The conflict between left and right. Is it inevitable?
In the highly polarized social media world, the phrase right and left-wing is thrown everywhere, and every time, but most people do not know what the term means. The term is inciting conflict with its dichotomy us vs. them. Imagine an already controversial term being misinterpreted too much; thus, the conflict is inevitable.
To understand the right and left side of the political spectrum the core political issues will be analyzed.
1)Influence
People from the left are for more government influence in people’s everyday life. For example, because of significant government influence, people have access to universal healthcare. In exchange for the collected tax money and regulations placed, the healthcare system is obliged to offer medical coverage to all citizens.
People from the right are for more individual freedom and less government influence. Without government influence, the power over the healthcare system will be in the hands of private corporations. The healthcare tax will not be paid, but as a trade-off to get access to healthcare services, the citizen will have to buy their medical insurance from private corporations. Here you are free to choose whatever private insurance company you want, and you are not forced to pay the mandatory tax.
2) Property
People from the left are for the more communal property. For example, a left-wing person will prefer a communal park owned by the government with free access. The park will be taken care of by the state, and the maintenance will be paid from government money collected from taxes.
On the other hand, a right-wing person will want the park to be owned by a private company. In exchange for an entry tax, you will have access to a well-kept and guarded park that will compete with the other privately-owned parks to attract more customers.
3) Economy
When it comes to the economy, a person highly orientated towards the left will be for a more command economy where the government can mandate production in needed areas; thus, the supply and demand rules are replaced by the government ones. It is essential to mention that after the fall of the Soviet Union, the command economy has been primarily repudiated, and even most of the communist countries have large free enterprise sectors and operate with relatively low government intervention.
A person-oriented towards the right will be for a free enterprise economy where the supply and demand will dictate the rules, and the funds are allocated to the most productive entities within and economic system.
History — The French Revolution
It is 1789, and the battle for human rights known as the French Revolution, that would change the course of history is taking place. Usually, it is thought that the French Revolution was kinetic warfare fought with bullets, but first and foremost, it was a war of ideas, and the war was fought in a place called the National Assembly. This war of ideas was short and happened between June 13, 1979, to July 1789. Just like in war where opposing soldiers position themselves on different sides of the battlefield. The president of the assembly was placed in the middle, the people that supported the king and the current order of things were situated in the right side of the room, and the people who supported the revolution and the change were located in the left side of the room.
In the end, the people on the right side of the room become known as the party of order, and the people on the left side of the room became the party of change/movement. So, through this short history, dive in the origins of the terms left and right-wing date back to the great French Revolution.
Order or Movement
What would you do? Would you rather keep the current income system where you are paid for the number of hours you work, yes it has its flaws, but it works well, and we can make gradual adjustments in the system so it will be even better?
Or would you instead revolutionize the system entirely and pay everybody a basic income of 1000$ a month, but this system can be quite risky since it was never tried. The results can be unexpected, but we assume that is better than the old system, so why not to try our luck.
So, here is a basic example of approaching any tasks. Instead of perceiving left and right-wing as opposing ideologies, they should be seen as different ways of approaching the same problem. It does matter if it is on the government, company, team, or personal level.
Conclusion
Without a firm agreement on what right and left-wing means a constructive conversation can not be reached. Instead of listening and acknowledging the strengths of the other side of the spectrum, people see each other as enemies.
There is no superior side when speaking about the left or right side of the spectrum, with its advantages and disadvantages. Using one approach when it comes to solving political problems is politically immature. The politicians and the highly polarized people on the left and the right, should try to see the advantages of the other view, and try to use the dialectic method to achieve the best possible solution. So, next time somebody asks you if you are a left or the right-wing person, you can respond with two questions “What do you define as left and right-wing?” and “On which topic and problem? This will save you from a lot of unwanted conflicts and incentivize a constructive conversation.
