Theos-Talk Archives (December 1996 Message tl00455)

At 08:53 AM 12/18/96 +0000,  kymsmith@micron.net wrote:

>LMH III wrote:

>>A further clarification between Left and Right:
>>
>>The Left espouses a totalitarian, ideological one-party state, the conformity
>>of the
>>the mass media, the glorification of the majority and an elitism (as in the
>>vanguard
>>of the proletariat).

>Vanguard of the proletariat?  Uh, excuse me, that's communism, more
>specifically, Leninism.  Lenin is now pushing up daisies, as is his
philosophy.

I am not aware of the difference between communism and the left wing.


>Conservatives
>buy into the "irrational" concept of humanity - you know, the "gifted few"
>should rule the masses because the masses are incapable of ruling themselves.

If the right really believes this, they have kept it a secret from me.
Their whole argument against big government is based on the idea that people
can rule themselves better than a government bureaucracy can.


>>The Right embraces freedom, as in free enterprise, private property, personal
>>independence, a respect for tradition and the primacy of the individual
>>(as versus the collective).

>The Right doesn't entirely buy into that. The left buys into it, though -
>they just think that it applies to ALL people, not just a few.  The left
>believes in freedom for all

The left believes in government control.  I do not understand how that
translates into believing in freedom for all.  If the right does not believe
in freedom, they have pulled the wool over _my_ eyes.


>multiculturalism doesn't sit well with conservatives);

Conservatives believe that individuals should be free to choose which
culture they live in.  The left wants to force everyone to live in a melting
pot whether they like it or not.


>- and, uh, excuse me here again - the "Right" thinks community is superior
>to individuals - they believe in the "organic" (society as a unit) state,
>not "atomism" (society as individuals) which the left ascribes to.

Again, your idea of left and right is entirely the opposite from mine.  All
the messages I have ever heard from the right say just the opposite from
what you say they say.  They say they put the individual ahead of the
community.  You probably consider Rush Limbaugh to be a lefty.


>It is not uncommon for the Right to steal the Left's ideas and claim them as
>their own.  'Tis, perhaps, a fault of Lefties, being so big-hearted and all,
>to go ahead and let them.

I have heard that Libertarianism is considered left wing everywhere except
in the United States.  Might this be an example of what you are referring to?


>>We evolved from a homogeneous state (mulaprakriti), working our way through
>>the Elemental, the Mineral, the Vegetable, Animal Kingdoms to finally achieve
>>individuality and self-consciousness. The Left would have us return to an
>>amorphous collectivism, a One World "Group Soul" type of consciousness, a
>>condition from which we we have striven so hard to emerge in the course of
>>Evolution.

>Clever attempt at trying to weave the 'divine wisdom' into something to back
>up your claims.  However, the bloopers are abundant.

They went right by me.