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Left/Right, an outdated distinction? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by poVoq@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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This is not to say that I think they are equally bad or that there should be a "united front" or some non-sense like that!

It just seems like the traditional left / right distinction, even when extended by the authoritarian / libertarian axis doesn't seem to reflect political opinions a very well anymore (and maybe never did).

As a shower-thought I recently considered "rooted" Vs. "mobile" as less ideologically loaded and more descriptive terms of the actually different mind-sets people seem to have. This seems to fit to many aspects of the ideological divide found in today's world.

Any other suggestions?

P.S.: of course just inventing new terms & definitions doesn't change anything (and NewSpeak is certainly a danger), but keep using outdated and overloaded terms is also not the solution.

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[–] jalabalababo@lemmy.ml 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Left/Right is only useful if you believe in tribalism. Otherwise you must use nuance.

There is no coherent definition of left/right you can come up with that won't end up being tribal. Dividing all politics into two sides will always be tribal. For more productive conversation just stick to issues rather than monoliths.

Theres a reason the media keeps focusing on the sides of left vs. right. It will always divide us.

[–] PP44@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago

I don't understand your of reasoning. for talking about object around you, up and down are useful notions. But it does not mean that the world is divided into only to notion, up or down, sky and earth, or anything like that. It is a tool to talk about things, that is useful in some situations and not in others.

Likewise, left and right are relative and specific notion that are useful to analyze the political world, but are obviously not a binary and universal sorting tools.