It is time I let you know one thing. I consider myself a left guy, on what comes to political orientation. It may be a surprise to you (or some of you) as some of the positions I reflected so far are not what you would usually expect from someone who is left winged. So, I think it is time I let you know what I consider to be at the root of the categorization.
Many people usually consider State intervention in the economy to be the cornerstone of right & left differences. When I look at local politics (specially in Portugal) I am not sure this to be a decent categorizer. Basically because what I see nowadays is what usually is considered a political centre that stands out for market liberalization (with little or no difference between major political parties all over Europe – look at PS and PSD in Portugal, Tories vs Labour in UK, PSOE vs CDS in Spain, …it is not their attitude towards market economy that differentiates them), and then the wings, right and left, that share (curiously) common ground on what concerns economy – when it comes down to the real thing, they both share the common passion about government intervention in the economy, based on differently phrased same reasons (look ant Alberto João Jardim in Madeira and the Communist Party positions in Portugal, Berlusconi economy policies in Italy and you will see what I mean). And if you think right into it, when you look at the far wings, you realise they have exactly the same positions – pure stately run economies (we all had the opportunity to see this come into practice during the XXth century – only with different names). So, in my opinion, when it comes down to the Earth, it is not market interventionism that differs both positions.
One might say that then, it is the attitude towards social support policies. When you think about this, I kind of have sympathy for this differentiator, as one might tend to think that left winged supporters would favour stately run social policies, while right winged would favour the private sector taking responsibility on this – either by making a business of it or through privately funded charities. Still, I think that the difference on that comes more from a continental cultural background than from political orientation differencies – with American and English social cultural based individuals more willing to take social support responsibilities on their own, and continental Europe ones assuming the State will run it for them (using tax funding). And when you think about it, in Europe, one of the interesting things is that self proclaimed left winged oriented persons are exactly the ones who say are more willing to join an ONG to help on social issues.
No! What I consider to be the prime differentiator between both wings is the attitude towards Safety vs Freedom. I consider left winged persons the ones that are more willing to commit part of their safety for having freedom of speech – who clearly favour it. The ones who say that it is more important to have and express an opinion without being controlled or checked out on it. Those who say you don’t need a safety camera on every corner, because it would mean a far greater control of the State on your own private lifes. And, by contrast, right winged individuals don’t want to compromise safety, and are willing to be watched and on their scanned on their opinions for that. When you think about it, it is a very powerful differentiator. It allows you to differentiate political positions on a relevant dimension, that really suits political orientation – look at the Green parties positions on these subjects, or Tories, or Republican vs Democrats and you will understand I am right.
And, naturally (and check my writings if you want to check it) I consider myself left winged. Someone who thinks economical and social development is intrinsically connected to the ability to share one’s opinion with others, and willing to run certain individual safety risks to make sure we can keep this marvellous freedom of speech that prompted worldwide ideas sharing and growth over the last 2 centuries.
Many people usually consider State intervention in the economy to be the cornerstone of right & left differences. When I look at local politics (specially in Portugal) I am not sure this to be a decent categorizer. Basically because what I see nowadays is what usually is considered a political centre that stands out for market liberalization (with little or no difference between major political parties all over Europe – look at PS and PSD in Portugal, Tories vs Labour in UK, PSOE vs CDS in Spain, …it is not their attitude towards market economy that differentiates them), and then the wings, right and left, that share (curiously) common ground on what concerns economy – when it comes down to the real thing, they both share the common passion about government intervention in the economy, based on differently phrased same reasons (look ant Alberto João Jardim in Madeira and the Communist Party positions in Portugal, Berlusconi economy policies in Italy and you will see what I mean). And if you think right into it, when you look at the far wings, you realise they have exactly the same positions – pure stately run economies (we all had the opportunity to see this come into practice during the XXth century – only with different names). So, in my opinion, when it comes down to the Earth, it is not market interventionism that differs both positions.
One might say that then, it is the attitude towards social support policies. When you think about this, I kind of have sympathy for this differentiator, as one might tend to think that left winged supporters would favour stately run social policies, while right winged would favour the private sector taking responsibility on this – either by making a business of it or through privately funded charities. Still, I think that the difference on that comes more from a continental cultural background than from political orientation differencies – with American and English social cultural based individuals more willing to take social support responsibilities on their own, and continental Europe ones assuming the State will run it for them (using tax funding). And when you think about it, in Europe, one of the interesting things is that self proclaimed left winged oriented persons are exactly the ones who say are more willing to join an ONG to help on social issues.
No! What I consider to be the prime differentiator between both wings is the attitude towards Safety vs Freedom. I consider left winged persons the ones that are more willing to commit part of their safety for having freedom of speech – who clearly favour it. The ones who say that it is more important to have and express an opinion without being controlled or checked out on it. Those who say you don’t need a safety camera on every corner, because it would mean a far greater control of the State on your own private lifes. And, by contrast, right winged individuals don’t want to compromise safety, and are willing to be watched and on their scanned on their opinions for that. When you think about it, it is a very powerful differentiator. It allows you to differentiate political positions on a relevant dimension, that really suits political orientation – look at the Green parties positions on these subjects, or Tories, or Republican vs Democrats and you will understand I am right.
And, naturally (and check my writings if you want to check it) I consider myself left winged. Someone who thinks economical and social development is intrinsically connected to the ability to share one’s opinion with others, and willing to run certain individual safety risks to make sure we can keep this marvellous freedom of speech that prompted worldwide ideas sharing and growth over the last 2 centuries.
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