User:Chuckest/sandbox

This is a new article to be placed in the Left/Right search.

The Single Plane Left/Right Political Spectrum Confusion abounds in this easy to understand Single Plane Left/Right Political Spectrum. The conclusions are drawn from history and the English language lead one to only one conclusion. “Right, Rightist, and Right-wing” designates a person, issue, or law that advocates or leads to “less Government”. “Left, Leftist, and Left-Wing” designates a person, issue, or law that advocates or leads to “more Government”. History teaches this. Regardless of why Marx chose “LEFT” as the designation for his movement, Lenin and Trotsky continued to refer to Communism as a movement of the left. “Lenin’s last major work, addressed to the supporters of the Russian Revolution in the West, was entitled “Left-Wing” Communism: An Infantile Disorder - a critique of the “left-ism”. From history we also read, “During the 1920s and onwards, Trotsky criticized the Soviet Union in some cases for being too far left (e.g. forced collectivization of farms).”. The name caught on and has been used ever since to describe Communism, Socialism, and totalitarianism. Over the years the name spread to describe governments that were totalitarian, including the Fascism of Mussolini and the National Socialism of Hitler. And at the end of the 19th century and the mid-20th Century, it included people who advocated a move toward more government. The “Right” got its name and meaning merely by default, it was all that was left, (oops) I mean it was the only other choice. If advocating more government (as Communism did) is “Left” and 100% government is the “extreme left”, then the advocacy of less government would have to be “Right” and 0% government would be the “extreme Right”, on The Single Plane Left/Right Political Spectrum. Conveniently, the English Language has words that substantiate this assertion. Please note, that 100% government is Totalitarianism, where the government makes all major decisions for individuals & businesses. (Note the word “total in totalitarian.), and Anarchy being 0% government where individuals and businesses are free to make all of their own decisions is derived from the Greek meaning “no rule” or no government. This is not just conjecture; or opinion. An advocate of more government is not necessarily a communist or fascist or Nazi but is calling for a move toward 100% government on the left. An advocate of less government is not necessarily an advocate of anarchy but is calling for a move toward 0% government on the right. What could be more simple and clear-cut? Almost all advocates of liberty know that as government grows liberty shrinks. Confirmation of this hypothesis can be found in two articles by Murray Rothbard. (and many others that preceded and followed him) In The Transformation of the American Right First published in Continuum, in summer 1964, pp. 220–231. Murray Rothbard correctly observed, The modern American Right began, in the 1930s and 1940s, (Emphasis added) as a reaction against the New Deal and the Roosevelt Revolution, and specifically as an opposition to the critical increase of statism and state intervention… (Emphasis added) According to Dr. Rothbard, the left/right political spectrum measures the increases in governmental power, especially the power to intervene in the daily lives of individuals and businesses. Reinforcement of this concept is found in “Confessions of a Right-Wing Liberal” published in 1969, Rothbard further observed: “…we adopted the standard view, (Emphasis added) of the political spectrum: ‘left’, meant socialism, or total power of the state; the further ‘right’ one went the less government one favored.” Hence, we called ourselves “extreme rightists." Rothbard’s standard view of the left-right political Spectrum would have looked like this, I have added some of the major occupants and their relative positions on the chart. (view full screen) 100% government -L-I-B-E-R-T-A-R-I-A-N 0% government. Left (Totalitarian Communist Socialism Fascist Nazi) - Anarchy. Right Note: Because different Libertarians believe in different amounts of government, we have spread Libertarianism over the right end of the chart.

Additional confirmation is found farther along in that same article where Rothbard said, “Originally, our historical heroes were such men as [Thomas] Jefferson, [Thomas] Paine, [John] Cobden and [Richard] Bright and [Herbert] Spencer. As our views became purer and more consistent, we eagerly embraced such near-anarchists as the voluntarist, Auberon Herbert, and the American individualist-anarchists, Lysander Spooner and Benjamin R. Tucker.” In other words, as they became “purer” and more “consistent” in their Libertarian thinking, their heroes were chosen from men that were closer to anarchy and 0% government on the right end of the Political Spectrum, that Dr. Rothbard called the standard view. And yes, gentle reader, the “extreme rightist” Murray Rothbard authored the first Political Platform for the Libertarian Party. That should make those who say that Communism is the authoritarianism of the left and Fascism is the authoritarianism of the right squirm in their seats a bit. What we have here is a “Think About It”. moment: If Communism is the authoritarianism of the left and Fascism is the authoritarianism of the right no one would have ever suggested a single plane left/right political spectrum that provided David Nolan with the opportunity to come along to improve.