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this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2023
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Showerthoughts
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This. I hate the whole left/right tribalism.
Like I know that it can be used to get a rough idea of what political motivations someone might have and I know that where my own ideologies would mostly fall in that inaccurate one-dimensional linear spectrum but ultimately it is too inaccurate to use it to classify everyone's political motivation.
Worse it creates a whole us-vs-them divide. "Oh you aren't right, when then you must be a commie". "Oh you aren't left, then you must be a fascist". So you might consider yourself in a different position on a political spectrum and just see the differences to someone on the other end of a political spectrum even though you might have more in common then you think. Heck, if you are on complete opposite ends you might even have more in common then you think.
Ultimately, the focus should be less on left/right and more on individual policies. Like should healthcare be public or privatized, should be build another road or another train track here, etc
Why does political debate always have to turn into this tribalistic mud fight instead of proper discussion on how to best address the needs of citizens?
Yeah, the western single line political spectrum is the most Fischer price useless shit ever designed. Left and right isn't the problem. It's the useless distorted political spectrum were taught to use. And our purposefully deficient political education. It has us treating a center right loosely pro social democracy party as if they're extreme lefties and right wing authoritarians as if authoritarianism is just what happens when you go further right. It isn't. But that's how they justify their continued foray into anti-democratic authoritarianism.
Because it gives more votes
I agree. I don't take sides at all because everybody raises a valid point.
But damn, I brought up that I didn't take either side on a thread in another community and was blasted by people who are convinced that I support Trump being a rapist and bailing out billionaires because I said I didn't like Biden either, and they act like I'm lying about not liking Trump either because the only possible reason someone wouldn't like a Democrat is if they are kissing Trump's ass. It's ridiculous. People pick Team Red or Team Blue in the States and refuse to listen to the other side.
The two party system.
They built nonsensical coalitions to get votes, so people often find that their preferred party has positions they don't like.
Then the primary system encourages the most extreme candidates for either party.
Then you have intentional amplification of the assholes like MTG.
Then you create an artificial us versus them mentality where someone on the other side is pure evil. Obviously the GOP is far and away worse at this, but it's across the spectrum.
Left and right are very useful construct... as a spectrum... on multiple axis.
It just seems completely meaningless, because so much here is tainted by the US perspective. And neither do they have a spectrum (with just two parties), nor multiple axis (again, two parties can't represent nuanced opinion on different topics). In fact they don't even have left and right, just right-wing and more far-right.
Honestly there's the political compass (example here) that can sum up better political views for what matters. Though the left and right specter should be considered more regarding the economy, you have communists and nazis which in the freedoms are pretty much in the same place, while economy-wise they're different.