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Ethan's avatar

I'm unsure if this really captures the left/right divide all that well. It does capture strong currents within both - namely the progressive strain of leftism and the conservative or reactionary strain of rightism, but there are plenty of examples of both leftists wanting to turn back the clock and rightists wanting to change society.

An example of the former is how many leftists want to reverse economic liberalisation efforts undertaken in the 1970s and 1980s. e.g. through strengthening unions and anti-monopoly regulation, reversing various welfare reforms e.g. means testing, or re-nationalising certain industries. On the latter, rightists were often the first to introduce economic liberalisation in the first place - for example the Goods and Services Tax was introduced in Australia by the right amidst fierce opposition from the left.

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Wan Kong Yew's avatar

Good essay, though it seems to imply that all societies are generally shaped by this dance between left and right when that isn't necessarily the case. In many emerging nations for example where the national identity is only weakly established and ethnic conflicts predominate, it's arguable whether there even is anything readily identifiable as a left-right divide.

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