The Left, the Right, and the Third Position: Prt 2

I decided to make a second post on this topic. The first post addressed the essence of the left-right political spectrum in absolute terms. However, the left, right, and centre are usually thought of in relative terms. That is, the centre is defined as being the point along the left-right spectrum at which half the population (any arbitrarily chosen group of people) lies to the left of that point and the other half lies to its right. It is in this relative sense that the "right" can axiomatically favour equality to a greater extent than inequality, all else equal. The political mainstream in the modern West is thoroughly leftist (equalist/egalitarian) when considered in absolute terms. To be merely axiomatically neutral with respect to equality is generally considered a far-right position. Hence fascism, because it doesn't consider equality axiomatically good, is categorized by many as being "far-right". This categorization is basically correct insofar as one is using the relative definition of "far-right". It should be noted that what is considered far-right today was considered far-left in other times and places (eg 17th century Europe). There have been many places and times for which absolutely right-wing thinking was considered normal. It was believed by many that Feudal lords were meant by divine providence to possess great wealth, power, and privileges. It was thought that they, and they alone, deserved their station in life.

Many people, especially those on the right, contend that the left-right spectrum is ultimately about the extent to which statism or collectivism is favoured as opposed to individualism or classical liberalism. I disagree. The collectivist-individualist and statist-liberal (by "liberal" I mean classically liberal - it makes more sense etymologically and in other ways) spectrums are real, important, and useful, but they do not capture the essence of the left-right divide. For example, so-called "progressive" taxation, which taxes those with larger incomes at higher rates than those with smaller incomes, is considered left-wing. This policy could plausibly be construed as statist and collectivist - so far so good. But, the reverse policy, a "regressive" taxation, which taxes those with larger incomes at a lower rate than those with smaller incomes, would conventionally be considered extremely right-wing. But these opposite policies are equally statist and equally "collectivist". Clearly, those who contend that the left-right spectrum is equivalent to the statist-liberal spectrum have a lot of explaining to do.

I will add to this post with updates later. I will also answer all comments. This blog will explore many different topics - economics, philosophy, politics, HBD, and more.