On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 at 12:42:48 in message
ne.com, Andrew Gideon
wrote:
Wdtabor wrote:

The Nazi Party was the National SOCIALIST Party, fascsim is a left wing
philosophy, it never has had anything to do with the political right. It
is only characterized as such by entertainers with no knowledge of
history.

And what was East Germany's actual name?

Always seems to me that there is no adequate definition of left and
right in politics. There are certain policies that seem to be associated
with one or the other but there are significant variations in even that
classification. Mostly they are just insults that one party throws at
another.

Sometimes I feel it is a circle and left and right meet around the back
of the circle anyway. Any definition that I try seems to present my own
ideas in the most favourable way. :-{

Fashions change; once the cry of the British Labour party was 'No Means
Testing' for benefits. Now there are more means tests on income for
benefits than ever.

The only thing I have tried as a separation is that the left always
believes in centralised control and planning and the right sometimes
does!

Left and Right can also be attempted as a definition as a distinction
between the left who believe that 'most people do not understand their
own best interests' and the right who believe 'most people do understand
their own best interests'. :-)

That usual collapses as well.

It seems to me that labels such as socialist, fascist, dictator,
liberal, national, peoples. communist, monarchy democrat, republican and
despot only give a very slight clue to a regime. They can be combined in
almost any way you choose.

Most important is probably a structure of a nation that limits the
power of different factions.

In some cases communism has gone directly to a form of monarchy! In
others a popular revolution has finished up with an Emperor..
--
David CL Francis