[Peace-discuss] Convergence, left-right

[Bob Illyes]

David is right about the definition problem. This is particularly evident 
with the left-right distinction.

One common ranking places the interests of the poor on the left and the 
interests of the rich on the right. A different common ranking places the 
collective on the left and the individual on the right. Perhaps the worst 
ranking places the Bolsheviks on the left and the Nazis on the right, two 
groups that are so similar in their approach that this definition is 
virtually useless as a starting point for further thought.

The liberal democratic tradition in which the US stands assumes that 
neither pure collectivism nor pure individualism is desirable. The 
Progressives of a century or so ago stood in this tradition. They rebelled 
against the conflation of the interests of the rich with the interests of 
the individual. The equation of Progressive with Liberal that Wayne and 
many others make is, in my opinion, an error. I think we are witnessing a 
rebirth of the Progressive consensus, not just a renaming of Liberal.

The commune (such as the Amana Colonies) and the utterly individualistic 
frontiersman both have their good points, but Aristotle would rightly point 
out that some sort of mean between the two would be more satisfactory to 
the vast majority of people. Achieving this is like riding a bicycle- if 
you assume too rigid a stance you'll crash.

I see the makings of a new Progressive consensus, one that is bound to 
annoy both the left and right in almost any way you care to define them. If 
this happens, it will be the third in our history. The first was our founding.

Bob