ForumsWEPRPolitical "scale" is illogical.

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TheAngelOfWar
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TheAngelOfWar
206 posts
Nomad

The political scale of left wing vs right wing is illogical in every way. If we put every government type together on the so called scale you wouldn't be able to unless you just play by favorites.

Traditional/French Revolution Scale.
Left: Less Government /// Right: More Government.

"Modern Scale".
Left: Progressive /// Right: Unprogressive.

Exhibit: A
The Modern scale is basically Liberal bias since it's saying Conservatives are just unprogressive, if we put Liberals and Conservatives on the "modern scale" Conservatives and Libels are both on the left next to the middle. On a traditional scale they're still right next to each other. Then we have the issue of the Monarchy, Socialist, Communist, and etc governments.
^
Lets put them on a Traditional Scale first. But first let me remind you all that there are government types then sub-government types ex. Republic then Democratic Republics. I'm just going to do the sub-government types to avoid confusion and list them as they are in theory not practice and of course I will not list all types of sub-governments because there are more theories of government than practice. Also please do not mix up Nobility and Aristocracy.

Traditional Scale
Theocracy<-Absolute Monarchy<-Totalitarian<-Timocracy<-Oligarchy<-Fascism<-Aristocratic Republic(The Roman Republic)<-Socialism<-Constitutional Monarchy(Modern)<-Democratic Republic,<-Liberalism<-Conservatism<-Middle->Democracy->Communism->Anarchy
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There is a lot to notice in this scale isn't there? Most Government types are on the left; a monarchy isn't so far from a Republic after all; the scale makes no sense; just throwing out some examples of what you might be thinking. Now I move forward. As you can see the government types above can also be political parties and they can also be skewed into different places.

Modern Scale
The Modern Scale isn't even worth doing if you've considered the above. The Modern scale is completely bias, opinionated, or entirely dependent on dozens of things, ex. is it a good Monarch? Is it a corrupt republic? Is it only for their economy? Etc. Which brings me to my next point.

Exhibit: B
You can be economically A and be socially E then when we put them together we just cram it into one wing and it is just completely inaccurate for both scales.

Exhibit: C
Right wing and left wing is also dependent on what country you're in. Europe thinks America is right wing. But wait... We have a new president every 4-8 years. A handful still think America has a smaller percentage of Bleeding Hearts instead of the 50% thing we have going on.

Conclusion: The political scale(s) have been simply skewed and used as propaganda.

Quick FAQ
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Democracy and Communism on the right?
In Theory they do not require/have governments.
What is Timocracy?
Feudalism or any government type that has an honor system.
What is a Bleeding Heart?
It is the "cliche" Liberal.

  • 17 Replies
Thrillology
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Thrillology
78 posts
Shepherd

1 Thomas Hobbes. Calvin was somebody else.

Thank you for correcting me. It was 4 AM, haha.

2 You're conflating cause and effect. Collectivism predates all known philosophers by several thousand years. It cannot, therefore, have its origins in their philosophies. Hobbes was looking at a system that already worked and speculating about why it worked. He had no hand in making it work.

The foundations of modern politics.
FishPreferred
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FishPreferred
3,171 posts
Duke

Sorry, but that still isn't correct. Modern politics consist of either refined versions of ancient politics, such as the Roman senate, or some radical branches of political theory, such as Marxism. Political philosophy has very little to do with it, and only that through its loose association with political theory.

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