Left v Right

Extract from a discussion with a fellow Teacher on Right v Left.
His comments are in black. My replies are in Red. Its slightly humerous.

But therein lies the problem, exactly as you have pointed out. What exactly is left and right?

The terms originate from the French Revolution – it referred to the seating arrangement within the Legislative Assembly (1791). However it has undergone many revisions and interpretations since then.

I see the modern right as supporting smaller government, free markets and a focus on the individual as an entity. The modern left supports larger government, more regulated economies and a focus on the group as the entity.

However even this difference is by no means all that obvious on a case by case basis. A point to remember Conservatism is not necessarily synonymous with the Right nor is Liberalism synonymous with the Left…

Leftism (not to be confused with the ‘Left’) though is a philosophy that champions the radical overall of the establishment by violent or non-violent means to fit or resemble a possible utopia. Leftisms include: Marxist-Leninism, Maoism, National Socialism, Stalinism, International Socialism, Trotskyism, Anarchism, Islamo-Fascism, Primitivism etc.

Its legacy has traditionally been one of bloodshed and suffering in the name of a flawed ‘greater good’. Leftism’s modern origin in the West derives from the Radical Jacobins of the French Revolution.


A clear definition is needed. Or complete avoidance of the terms as they do tend to obfuscate issues. True For example, you mentioned that Turner's a big Democrat fan and therefore CNN is not right wing. But I would argue that the Democrats are also right wing. Figured you would. (As I heard once, 'it doesn't matter who's in power, because business always pulls the strings.'

So if the NDP came to power would they become right wing or are they right wing already?

But that doesn't really clarify anything as you have rightly pointed out.Perhaps this dilemma has something to do with corporate vs collective. Corporations and those who come from the corporate elite rule by decree Castro came from an elite family and pretty much rules by decree with very little real consensus. Does that make him right wing? within their domains, but collectives 'rule' by some form of consensus.

So the Western Liberal Model is Left wing then??? Mmmmm – Key issues are often decided by a vote in the Legislature (a type of consensus) not by decree.

I see some faults with this corporate/collective dichotomy. The Borg from Star Wars are a Collective does that make them left wing compared to the right wing Federation?