re: #201 sliv_the_eli

It is mistaken to view worldviews as “right” and “left”, as though they are points on a line. Rather, the continuum of political viewpoints are more aptly described as being located along a circle, with the extremists of the “right” and the extremists of the “left” being located directly adjacent to one another, and a true moderate (not true as in correct but true as in absolute, like “true north”) being on the point of the circle directly opposite the extremes of “right” and “left”.

sorry, no. it’s a convenient point of view for one who considers himself a moderate, and I certainly agree imposing different ideologies on a single timeline will never do to accurately describe their relation to each other, but in that same sense, however much they are the same in that they seem like nonsense to more rational thinking people, many extremes vary so much from each other that putting them directly adjacent is just silly.

why, even traditionally “leftist” craziness cannot be so easily categorized: a radical pacifist need not have much in common with a radical environmentalist, while both of which can, traditionally, be as much seen as the enemy by say, a radical communist (or a very radical socialist, which in the end will be just the same, with a different name).

same for radical religious right vs. radical small government right; bedfellows at the moment but really don’t have much in common.

those five examples can all easily find reasons to want to kill the other four (okay, it might get problematic for the radical pacifist but you get my gist ;) )

therefore, however interesting your circle idea might be, I don’t think it makes much sense.