On Thu, 11 Nov 2004 12:29:50 +0100, Roger Oberholtzer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On Thu, 2004-11-11 at 10:41, James McDonald wrote:
> > What does it mean to be "left wing" or "right wing" has anyone got a non
> > satirical explanation.
>
> Sort of (*):
>
> left-wing = liberal = Democrat/Labour = progressive = 'for the worker'
>
> right-ring = conservative = Republican/Tory = reactionary = 'for the
> rich guy'
>
> (*) As you can see, this is a very sloppy way to describe things. But I
> think this is a 'classical' grouping of these terms. Life is not so
> neat.
>
> >
> > I keep hearing these terms and because I am non-political have no idea
> > what they mean?
>
> I suspect many non non-political folk are in the same situation.
>
It's a little deeper than that. The terms "for the worker" and "for
the rich guy" are purely stereotypes. The essential difference is
this.
The leftist believes that government should play a big role in our
lives - providing benefits and controlling many aspects of our life
using any funds that can be ripped off from the rest of us (high
taxes). There is a strong preponderence of leftist thinking in large
metropolitan areas and in the universities where the proponents
believe that they know better than the rest of us by virtue of their
great intellect. Many of these same leftists believe in the communist
dictum that religion is the opiate of the people and that it should be
suppressed wherever you find it. Many of these same leftists believe
that patriotism is a relic of the past and that government should be
controled by international consortiums (e.g. the UN).
The conservative believes that government should be restricted to the
roles designed in the constitution (small government), that the
individual is responsible for his own life, and that we know better
how to spend our money than the government does (low taxes). There is
a strong preponderence of conservative thinking in rural and suburban
areas. Many of the most religious people are conservatives, and some
of these also have the belief that they know better than the rest of
us. Most conservatives are patriots for there country and have no
desire to see their country under the control of international
consortiums.
Needless to say, there are many gradations of thought in between these
two poles. In the US, at least, there has been a gradual shift over
the past decades toward conservative thinking and, at the same time, a
growth in the more radical fringes of the left and the right.
--
/\/\
(CR) Collins Richey
\/\/ "I hear you're single again." "Spouse 2.0 had fewer bugs than
Spouse 1.0, but the maintenance ... was too much for my OS."
- Glitch (tm)
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