Subject: RE: W. on torture: help me understand Renee - 2005-11-07 2:04 PM Actually, the political definitions of left and right can be very easily summarized: - Lefties believe that the rights of the individual are more important than the rights of the government.
- Rightists believe that the rights of the government/authority are more important than the rights of the individual.
Um, with all respect, Renee, I think that's a little too simplistic. If, for instance, the individual wanted to dump toxic waste in a watershed, or own a gun, your definition of left and right would have to be reversed. (note - I am not equating gun ownership with pollution. Please.) If the individual wanted to marry someone of their own gender, you're spot on. Here's a quote on Left/Right from wikipedia: "Equal outcomes (left) versus consistent processes (right). - Redistribution of wealth and income (left), or acceptance of inequalities as a result of the free market (right).
- Whether the government's policy on the economy should be interventionist (left) or laissez-faire (right).
- Support for widened lifestyle choices (left), or support for traditional values (right).
" The Nolan Chart maps political sentiment along two axes - one for personal liberty, another for economic liberty. http://libertarianwiki.org/Nolan_Survey. There are many variations of this quiz on the internet. They're kind of fun. This site http://www.friesian.com/quiz.htm goes as far as to add a third axis. (No, they're not swim/bike/run) Edited by tim_edwards 2005-11-07 6:59 PM
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