"The captain left his red port on the right green board" was how I was taught to remember it as a small child. But now it's given me an idea. The word "Right" can also mean correct while "left" can also mean departed or the remains of something.
I think this gives the right a slight psychological edge because "a right idea" is the same as "a correct idea". I think you get my drift.
So why not replace the terms with port and starboard? Also I think we should use the terms on the road while driving.
Should we replace left and right with port and starboard in politics?
No, it would just further complicate an already muddled public grasp of what the terms and ideas mean.
Words identify and classify but their meaning takes on various nuances over time. This is particularly true in politics and political philosophy where history and context shapes usage and thus can distort the meaning of various classifications.
Thus, for example, in the United States, a nation born of the ideas of the Enlightenment and the Protestant Reformation, the definition of the terms "conservative" and "liberal" does not what they have tended to mean historically in most of the West. This then leading to seeming American misunderstanding of what the word "liberal" means.
To start, what Americans call "conservative" and "liberal" are not, historically speaking. Rather, American conservatism is classical liberalism, albeit sometimes leavened by socially traditional values founded in the more explicitly religious Protestant Reformation.
Thus you get an American conservatism that emphasizes, unlike classical conservatism, an emphasis on freedom, minimalist government and the like. Again, this being leavened to some degree by the influences of the Protestant Reformation, leading to what Americans then rather awkwardly define as "social conservatism."
To be sure, superficially, this "social conservatism" resembles classical conservatism's emphasis on tradition, custom and hierarchy, but it comes from a very different place. Protestantism having its' origins in Martin Luther's rebellion against the Roman Catholic Church - it being an unstated assumption that men left free would of their own free will value the will of God.
Historically, then, the Protestant Reformation led to the Enlightenment and thus to classical liberalism. Thus why they tend to group together in the United States under the banner of conservatism.
That banner itself born of the fact that what Americans call liberal is actually radical liberalism. "Radical" not meaning as it is in contemporary usage - i. e., extremist. Rather as it meant in classical Greek philosophy - i. e. "to the root of."
The "radical liberals" actually agree with the classical liberals (American conservatives) that securing the maximization of man's natural rights and liberty is the purpose of government. They differ in that the radical liberals argue that disparities of wealth and power in society make that maximization of rights problematic. The radical liberals therefore argue for a transformational welfare state to be administered by a popularly elected by presumably disinterested government.
This transformative welfare state will so engineer society and right the inequalities of society. Thus thereby maximizing equality between all elements in society and maximize freedom.
Thus, do you get American conservatives who argue for free markets - except in abortion where the law is expected to step in. Thus do you get American liberals who argue for more government - except in abortion where they want government to have no part.
Interestingly, conservatism in its classical mode - I count myself among them - did get a foothold in the United States almost by historical accident. This in the Whig party and in that Whig turned Republican, Abraham Lincoln. It is a great historical "what if" as to how American politics - and thus political terminology - might have evolved had Lincoln not been assassinated and the "radical" Republicans gained the ascendancy.
Suffice to say, all this has its origins in the starting point of American history. The use of the terms was born in the context of where the nation began. America, a nation born in the ideas of the Enlightenment, began, in effect, as a liberal country and as the ideas evolved the terminology adapted to fit its context. Thus today you have popular usage of political terms that does not necessarily fit with their historical usage and your suggestion would only make that worse.
Prefer liberal or conservative and view it as how you are economically, as well as morally as in values. The up and down spectrum are the authoritarian and libertarians. Our current regime seems to fit the bill of Liberal Authoritarians. Just changing the words... that's sort of their terf... which is a very liberal thing to do. Sticking to the words we used before, I'd prefer to conserve that.
Like notice the change of 'equality' to 'equity'... or 'woman' to 'bonus hole' or 'birthing person' because they want transexuals to be women. All of that is some very liberal ass shit. ... yeah, let's just keep port and starboard to when we're on a ship.
What is the point of it though? The left/right political spectrum is already hilariously insufficient as it is and this would just be doubling down on a problem.
More often than not you see a 2 axis graph like this instead, but even that is a very big oversimplification but if you were to switch then its definitely a step in the right direction.
Wouldn't it be easier to just say "right wing" instead of "right"?
That way no one would think you were saying the "right" (i. e. right-wing) position was the "right" (i. e. correct) position.
I don't think Port and Starboard would catch on as political expressions, at least in America. Most Americans have never been sailing, and have only the vaguest idea what those terms mean.
I mean... I think Your intuition regarding "left" and "right" is pretty ingenious, but since it's also correct (a. k. a. "right"), why don't we keep the traditional names?
What's your reasoning? The left is port because they want shove ships in all their holes and the right is the starboard because they show good leadership and steer the ship?
Lou Costello said you have nothing to fear when you're in the right. I'm sure you would need Google's assistance to get the reference. But if you ask someone on the left what are the Democrats doing for America that's good they're response is orange man bad, you evil hateful racist bigot, we are doing diversity and inclusion and climate change... Oh yeah and orange man bad again rinse and repeat that's the Democrat talking points
@Dongie that’s because the options are right wing and center. Obviously left wing people are going to vote center. Doesn’t make their beliefs the same.
@Dongie you ever notice how the people on the left are just so angry? I mean the term Karen, clown world, and so many memes have been created because of the angry unhinged leftoids
I'm sorry that's what goes on in your warped twisted Brain. The term Karen has nothing to do with race but it appears you're a race dating pimp and want to make everything about that play the victim card woe is me. Come up with something on your own that's been done before Charlie Brown
26.4K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.
No it would be stupid. However I am confused about the red state blue state thing. When I was a kid we called the commies Reds. Now we call the liberal states blue.
Politics is confused enough without adding this to it, also Port and Starboard are specific nautical terms using them for anything else would cause nothing but confusion.
Actually, the need to bring back fairness and common sense in the justice system would be more important. zI remember port is left. Because both have four letters.
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