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: (2) When we talk about the political spectrum, we should try to define what it is. As far as I can tell, '''"right" usually means defending tradition; "left" usually means challenging tradition'''. Obviously that's a really general definition, but that's the point: if you don't make a general definition you can't clearly argue which things are left and which things are right (and which things are off that particular spectrum). This seems to be a good definition, because some of the main "rightist" causes in history have been: defending a country's traditional values and religion; defending the current system of government; joining the military to defend the country; protecting property by arguing against redistributive taxes. Some of the main "leftist" causes in history have been: defending people who want to do things that go against traditional values and religion; defending minority groups that do poorly under the current system of government; joining a revolution to challenge the current system; advocating taxes or other mechanisms to redistribute from those who are privileged under the current system to those who are not. I hope those descriptions don't sound insulting either from a "rightist" or "leftist" perspective, because I'm not trying to insult anybody or advocate one side. I'm just trying ot '''clarify where the big difference lies'''.

: (2) When we talk about the political spectrum, we should try to define what it is. As far as I can tell, '''"right" usually means defending tradition; "left" usually means challenging tradition'''. Obviously that's a really general definition, but that's the point: if you don't make a general definition you can't clearly argue which things are left and which things are right (and which things are off that particular spectrum). This seems to be a good definition, because some of the main "rightist" causes in history have been: defending a country's traditional values and religion; defending the current system of government; joining the military to defend the country; protecting property by arguing against redistributive taxes. Some of the main "leftist" causes in history have been: defending people who want to do things that go against traditional values and religion; defending minority groups that do poorly under the current system of government; joining a revolution to challenge the current system; advocating taxes or other mechanisms to redistribute from those who are privileged under the current system to those who are not. I hope those descriptions don't sound insulting either from a "rightist" or "leftist" perspective, because I'm not trying to insult anybody or advocate one side. I'm just trying ot '''clarify where the big difference lies'''.

: (3) By the way, when I said 'freedom to sleep with whoever you want' I was using euphemisms appropriate to a family-friendly wiki. I will be more explicit so that I can be more clear. Very recently there were anti-sodomy laws on the books in a lot of US states; rightists/conservatives were mostly appalled when those laws were struck down by the Supreme Court. That was a ruling in favor of 'individual liberty' that pleased a lot of leftists (and liberals, in the classical liberal / libertarian sense of the word). You can like that ruling / you can hate that ruling... but we can all agree that it was an example of a form of freedom supported more by the left than by the right, cant we? Or for another example, [[The Economist]] has often advocated legalizing drugs. Most people on the "right" think that's a terrible idea; as far as I can tell most people

: (3) By the way, when I said 'freedom to sleep with whoever you want' I was using euphemisms appropriate to a family-friendly wiki. I will be more explicit so that I can be more clear. Very recently there were anti-sodomy laws on the books in a lot of US states; rightists/conservatives were mostly appalled when those laws were struck down by the Supreme Court. That was a ruling in favor of 'individual liberty' that pleased a lot of leftists (and liberals, in the classical liberal / libertarian sense of the word). You can like that ruling / you can hate that ruling... but we can all agree that it was an example of a form of freedom supported more by the left than by the right, cant we? Or for another example, [[The Economist]] has often advocated legalizing drugs. Most people on the "right" think that's a terrible idea; as far as I can tell most people on the "left" think it's a terrible idea too. So that's another example of a form of freedom that lies nowhere on the "political spectrum" (again, it's "liberal", but only in the classical liberal / libertarian sense).

on the "left" think it's a terrible idea too. So that's another example of a form of freedom that lies nowhere on the "political spectrum" (again, it's "liberal", but only in the classical liberal / libertarian sense).

    

    

: (4) So I also think we should use the word "liberal" less often, because it's an extremely confusing word. The original meaning was favoring freedoms; political theorists still use the word that way. But it's often used in the US to mean "left",

: (4) So I also think we should use the word "liberal" less often, because it's an extremely confusing word. The original meaning was favoring freedoms; political theorists still use the word that way. But it's often used in the US to mean "left",