Another thing Ive been thinking about recently is the nomenclature for those who are politically not of the left ... I know the etymology (and why are we so beholden to the French for this??) but I object to it for lots of reasons. One is that its bound up with deep-seated traditional psychological constructs about the relative value/importance of right and left and the association between right (the spatial position) and right (as in correct, true, good). Its notable that the Latin for right (as in the right hand) is dextro (which survives in the positive-association term dextrous, whereas the Latin for left is sinistro, which survives in the unequivocally negative term sinister. I have developed a strong resistance against describing people of that political persuasion as being on the Right, because theyre not Right - theyre totally Wrong. I also have problems with the term conservative because if Thatcher, Reagan, the Bushes and the Abbott junta are any indication, these people are not conserving anything except the piles of money they already have, and their ability to make more of it (usually at everyone elses expense). They have been trying for years to systematically dismantle every progressive reform of the post-war era, for no better reason than pure, unvarnished avarice. They want to destroy, not conserve. So, what else can we call them. Fascists seems a little strong for some of them (excepting the current junta). I think we need a new term. Any suggestions?
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 08:51:13 +0000
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