re: #207 sliv_the_eli

In what way do you consider that an inaccurate way to look at them?

In pretty much every way. “Left” and “right” are mainly self-descriptive, and otherwise useless. Any given position can be arrived at— without extremism— from either the purported ‘left’ or ‘right’ position. Any ideology can be called ‘left’ or ‘right’ and justified. The only meaning they have is as self-descriptors.

Even if you do decide to believe that ‘left’ and ‘right’ describe actual movement on some sort of scale, circle, whatever, boiling down all positions to just ‘left’ and ‘right’— not separating out, say, foreign policy from domestic, economic from social, etc. etc.— is ridiculous.

Furthermore, you are failing to distinguish between people who are extremist in their views, and people who are extremist in their methods.