How meaningful is the political spectrum?
When I started my ‘Pro-British, Anti-Extremist’ blog, I referred to myself as a ‘progressive small “c” conservative’. I wasn’t overly happy with that label, but then ‘right-wing social democrat’ didn’t seem to make much sense either. Since then, I’ve been attacked as a ‘Red’ and called ‘lefty scum’ by BNP members, been referred to in the comments here as ‘very very right wing’ and a ‘budding demagogue’, as well as being misconstrued as a Tory and even referred to on the more mad side of the left-wing blogosphere as an ‘”anti-racist” racist’.
Today I voted for ‘NO2EU – Yes to Democracy’, in particular because I agree with their stance on workers’ rights, civil liberties, and public services. I presume that my stance on mass immigration and my promotion of an anti-racist patriotism are what lead to me being called ‘right-wing’, but I’m not sure if these views are intrinsically ‘right-wing’. My views on workers’ rights and public services could be classed as ‘left-wing’, but are such ideas actually the preserve of ‘the Left’?
The issue of the BNP has brought up this debate again – they’re generally referred to as ‘far-right’, yet moderate right-wingers often object and state that the BNP is more leftist than right-wing.
I’d like to open this topic to the Harry’s Place commenters. Can we speak meaningfully of ‘left-wing’ and ‘right-wing’ issues, and, if so, what are they? Are there issues where such labels are irrelevant (I think there are many)? Is New Labour a left-wing Party, a centrist Party, even a neoconservative project (as some claim)? Is there an intrinsically ‘left-wing view’ on the use of military force? Is there an instrinsically ‘right-wing view’ on sexuality? And so on.
What do you think?
