What follows is my working understanding of what constitutes Left and Right both from a historical perspective and from a logical one, derived from the generally accepted notions that the Left strives toward an artificial (man-made) order of ‘equality,’ where each man gets an equal share, and the Right strives toward a natural (God-made) order of ‘equity,’ where each man gets his just deserts. This may turn into a ‘living document’ which I edit from time to time. (If I make a significant change at any point, I will explain, date, and record it in the notes below)
The Left
1. Equality is the guiding principle of the Left. Equality means little or no disparities in social standing, political participation, and wealth.
2. Aims toward a political order of social uniformity, i.e. no class distinctions.
3. Since social uniformity is not natural, the Left is characterized by idealistic or Utopian thought. This often makes them social engineers and planners who seek to overturn existing hierarchies and change the nature of humanity itself in order to suit their vision. The Left likes to play the role of God, and are indeed, often agnostic or atheist.
4. The belief in equality presupposes a deterministic world view, which holds that society at large is primarily or totally responsible for an individual’s actions and social outcomes. Since diversity of outcome exists, it must be the fault of our institutions. This often makes the Left an enemy of existing institutions until they gain control of them.
5. Crimes are committed against society as a whole, and punishment is determined in a utilitarian manner, whether this means lenient, proportional, or excessive punishment.
6. Emphasis on public or shared property and centralized decision making concerning the use and trade of services, goods, and resources.
7. Desires governance by will of common majority, i.e. mediocracy.
8. Government takes the form of a centralized monopolistic authority, since any competition in governance would necessarily result in differing and hence unequal outcomes and opportunities. Historical examples include democracy, socialism, fascism, communism, and (theoretically) anarchism.
9. Taken to its logical extreme, the Left desires one world government, even if it entails global war to achieve. This is the only way to achieve global equality.
10. Gains political sovereignty through revolution, an overturning of the established political order in toto. The child slays the father and reigns over the household.
11. Expansive, prone to creating empires through annexation and ideological war.
12. Built on secularized monastic model, where there is one supreme authority over a population of equal subjects each with access to all communal property.
13. Antithetical to any intermediate authority structures which may challenge the authority of the central government, such as the Church or strong family networks, i.e. nobility.
14. ‘Just war’ is a war of liberation or of spreading an ideology, i.e. who is on the ‘right’ side of history?
15. Total war: since the Left sees government and society as one and the same body, a war waged against an enemy government is also a war waged against the civilian population who supports it. All individuals and all property from the opposing country are justified military targets for blockades, bullets, and bombs.
16. Liberty is universal rights. This entails universal freedom from material wants and traditional social norms, institutions, and hierarchies. The Left believes in the government granted right to be equally taken care of and accepted.
17. The Left considers the Christian religion, so long as it operates outside the directives of the central authority, as a threat to its power structure and as an archaic patriarchal mechanism of social oppression, and therefore should be critiqued, slandered, diminished, and attacked, even with violence if necessary. It is also the critical cultural bulwark, identified by communists such as Antonio Gramsci, holding back the desired political revolutions of the Left.
18. Since the family structure necessarily promotes unequal outcomes, it's influence on children should be diminished or abolished in favor of the influence of the state or those it employs.
19. Due to the inefficiencies inherent (and potentials for corruption associated) with a heavy reliance upon public or state-directed resource allocation, the Leftist economy is parasitic and destructive in nature.
20. The individual is the primary building block of society.
The Right
1. Equity is the guiding principle of the Right. Equity means suum cuique or “to each his due.” This leaves an allowance for the consequences of excellence and error.
2. Accepts natural order of social stratification and hierarchy as just.
3. Since social diversity is natural, the Right is characterized by realistic or Anti-Utopian thought. This often makes them defenders of traditional society and existing hierarchies as they are. The Right accepts the nature of humanity that God has given them, and are indeed, often believers in Christ.
4. The belief in equity presupposes a world view centered around ‘free will’, which holds that an individual is primarily or totally responsible for his own actions and social outcomes. Since the man of the Right blames the individual for his actions, he is often a defender of existing institutions, unless they are violating his freedom in the promotion of equality.
5. Crimes are committed against persons, and punishment or restitution for crimes committed is proportional to the offense. Eye for an eye.
6. Emphasis on private property and private decision making by just owners concerning the use and trade of services, goods, and resources.
7. Desires governance by the will of a competent minority, i.e. meritocracy.
8. Government takes the form of polycentric rivalrous authority, since a natural order of social diversity will result in numerous and distinct centers of allegiance, competency, and hierarchy. Historical examples include kingship, feudalism, federalism, and (theoretically) libertarianism.
9. Taken to its logical extreme, the Right desires self-government to the lowest natural level possible, but only if this comes about organically or slowly, aided by traditional institutions, such as church and family.
10. Gains political sovereignty by way of secession, a separation from the established political order. The child leaves his father's household and builds his own.
11. Contractive, prone to breaking up political boundaries through secession and split inheritances of authority.
12. Built on familial model, where there are multiple layers and overlapping hierarchies of authority encouraging autonomy from the lower ranks over time. Principle of subsidiarity.
13. Supportive of intermediate authority structures, such as the Church and strong families, which challenge and hold in check the power of any one authority.
14. ‘Just war’ is a war of defense of peoples and property.
15. Limited war: since the Right sees a clear demarcation between government and society, a war waged against an enemy government is not a war against the civilian population. Only individuals and property directly aligned with the war effort are considered justified military targets.
16. Liberty is self-determination. This entails freedom from invasion of person and property by a governing authority seen as remote, unsolicited, or illegitimate. The Right believes in localized rights and governance.
17. The Right considers the Christian religion as an essential component of Western man’s traditional culture, and therefore, its independence from any temporal governing authority should be ardently protected, and its integrity should be reverentially defended from attack, whether by word or sword.
18. The family structure is the social foundation upon which a healthy thriving culture and a restrained liberty-oriented government depend.
19. Due to the efficiencies associated with the free division of labor guided by the exchange of goods and services on an open market by willing property owners, the Rightist economy is productive and constructive in nature.
20. The family is the primary building block of society.
Notes
a) It should be clear that almost no one person, ideology, or institution has ever been purely Left or Right by the standard above. These are the poles or extremes, and we are all a mix of the two to some degree. Every Leftist who wants to live and let live with others is exhibiting a Right-wing ‘federalist’ tendency. Every Rightist who wants to force all others to live under the rules of his particular social guidelines is exhibiting a Left-wing ‘imperialist’ tendency.
b) The Nazis and Neocons are generally considered Rightwing, because they each opposed communism, but both are more appropriately characterized by Leftism. The latter believe that the principle of equality is the founding principle of America, and the former believed in a racially homogeneous or uniform society controlled by a one party state. Equality and homogeneity are fundamentally Leftwing standards.
c) Libertarianism is sometimes referred to as ‘anarchism’ or ‘anarcho-capitalism’, but in this spectrum, I’ve ceded anarchism to the Left to describe the anti-state philosophies of Bakunin, Proudhon, Kropotkin, Goldman, and other mutualists, anarcho-communists, syndicalists, libertarian socialists, etc. It is difficult to place anarchism on a spectrum because it is a philosophy caught in an inescapable contradiction, which is that it desires to abolish both private property and the state, but in practice you need to invest all power in one to abolish the other. It desires equality which makes it Leftwing, but it prescribes systems of decentralized or zero governance, so in practice it would result in natural inequalities of rank and status making it Rightwing. What solidifies anarchism as a Leftwing doctrine is its historical opposition to all traditional social structures, norms, and hierarchies.
d) Classical liberalism was a mix of Right and Left, wherein the balance of the spectrum could dip to one side or the other with any given figure. Figures like Bastiat, Acton, and Mises were decidedly Rightwing regarding property, trade, and opposition to equality, but all believed in a democratic ideal of government, albeit with severe limitations.
e) The Spectrum: Extreme Leftwing < Communist State < Fascist State < Democratic State < Constitutional Republic > Monarchy > Kingship > Stateless Aristocracy > Extreme Rightwing
Major Influences
Gottfried, Paul. “How the Left Conquered the Right.” Property and Freedom Society 2011. Lecture.
Hoppe, Hans-Herman. Various sources but especially “Realistic Libertarianism as Right-Libertarianism.” Property and Freedom Society 2014. Lecture.
Kirk, Russell. “The Conservative Mind.” Seventh Edition 1985. Book.
Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Erik von. “Leftism: From de Sade and Marx to Hitler and Marcuse.” 1974 and “Liberty or Equality: The Challenge of our Time.” 1952. Book.
Nisbet, Robert. “The Quest for Community.” 1981. Book.
Rothbard, Murray N. Various sources but especially “Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature.” 1974. Essay.