Left and Right for Dummies

Liberal
Progressive
Socialist

Democratic Socialist
Left wing
Bleeding heart
white knight
Beta
Leftist
Libtard

Marxist
Cuck
Freeloader
Sponge
Leech
Feminazi
Social justice warrior
Democuck
Lieberal
Fiberal
Dipper
Politically Correct
Triggered
Taker

Welfare State

Nanny State
Homofascist

Hippy
Commie
Pinko
SociaLUST

They don't understand hard work
They're taxing us to death

They're ruining the economy

They're driving away investment

They are taking away our freedoms

They are driving us into debt

They're taking away parental rights

They're going to nationalize industry

They're coming after our guns

They're bringing in Sharia law

They're creating a society of people who are dependent on the state

Right wing
Conservative

Regressive

Social Conservative
Tory
Republican

Libertarian
Capitalist shill
Running dog of imperialism
anti-woman
anti-choice
backwards
oppressor
anti-science
climate change denier
anti-education
anti-youth
CONservative

Cancervative

Cuckservative
Nazi
Neonazi

incel
alt-right
inbred hillbilly
Racist
Sexist
Homophobe

Dinosaur
Transphobe
Zealot
Right-wing nut job

They have no compassion

They are controlled by industry

They let people fall through the cracks

They don't care about the future of the planet

They are stealing from the poor and giving to the rich

They want to go back to the old days where women and people of colour had no power

You're stupid

You're an ideologue

You're indoctrinating people with your political beliefs

You're an idiot

You don't understand

You're on the wrong side of history

So many insults and generalizations that polarize us.

Since the dawn of time, people have striven to make a world they want to live in. Today, Canadian society has evolved to the point that we the people decide what form of government we want. Although we can debate how much say individuals truly have, that form of government falls somewhere on a spectrum from left to right.

Keeping in mind that:

• Politics and economics are interconnected.
• Whatever your worldview, your beliefs about how a government should operate fit somewhere on a continuum or compass. 
• Political and economic systems vary from country to country and go by different names. Nations themselves can be more to the left or more to the right. 

Just what is the difference between right and left?

Values and Beliefs Our parents, families, friends and communities  encourage us to believe certain things about human nature, how society should be structured and what we want the future to look like. Our own experiences further helps us refine or redefine those ideas. Whether or not you have thought these things through, they influence your ideology. 

History In early political systems in the western world power-both political and economic-was concentrated in the hands of the few. Absolute power was held by one person or family, almost always led by a man, who obtained and held power through force with the support of the church. People were encouraged to think that was the natural order of things. Over time, people gained more education and economic power. They began to demand a say in how their world operated.

Status Quo or Change Generally those on the right prefer the status quo. If changes are to be made, they need to be made gradually. Some on the far right appeal to the glory of the past and want a return to the "good old days" while those on the left value progress towards more economic equality and social justice. 

The Common Good It can be argued that both right and left feel their political views will benefit the common good. The right think that if everyone worked in their self interest, everyone would succeed. Under this way of thinking, everyone would be self sufficient and we would not need many rules . They believe in a more limited government and that we do not need taxes to support social programmes like schools and health care. These services should be delivered by corporations with a profit motive or nonprofit organizations with selfless motivations. People should choose the services they want to use and pay for them accordingly. The left is more inclined to believe we should work together with a stronger government and higher levels of taxation which will fund programmes that benefit everyone.  Schools and hospitals should serve everyone equally regardless of their ability to pay. Those with chronic disease, kids with learning disabilities, the mentally ill, the homeless and the disadvantaged could be raised up through universal programmes delivered through government support.

An old friend used to say he hated ideologies because both right and left were an attempt to make up for human shortcomings and we should all just try to be better people so we wouldn't need ideologies. Or politics for that matter.  But as long as we are human, with all our differences and weaknesses, we need government. We need to consider how we want our world to work.

Name calling divides us. It gets us nowhere. Understanding each other's views might help.