Gary Jeffers writes:
conservative liberal fascist left-wing right-wing statist minarchist anarchist
SOME DEFINITIONS
In the U.S. it is almost impossible to talk sensibly about politics since no one knows the definitions of political orientations. For instance: what is a conservative? Someone who resists change; someone
There does not seem to be any name for left wing minarchists /or anarchists or right wing minarchists /or anarchists. This list seems to have a lot of left & right wing minarchists & anarchists. I am a right wing anarchist.
Strange that right wing & left wing are not bluntly defined. A taboo maybe or doesn't the ruling class want the political discussions to make any sense? Maybe if it were made explicit, then the left & right would think they could be left & right & yet, not support the state.
Check out the "Nolan Chart," which is a fairly common classification in _two_ dimensions. Libertarians often use it to recruit members, by showing that the views of people they ask ("Do you favor legalizing drugs?" etc.) are often more similar to the libertarian position than to others. I don't have an ASCII version handy, but maybe someone here does. In fairness to my left-leaning friends (Dave Mandl as a good example), the questions in the Nolan Chart test are designed to make almost anyone appear to be a libertarian. I could phrase the same points differently and make anyone appear to be a statist. For example: "Do you believe shops should be allowed to refuse service to blacks?" Now I happen to believe the answer is "yes." But then I understand the market effects, the basic rights, etc. (I also believe airlines can set weight limits, or any other limits, on its stewardesses, that gyms can be "men only" if they wish, that this list can kick off anyone they (the anonymous "they") wish, and so on.) My point is that the left-right classification has in fact been improved upon. Encouragingly, very few arguments on this list revolve around conventional left-right distinctions. --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."