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Left, Right and the Political Compass Part 1

August Heinrich BarbarossaSep 18, 2016, 5:11:14 AM
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Deutsche Version: https://www.minds.com/blog/view/624112323178536970

 

After several responses: The first half of the video is with tongue in cheek to emphasis on the problem with the left/right dichotomy.

 

Transcript:

Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for tuning in. I am convinced that every human tries be good and sincere. We try this too, when we decide on key assumptions about the ideal structure of society.

Not every assumption is compatible with each other but some can be grouped together for better understanding of specific arguments. Usually key assumptions are categorized as political left or political right.

What is the origin of these categories? After the French revolution the terms Left and Right were first used in the National Assembly of 1789. To the right of the podium were the conservative supporters of the monarchy and to the left the radical members of the assembly.

After years left and right were extended with additional attributes Left attributes are: People-focused, community-centric, revolutionary, equality, progressive, state-critical Right attributes are: Elitist, individualistic, conservative, diversity, stable, statist

Let's use these categories on some known faces.

Margret Thatcher might be responsible for Great Britain's current wealth, but her measures dismantled the welfare state and supported elites: Right

Franklin D. Roosevelt vastly expanded the power of the federal government in the US. More power for the establishment: Right

Josef Stalin is an exemplar of communism: Left

Adolf Hitler is dubbed man of the middle, but the core of his power was a revolutionary worker's movement: Slightly left

Bruno Kreisky is Austria's best known socialist, but his legacy allows the state to influence nearly every aspect of life: Slightly right

One free spot on the left? Let's take one fitting to the two other revolutionaries: Mahatma Gandhi

Wait a minute that's totally wrong: Gandhi next to Hitler and Stalin? Kreisky on the right? That makes no sense! 

The Political Compass (www.politicalcompass.org) solves this problem with a second axis. Instead of a single socio-economic scale, Left-Right indicates economic values, Top-Down indicates social values.

We have now four directions: Authoritarian and its opposite libertarian. Collectivistic and its opposite individualistic.

The axes can be described well by representatives of their extremes. On the top of the compass is the authoritarian border Pol Pot, Stalin, Ceaușescu, Hitler, Mussolini and Pinochet are known names of this border For them the state has to have power over every aspect of live. Personal freedoms are unnecessary or even considered dangerous. In a mild form the argument for authoritarian forms of society is, that successful, intelligent, wise and competent leaders are able to help people without these attributes.

Members of the other extreme are not that well known to the public, but they influenced political and philosophical schools. Pyotr Kropotkin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Emma Goldman, Frédéric Bastiat, Karl Popper and Murray Rothbard are the better known of them. For them society should not be structured by coercive measures, especially not by a central government. This does not mean that there are no rules for human interactions. But these rules are not enforced by an organisation with a monopoly on force. How these rules are drawn leads us to the second axis of the Political Compass.

On the left border is collectivism. In collectivism the value of the community is higher than the value of each individual. An important attribute of collectivism is, that there is no private property. Especially concerning immovables and means of production. Pol Pot also represents this border, as well as Mao Zedong, Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi and Pyotr Kropotkin. Families, households, associations, cloisters, communes and similar groups are often organised by collectivism. The virtue of collectivism is altruism.

On the right border is individualism. For individualists the value of each person is higher than the value of the community. An important attribute of individualism is that personal rights cannot be constricted by other persons and organisations. Margaret Thatcher, Ayn Rand and Murray Rothbard personify the right border. Entrepreneurs, most companies, but also private charities are individualist expressions. Money is important in individualism, as it is a measurement of social benefit. For example a charity which proves its worth gets more donations. The virtue of individualism is self-responsibility.

Part 2https://www.minds.com/blog/view/629214676646895633

Two centuries of political thinkers: Who believed in what and who influenced whom?

 

Support and Sources:

August Heinrich Barbarossa provides an Austrian view on the world. Videos will be released in English and German. Support August on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ahbarbarossa

The Political Compass: https://www.politicalcompass.org/

Image sources: https://commons.wikimedia.org/