Left and Right

Earlier today during a sleepless bronchial flare-up session, I read an article breaking down what the surprising primary victory of the newest darling of the left, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, means. It can be found here. She’s called, and it seems apt enough to me, as the Left’s new Evita Peron.

Since I oppose unfettered abortion for all, open borders, high confiscatory tax rates, and the intrusion of federal government into every aspect of our lives, all stupid and evil policies to varying degrees, I will not be voting for her when she runs for president in 2032 (she’s only 28 years old now). 

But what interested me more was the author mentioning the main thesis of a book he read at age 16 which formed his ideological thinking. It describes the spectrum between Left and Right as:

Left: conformism, tribalism, ultra-nationalism, racism, class-consciousness

Right: individualism, eccentricity, natural inequality, meritocracy

This interests me greatly. I would love – absolutely love – to hear it refuted by a liberal, to hear his reasons why such a spectrum is inaccurate.

The only thing I can see is a liberal saying, “Well, there’s tribalism on the right, too.” The whole basket of deplorables thing. America between the coasts. Rednecks and southerners. This may be true, though he’d be deliberately leaving out the millions of us conservatives trapped in northern and coastal blue states and living incognito in major cities. But it is not a condition of belonging. The simple fact that the Right has nothing remotely resembling the whole Liberal Pyramid of Victimhood, a keystone of the Leftist dogma, proves this.

I do not wish to conform to this society. I do not worship white skin because I have white skin, or maleness because I am a male. I do not see everything through the lens of race. I care little about class save for how to rise upwards to provide something better for my family now and in the future.

This whole “ultra-nationalism” theme of the Left does not seem self-evident to me. I am not sure what to make of it, since the contemporary Left in America seems to despise this country so much it is forever trying to remake it to atone for its past sins. Maybe that is what the ultra part means.

But the values of individualism, eccentricity natural inequality, and meritocracy appeal greatly to me, no matter how much I may manifest one (natural inequality and eccentricity) or fail in another (meritocracy).

The article ends with an appeal for Ms. Ocasio-Cortez to visit Venezuela on a three-month fact-finding mission. I say go for it, and throw in a high school level non-politicized basic Intro to Economics course for free. Maybe then we can save this young lady’s soul.