We often talk about "left" and "right" in politics (or "liberal"-"conservative").
Some say that these terms are obsolete as they don't capture the reality of political discourse. Say someone is for higher taxes, more welfare but despises politicians. Is he to the left or to the right? Say someone wants lower taxes but restrictions on some private matters via government control. Is he to the right or left?
There is however a way to reconcile the terms of "left" and "right" by applying the concepts to a different degree of scepticism towards government control and meddling. Those who adore the State are those furthest to the left. Those who want a completely voluntary society are furthest to the right.
This will obviously place National-Socialists (nazis), Communists and other State-fans furthest to the left. Next to those are the left-liberals, social-democrats and other traditional leftists. In the middle we have most people - sceptical towards the State in some issues but more open to State-interference in others.
Furthers to the right are the libertarians who want to abolish the State and live in a completely voluntary society where each man is the full owner of his own body and the property belonging to it.
Another way to look at the left-right scale is by placing the libertarians in the middle. Those to the right lean towards state interference in social matters but a low degree of State-control of the economy. Those to the left lean towards government meddling in the economy but prefer the absence of the state in social issues. They meet somewhere near the middle with the libertarians who don't want any State-intervention.
I believe "left" and "right" are useful concepts but in order to be so, they must be understood in relation to the State as an entity that we either tolerate or not, or tolerate to a certain degree.
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