Response to Turki bin Aziz al Fayed

Submitted by Merry Whitney (United States), Jan 29, 2006 at 05:20

Yes, but. The labels of "left wing" to "right wing," which accompany, from the far left to the far right, are: "Radical;" "liberal;" (moderate or mainstream); "conservative;" and "reactionary."

These are constants. Far left is "radical," whether you're in Toledo Ohio or Moscow. Left is "liberal," whether in Phoenix Arizona or Beijing. Right is "conservative," also anywhere. And far right is "reactionary," ditto.

However, the ideology and belief system is quite different for a Moscow conservative or reactionary, than it is for an Ohio Republican. An Ohio conservative wants what was, which in the US means pretty much what Tommy Jefferson, Jimmy Madison, and the rest of the boys advocated, back when individual liberty meant one could fearlessly thumb one's nose at political correctness.

A Moscow conservative, however, who also "wants what was," longs for the good old days when Uncle Joe's purges kept the Politburo on its toes, and the Party comrades slogged faithfully along toward the happy day when communism would bury the arrogant capitalists.

All of that notwithstanding, however, you're right (in the "accurate" sense). In 1930s Germany, Hitler was a radical, and that's as left-wing as one can be.

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