I think you need a strong left wing intellectual to write the sections on the left.
The sections on the right looks Ok, however the sections on the left looks a bit like a right winger wrote them.

@TheMiddleWay @Hanno agree with both of you

@tracycoyle Thank you for your input. It is what I was looking for. I tried to treat each side fairly and accurately but you are suggesting improvement.

@TheMiddleWay If we were tasked to replace the word 'banned', what word would you replace it with? Silenced? Ignored? Strickened? They all kind of mean the same thing, don't they? Please give us your example of a positive way to say 'you're not welcome here and furthermore you may no longer communicate with us either..' Perhaps, go on a permanent vacation on a deserted island? At best, that's neutral.
What a bubble wrapped world it would be if we were only allowed to communicate in positive terms. Fortunately that isn't the case. More often than not, the truth is negative. Even in a Styrofoam and bubble wrapped world.

@TheMiddleWay Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it. About the less hyperbolic language, I still haven't come up with one. The big Tech companies banned the current president of the United States from speaking on their platforms. That is a fact and not hyperbole. I can't think of a better word to use..

@gotsteam @TheMiddleWay The most objective way I view free speech as espoused by the Left falls around the idea that speech can be harmful and that harm needs to be mitigated in such a way as to be preventable. This leads to speech codes that define 'harm' as outside liberty, ie speech that causes harm is not free and can and should be restricted or banned. But from my point of view, that 'harm' is not only subjective, relying on the 'victim' to define it ensures everyone becomes a victim in most circumstances.

Free speech is about protecting speech that people don't like or feel is offensive.

@TheMiddleWay You can not, or at least should not, hold people accountable for other people's actions when there is no objective correlation. In other words, if I say you are a bad person and someone reads that and attacks you, it is NOT my responsibility in any shape or form.

If there is no objective intent, there can be no foul regardless of the actions of others.

Spot on, Hanno. That's the impression I get, too.

@BobHiggins Kudos to you for your approach. The hubris of many posts that claim absolute truth with no room for discussion is what is causing the sharp divisiveness today. For what it's worth you have my admiration.

@TheMiddleWay
The use of the term 'indoctrination' to describe the left bothers me a little, too.

@TheMiddleWay Cannot be an objective indicator to describe the left or the right.

@TheMiddleWay I think the difference is accountability vs responsibility. We hold people responsible for the consequences of their ACTS. We can hold people accountable for their intents.

There are places where we have made that distinction - bullies of people that commit suicide. Saying 'Kill all lawyers' might earn you a rebuke or even some minor penalty. KILLING lawyers is going to get you long jail time (or the death penalty).

Telling people to march and let your voices be heard is not a call to riot, even if a riot happens.

@TheMiddleWay I don't know about your commentary on the massive riots that happened during the summer, but I will use my daughter as an example when I talked about the destruction, riots and looting: "That was just a small couple of people - you can't condemn everyone that supported the reasons for the 'marches'"

That was the refrain from most 'responsible' people during the summer - a small number of rioters that had nothing to do with the reason for the marches.

Less than a couple hundred of the estimated MILLION marchers entered the Capitol and far fewer actually did any damage...no fires. Oh, and apparently one unarmed protester shot climbing through a window....during the riots, police didn't use lethal rounds, or even abandoned the area to the rioters and looters.

Sorry. I don't see any grounds for complaints about the events in DC against Trump or even the 99% that didn't do anything wrong GIVEN the lack of complaints and even justifications heard from the media and politicians (on both sides) during hundreds of riots/marches over the summer.

Even if we want to discuss the idea of accountability vs responsibility.

@TheMiddleWay I attended no "protests" last summer, nor did I attend the DC rally. My daughter attended a BLM protest last summer - despite her pleas that I follow the covid restrictions in place at the time.

It wasn't just media, but individual politicians that justified the riots - specifically noting the destruction as part of a protest's character. I suggest looking at AOC.

The 'evidence' or the suggestion of evidence being grounds for going after Trump are far less than the 'evidence' of election fraud. The claims of 'disinformation' are disingenuous coming from the Dem Party and media over the last 4 years.

And as for 'whataboutism', goose, gander.

@TheMiddleWay You are making an argument against jail/prison....

@TheMiddleWay I personally don't hold those politicans that supported the rioters last summer responsible for the acts of the rioters. I hold people personally responsible for their actions. I don't try to offload responsibility to others. I am pointing out those that seek to blame others for their actions.

@tracycoyle
And right there we have the difference between the left and the right.
Personal responsibility vs it is someone’s else’s fault.

@TheMiddleWay There are too many examples of right wing (conservative) views being censored. The present example of Pres. Trump being permanently banned by Twitter and facebook & others demonstrates my point.

@TheMiddleWay It's a matter of degree and the degrees are not equal. I have seen cases where conservative views have been cancelled out but can't remember a case of socialist liberal views being cancelled. The case of Donald Trump is an example of arbitrariness. Another is my "Short Course in Human Rights" on youtube. Put in the title in quots and you still won't find it on youtube because it doesn't follow the narrative on human rights.

@BobHiggins
Our Middleway friend here really seem to struggle with degrees, scale and context.

@Naomi Indoctrination is an ugly word but it is true, at least here in Ontario, Canada and from what I read,e.g., from the Activist Mommy, it is true in places in the US, especially universities.

@Naomi, @TheMiddleWay An accurate representation of a side may not be favorable to it.

@BobHiggins, @TheMiddleway
IMO, anyone could be indoctrinated no matter which side they're on. Both the left and the right have their favourite propaganda and narratives with which they try to influence us all. Also, I think there are flaws to the general assumption that university students are indoctrinated by the left; not all leftists support the progressive postmodern ideology, and there are many young conservatives at colleges and universities.

@Naomi How many universities in the US would block a right wing speaker, e.g., Ann Coulter, from speaking there and how many would block a left wing speaker, e.g., Mr. Cuomo, from speaking. Give me a couple incidents where a left wing speaker was effectively stopped from speaking at a university.

@BobHiggins
It's competition time, is it? Lol

The right shuts down free speech, too. [fee.org]
Protests against liberal speakers have drawn less media attention. You have to understand that attack on free speech comes from both sides.

And the right trying to shut down the left happens right here on this site all the time. Intentionally or not, this site mostly attracts right-wingers and there is only a handful of left-wingers and centrists. I observe that almost every time left-wingers post something, even decent articles or something just for fun/banter, many right-wingers try to shoot them down with contemptuous remarks. Here is an example: [slug.com]

Meanwhile, there are occasions where decent left and right wingers have intellectual conversations, even agreeing on the same thing, like here: [slug.com]

It's impossible for anyone to be 100% neutral; everybody is biased, but some have the discipline and intellectual curiosity to seek to understand and engage opinions that are different from their own. I like to be one of them.

@Naomi We were discussing indoctrination in academia and schools. My point was that a person wanting to present a right wing view at a university will be stopped, usually by extremist students but sometimes by timid admin staff who cancel the affair because of "fear of a riot".
As to IDW, I am comparatively new here and hope that discussion is always civil.

@BobHiggins
You will quickly learn which posters to evade.
We have our share of Jew haters and also trolls both left and right.

The rest of the time the discussion is remarkably civil.
I have lost my temper a few times and I had to apologise, but that is not common.

Most wants to discuss and are willing to listen and consider.

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