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Saying that (en.)wikipedia has a US progressive-left worldview is subtly misleading. Specifically en.wikipedia.org has a western (US/UK sphere of influence) wo

Saying that (en.)wikipedia has a US progressive-left worldview is subtly misleading. Specifically en.wikipedia.org has a western (US/UK sphere of influence) worldview. This is because en.wikipedia is/can be edited by everyone who speaks English: not just the USA, not just regular English speaking countries, but also all those countries that teach children English as a second language, (and a not insignificant smattering of people who learn English outside of school too) When you compare countries around the world, The United States of America is said to lean rather right of center. Thus from a US perspective you would expect en.wikipedia to appear to indeed be a bit on the left. (this is not a comprehensive answer, but it does cover a lot of the ground)

zozbot234 6y ago
> When you compare countries around the world, The United States of America is said to lean rather right of center. I'm not sure that this is the case. Maybe with respect to English-speaking countries, the U.S. leans more capitalistic which some people would call "right". But U.S. society/worldview is nonetheless far more liberal, socially progressive and open to diverse views than most countries around the world.
- Kim_Bruning 6y ago
  So are you saying that the world has stood still, and that western thought in general and America in particular have not had any sort of positive influence on the world since 1776? ;-)
  - fireattack 6y ago
    I honestly don't understand what your satire is trying to say, and would agree with zozbot234's pretty straight forward reply: the US is probably lean right among Western countries, but compared to all the countries in the world, it's not. Most of Asian and African countries lean much more "right" compared to the US, as a starter.
    - Kim_Bruning 6y ago
      Specifically -as a nearly trivial statement- en.wikipedia is predominantly edited by those people who can write in English. These can be: * Native speakers: From eg. USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland. * People who speak English as a second language (which is most of the western world including western Europe) In general out of this set of countries, the USA tends to be fairly (economically) conservative and right-leaning. (Compare with eg. Netherlands, Norway, Germany, France, Canada, New Zealand, etc. ) What makes you say that countries in eg. Asia are more right leaning than the USA? That surprises me a bit.
      - fireattack 6y ago
        Of out this set of countries, I agree; but she/he specifically quoted a sentence from your original comment, therefore I think his/her observation is fine. > What makes you say that countries in eg. Asia are more right leaning than the USA By living there most of my life.
        Kim_Bruning 6y ago
        Ah! Which country are you in, if I may ask? I'd like to look it up! (In return: I'm currently in Germany, Netherlands. These countries are considerably left of the USA in terms of eg socialized health care and education, views on woman's rights, and general permissiveness and openness to new ideas.) What do you consider right/left wing in this context, and how is the country you are in right wing? (Perhaps you're in Singapore or so?)
    - Kim_Bruning 6y ago
      I think I'd better explain the "1776" comment a bit better: America was not the only country to have a great revolution. Starting almost a century earlier, and (in part following america's example) up to this day, many countries have seen revolutions or reforms. The world has continued to evolve and grow. Americans are often taught of American exceptionalism, that an enlightened America is (was) alone in the dark. Perhaps (nearly) so in 1776; But the fact today is that America is no longer the only nation with a liberal world view, social progressiveness and openness to diverse views. Now many other nations stand beside it or even ahead of it. This is not a bad problem to have of course (or even a problem at all! )

zozbot234 6y ago

> When you compare countries around the world, The United States of America is said to lean rather right of center. I'm not sure that this is the case. Maybe with respect to English-speaking countries, the U.S. leans more capitalistic which some people would call "right". But U.S. society/worldview is nonetheless far more liberal, socially progressive and open to diverse views than most countries around the world.

Kim_Bruning 6y ago
So are you saying that the world has stood still, and that western thought in general and America in particular have not had any sort of positive influence on the world since 1776? ;-)
- fireattack 6y ago
  I honestly don't understand what your satire is trying to say, and would agree with zozbot234's pretty straight forward reply: the US is probably lean right among Western countries, but compared to all the countries in the world, it's not. Most of Asian and African countries lean much more "right" compared to the US, as a starter.
  - Kim_Bruning 6y ago
    Specifically -as a nearly trivial statement- en.wikipedia is predominantly edited by those people who can write in English. These can be: * Native speakers: From eg. USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland. * People who speak English as a second language (which is most of the western world including western Europe) In general out of this set of countries, the USA tends to be fairly (economically) conservative and right-leaning. (Compare with eg. Netherlands, Norway, Germany, France, Canada, New Zealand, etc. ) What makes you say that countries in eg. Asia are more right leaning than the USA? That surprises me a bit.
    - fireattack 6y ago
      Of out this set of countries, I agree; but she/he specifically quoted a sentence from your original comment, therefore I think his/her observation is fine. > What makes you say that countries in eg. Asia are more right leaning than the USA By living there most of my life.
      - Kim_Bruning 6y ago
        Ah! Which country are you in, if I may ask? I'd like to look it up! (In return: I'm currently in Germany, Netherlands. These countries are considerably left of the USA in terms of eg socialized health care and education, views on woman's rights, and general permissiveness and openness to new ideas.) What do you consider right/left wing in this context, and how is the country you are in right wing? (Perhaps you're in Singapore or so?)
  - Kim_Bruning 6y ago
    I think I'd better explain the "1776" comment a bit better: America was not the only country to have a great revolution. Starting almost a century earlier, and (in part following america's example) up to this day, many countries have seen revolutions or reforms. The world has continued to evolve and grow. Americans are often taught of American exceptionalism, that an enlightened America is (was) alone in the dark. Perhaps (nearly) so in 1776; But the fact today is that America is no longer the only nation with a liberal world view, social progressiveness and openness to diverse views. Now many other nations stand beside it or even ahead of it. This is not a bad problem to have of course (or even a problem at all! )