left vrs. right traits

[savior93]

What is your definition of politically left and right, and where do Stalin and Hitler fall in your view?

[rucky]

1. I divide the line by how they divide the power....

I have no idea if this is even close to the original intent of the left/right labels, but it works for me. It's a spectrum, of course, but here goes...

Left believes in bottom-up rule - the ultimate of that being anarchy, but more shown as true democracy AND true communism (neither of which has actually been seen in practice, nor do I want to have THAT debate again).

Right leans more to the top-down approach of government - the ultimate being monarchy, oligarchy or dictatorship.

But IMO, there are alot of self-proclaimed "left-wingers" that fit MY definition of right-wing - they're just fighting against the current power structure in hopes of replacing it with an different ruling authority that they may see as more benevolent to the underclass and/or their own personal whatever.

This probably makes no sense, and I'm sure there are better labels to use than left and right for what I'm trying to say.

[Bombtrack]

3. I usually think of left and right

in modern american terms, so Hitler would obviously be comparitavely far far far right, and Stalin wouldn't really be able to compare, because he wasn't a capitalist

I think of left as believeing in Keynsian principals, and right believing in Hayek/Friedman economics

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. Whenever I Make This Observation

I am called a rightist.

I had a professor, a garden variety liberal like me, explain that politics can be looked it as a circle not a continuum so Hitler and Stalin meet each other at the bottom of the circle.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

8. good way to describe it, that means Stalin and Hitler were right wingers

Now I don't believe in anything like "true communism" any more than I do "true capitalism" but I pretty much agree with your "bottom up" vs. "top down" dividing line.

By that definition, both Stalin and Hitler were right wing, regardless of whatever kind of leftist rhetoric was used.

[leftyandproud]

2. hmm

I wouldn't call hitler/stalin left or right
they were totalitarian..

In my view, the entire political spectrum goes from libertarian to totalitarian

from no govt interference/instrusion to unlimited govt interference/intrustion..

left and right are just distractions to me...both sides want govt interference in the economy and our lives...but the areas where they want it are what differ.

[Bombtrack]

4. Kucinich isn't libertarian or even close

I thought you might want to know because you seem to be writing positively of both

the creation a department of peace, for example would be a very unlibertarian act

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

9. government interference, what about corporate interference?

Part of the problem with big government is the big corporations that go along with it.

[xequals]

13. agree with most of that, but

Hitler was totalitarian right and Stalin was totalitarian left.

IMO, the founding fathers were essentially libertarian and our political parties evolved from that, still sharing in much of that general philosophy.

I agree - both sides want the same amount of interference but differ on the method and areas. This is where the right-left debate comes in.

In general, the left wing of any group is the faction that opposes tradition and the established distribution of wealth and power, while the right wing supports it. Leftists seek to reform or abolish the traditional system, while rightists seek to maintain or reinstate it.

[Wonk]

6. ...

[BigDaddyLove]

7. Just a guess...............

but it appears to me that you have decided that the original poster is a troll. That's a shame because regardless of what this persons intentions were, his or her question seems to have garnered a few very interesting responses that may have led (and still might lead) to a rather informative discussion.

For the record, the last sentence of post #2 by LeftyandPround is a very astute observation.

[StandWatie]

10. if you are just speaking in economic terms...

Germany under Hitler never nationalized a single industry and actually privatized some, smashed unions and the one thing he did nationalize was the German Banking to save Germany from "Jew-Bolshevism" because international capital was part of his Great Communist Conspiracy. He was obviously the darling of the capitalist set worldwide as seen by his support from Ford, Prescott Bush, Du Pont Family, Standard Oil, Chase, etc which clearly either agreed with him about the banks or was willing to forgive this one weird abberation when it came to Hitler's love of the free market.

Authoritarian's come in left and right wing flavors and I wouldn't say Stalin was more authoritarian, I'd just say that it would be easier to say the right things and keep your head down under Hitler because what made Stalin's purges so frightening was that they rarely made any sense at all.

[leftofthedial]

11. both were ultra right wing

Stalin was a state capitalist, not a socialist and certainly not a communist.

Hitler was a fascist.

[leftyandproud]

12. just say this..

stalin = totalitarian dictator who justified oppression based on class
hitler = totalitarian dictator who justified oppression based on race

both bad guys