Are you as left wing as you think?

[Harryprice]

Interesting article here.

I've certainly noticed a number of people who claim to be left wing while displaying right wing views.

[smudge]

Interesting article here.

I've certainly noticed a number of people who claim to be left wing while displaying right wing views.

Would be nice to think that on a Skeptics forum ALL members would think 'outside the box', and therefore not fit into simplistic 'left' 'right' stereotypes.
It's a little bit more complicated than that.

[Harryprice]

Would be nice to think that on a Skeptics forum ALL members would think 'outside the box', and therefore not fit into simplistic 'left' 'right' stereotypes.
It's a little bit more complicated than that.

Why would skeptics be highly likely to think 'outside the box'?

[smudge]

Why would skeptics be highly likely to think 'outside the box'?

"The box" in this case being the traditional view of what would be considered either Left or Right wing policies. A skeptic would not blindly accept any such package of policies on the basis of them being (allegedly) Left or Right. A skeptic would assess policies individually and reach a conclusion which may or may not conform to a stereotypical view of Left/Right.

[Harryprice]

In addition to left and right I suppose there is also liberal and conservative (not the parties).

[polomint38]

Why would skeptics be highly likely to think 'outside the box'?

I personally think outside the triangle.
The so-called box everyone talks about has no firm evidence.
The triangle on the other hand was predicted by Pythagoras many years ago.

[Pebble]

I personally think outside the triangle.
The so-called box everyone talks about has no firm evidence.
The triangle on the other hand was predicted by Pythagoras many years ago.

Why not be ambitious, think outside the 'pie', since that stumped Pythagoras.

[Lord Muck oGentry]

Why not be ambitious, think outside the 'pie', since that stumped Pythagoras.

Didn't stump Euclid. He made pies out of lots of triangles.

[Pebble]

Didn't stump Euclid. He made pies out of lots of triangles.

Wasn't his pie imperfect?

[Lord Muck oGentry]

Well, I've heard that it wasn't entirely rational.

[brianp]

Wasn't his pie imperfect?

No - Euclid's pies were made entirely from prime cuts.

[smudge]

In addition to left and right I suppose there is also liberal and conservative (not the parties).

Yes, did you see the Political Compass thread a while back?

Back to the point of the article. I do think there is a tendency for peoples views to drift to the right with age. Coupled with a tendency to cling on to long held 'beliefs' (belief as a property to be defended), I'm sure this can result in certain contradictions.
On the other hand, as suggested by Bragg in the article, there is also an element of simply growing up. A greater maturity of view with principals intact, if modified.


I find it easier to think outside of the pie if I have plenty of pie in me!

[chaggle]

Interesting article here.

I've certainly noticed a number of people who claim to be left wing while displaying right wing views.

I have come across this many times. Many lefties are, for instance, quite racist - a quality which is often associated with the extreme right wing.

[smudge]

I have come across this many times. Many lefties are, for instance, quite racist - a quality which is often associated with the extreme right wing.

Certainly true. Sexism and homophobia are even more common. That said, all of these things are more openly prevalent on the Right.

[Bob Lloyd]

Much of the confusion about left and right comes from the strange habit of judging political stance by the position of political parties. New Labour implemented more severe Tory policies than Thatcher ever managed, and yet their supporters consider themselves "on the left". For most of us on the left, that claim is a joke.

Without some political understanding apart from the manifestos of the established parliamentary parties, political identifications swing with the opportunist best of them. Those who used to think of themselves as Liberal now see Liberal politicians swinging the Tory axe more viciously than the Tories themselves ever could.

With all the parliamentary parties uniformly supporting business against working people (witness who is expected to pay for the latest crisis) the idea that there is some realistic sense of right and left stretches credibility. To my mind, they are all very much on the right but it depends where you decide to base your particular spectrum.

Left wing politics seems to me to require a class analysis of the economic and political interests in society. The sham nature of New Labour was brought home to me when an election candidate explained to me that he wasn't allowed to use the word "socialist" because voters might not like it.