Sofia wrote:I'd be very interested to know what policies in Canada you consider too left, ehBeth. I've always been really curious about members here, who explain that they are to the right of the political spectrum in their countries, but who I consider liberal. What on earth are *those* lefties espousing that you disagree with?
Hhmmm ...
I consider myself a radical left-winger. But still, I'm on the Green/free-thinking plank of the left, not the Red/collectivist one, and thus I have plenty to gripe about concerning those "lefties".
Stuff I have virulently disagreed on with people "to my left", so to say, include:
- any kind of apologetic, relativating or even defending argument re: the former Communist regimes in Central/Eastern Europe
- opposition to European unification (many on the left considers the EU a market-driven, corporate project, disempowering the people. They've got a point, but no real alternative)
- opposition to any military intervention, especially when it includes a role for NATO or the US (I was strongly in favour of the Kosovo intervention and understanding of the Afghan intervention)
- opposition to liberalisation of, say, shopping times and so on (they consider it an attack on workers rights, I consider it adapting to modern citizens' needs)
- liberalisation of the labour market (they think its wrong, period; I ain't too hot about it, but can see how its greatly benefited Dutch employment compared to the stagnant labour market in Germany)
- free trade on global level (ever more people on the left are realising that
true free trade would actually benefit the Third World; but the classic red/left position is still to be clearly against it.
In general, but harder to pin down, the far-left Socialists are more collectivist than I feel comfortable with; the Greens are more individualist. The Greens are much more passionate about issues such as migrants' and asylum-seekers' rights and ethnic/cultural tolerance, gay/lesbian rights, the environment, of course, and in general social liberal causes that the Socialists do kindof agree on, but pay much less emphasis to. The "red" left is also considerably more populist, in an "against all" and "they're all frauds and exploiters, anyway" way, whereas the libertine/Green left is more constructivist.
Now, if you ask a real right-wing liberal, as we would call them, like Thomas, he would come with way more far-reaching examples I think. Involving taxes, privatisation, liberalisation, "reform" of social security, disability and unemployment benefits and so on - and all other kinds of such questions of economic liberalism in which he is to the right and people like me are on the left.
