4 ms·
I once asked myself the same question, but I think I understand it now. The core difference between left and right in the US is the status of The Individuum & F
by MrBuddyCasino 7y ago
I once asked myself the same question, but I think I understand it now. The core difference between left and right in the US is the status of The Individuum & Family vs The State.
Right wings means individual liberty, small government, self-reliance, the right to bear arms in case the gov starts acting up.
Left wing means large government, extended in-group, socialised benefits, equality, gun control because only the state has the monopoly on violence.
It therefore follows that right-wingers don't like to be told what to do, especially by the government. You could see the laws resulting from climate change as a special case of regulation.
The mistake is to think that the issue is about whether or not climate change is real. Its not! Right wingers just reject it instinctively because Big Gov wants to take away some freedoms / levy taxes to prevent CO2 emissions.
In a healthy system, both forces are needed and valuable to control excess drift in either direction. We're currently in a uniquely polarised environment though.
- eesmith 7y agoI have some difficulties in accepting that characterization. Why do right wings want more police and more prisons if they are against individual liberty and state authority, and for the right to self-defense? Why do right wings want agricultural subsidies if they are for self-reliance and against socialized benefits? (Eg, https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/gop-taxpayers-were-against-subsidies-except-if-theyre-rich-farmers-veronique-de-rugy/ https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/gop-taxpayers-were-aga... ) Why did right wings like Reagan oppose the right to bear arms when the Black Panthers exercised that right because they believed the government was acting up? I can't help but think of the NRA's treatment of Philando Castile - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Philando_Castile#National_Rifle_Association https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Philando_Castile#N... . Why do right wings, who are supposed to be for individual liberty, want schools to have official religious practices? Why do they want the government to advocate for some religions over others? Schools can't now force children to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, or even stand up for it. This follows from Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Board_of_Education_v._Barnette https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Board_of_E... ). Yet it's right wings who seem to complain the most when that freedom is exercised.