Left, Right, Left, Right

Over the past few months, it has been impossible to ignore the run up to the November 4th, 2008, United States presidential election. The pre-primary campaigns, the primaries and caucuses, the excitement of there being both a black and a women candidate, and the thrilling final stages of the race for the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party. Being in the UK over the last 6 weeks has also been an interesting time, with Gordon Brown’s popularity rapidly falling – a first anniversary opinion poll out today. With this simultaneous focus on the policies of different politicians and parties, it has been impossible not to compare the goings on across the pond. And I must admit it has left me somewhat confused.

Malawihazel attempting a political commentary? A scary thought, I know, but I must put these thoughts down. These thoughts are about the Democrats and the Republicans, the Tories and Labour. Can they be compared? Is there such thing as the Left and the Right?

In the last couple of weeks, Obama praised the Supreme’s Court’s decision to grant Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspects a right to challenge their detention in civilian courts, while McCain expressed concern. Meanwhile, Gordon Brown won a House of Commons vote on extending the maximum time that police can hold terror suspects without charge, to 42 days (that’s 6 weeks!). All but one Tory MP voted against the proposal, and the affair ended in a dramatic resignation by the Shadow Home Secretary, defending “British liberties”.

Talking of time limits, it is the conservatives in Britain who have proposed a reduction to the 24-week limit for abortions, with Gordon and many other MPs opposing it. Pro-choice and anti-abortion in the US seems to be one of the major divisions between the Republicans and Democrats.

In the States, the Democrats are known for being the progressive party with regards to the environment – evidence is Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize (and Oscar), and George W denying human-induced climate change and refusing to sign the Kyoto Protocol. On this side of the Atlantic the green card is strongly played by the conservatives (David Cameron even put a web cam in his home to show how good he is at recycling). Although, admittedly, the environment is taken seriously by the Labour government, and it is still “right-wing” newspapers such as the Daily Mail that try to claim climate change as a conspiracy.

One of Tony Blair’s legacies is the city academy. This Labour PM thought that the answer to education was to turn schools into businesses; prevent teachers from joining unions and blame them for the school’s failings rather than address the social problems in the school’s surrounding area.

Although there is no precise definition as to what “left-wing” politics are, and (as always) there are often contradictory views, I think there is a general consensus that they promote a more equal distribution of wealth and privilege and attempt to build a society with equal opportunity. “Left-wing” politics have been associated with trade unions, combating oppression, the welfare state and central planning. “Right-wing” politics are associated with the preservation of personal wealth and private ownership, self-reliance, and the free market.

So where do Labour and Conservatives lie? And Republicans and Democrats?

Could globalisation have something to do with this confusion? Pro- and anti-globalisation advocates suddenly find themselves agreeing on subjects such as the CAP and NAFTA. One set are singing praises about the power of the free market while the other set are questioning why OECD countries’ total agricultural subsidies amount to more that the GDP of (all of) Africa, and suggesting that this puts farmers in developing countries at a disadvantage.

Does the “left-wing” ideal of a more equal distribution of wealth and privilege include everyone? Or is it just the voters? They believe in a level playing field (unless you are a suspected terrorist).

Blair and Bush’s special relationship seems to have pushed America more towards the “left” and Britain more towards the “right”. Or is it the other way round? Britain’s left towards the right? Britain’s right towards the left.

Let’s just say, I am confused.

I will end with a quote from George Orwell’s 1984:

"From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party:
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH."