| sc94597 said: Yeah after I read the thread further, it became more clear what you were getting at. A few things: I don't think vgchartz is a random enough sample group, so while it would be interesting to see what the members think, I am unsure how much relevance it would have with things like polls or turnouts. In this thread I've seen Europeans(and other people from former European colonies) mention that the U.S seems more "right-winged" but if we use the classical definition of right-wing, Europe has more true conservatives than the U.S. It is only in the context of economic freedom vs. economic security that the U.S would *seemingly* fall on the right, but the right's idolation of markets is something recent. Historically the right has been much more for national economies based on mercantile systems (what we call keynesians today, pretty much.) In the 19th century it was predominately a left-wing affair to support free-markets with few regulations(for example Bastiat sat on the left aisle with Proudhon, and while they argued on the specifics of usury and property rights they both supported free markets and considered themselves allies.) So rather than it being that the U.S is more right-winged, it is more a case of a different definition of what is left-wing and right-wing. |
It's funny and disheartening how historical context is so frequently overlooked and how party alignments are so often misrepresented. When Republicans toss around the "Libtard" moniker, it is not uncommonly echoed by those who also purport themselves to be "constitutionalists" who want to defend the "principles of the founding fathers." The founding fathers were liberals, and true liberals seek improvement of ideologies, throught the dialectic. By extension, the constitution was designed to evolve, hence the immediate modification via amendments. Their contemporary conservatives were the Tories, who were loyal to the crown. This is a conversation that, sadly, I can have with very few (hence, it's disheartening).
In current times, we have a "liberal" president who is effectively Reagan 2.0 and barely left of center (I think you'll appreciate this article: http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/revenge-of-the-reality-based-community/). Both parties have similar interests and leverage social issues to win elections, but an observant voter would see that states tend to lead socially progressive federal action. What we've lost is the conservative-liberal dialectic that challenges the establishment, broaches debates, and is checked by the pillars of functional democracy. Everyone should want a government that enforces regulations to protect their rights, but they should also want a fiscally responsible goverment that doesn't waste tax revenue: no party owns these agendas!
