By J.T. Young
Monday, September 04, 2017
The power of the Right is principle, and the principle of
the Left is power. Understand this and you will understand the basis of modern
politics. It also explains why the struggle between the Right and Left is
universal and unending, with neither able to gain long-term advantage.
In these tumultuous times of constant controversies, it
is normal to seek a lodestone by which to navigate politics. Yet politicians
shift stances erratically, and the ebb and flow of party fortunes only
increases inconsistency. To find greater constancy in politics, we must first
view it externally to see its most basic forms.
Viewing politics from the proposed effects on individuals
is pointless. Every party and government, from the most totalitarian to the
most libertarian, claims seemingly the same positives for citizens. The more
discernible conflicts of politics lie not in the ends, but in the means
proposed for achieving them.
Our Polar Views
about the Market
Without question, the most powerful man-made institution
in history is capitalism. It has fueled an unprecedented rise in living
standards and societal wealth following its adoption. How the state addresses
capitalism is crucial to the society it governs, and an even more
differentiating feature of its political philosophy than its professions about
the individual.
The right is pro-free market. Acknowledging the market
the best organizer of endeavor, it believes government should take a minimal
approach in its relations with the market. The government of the Right, therefore,
aims to facilitate market-based outcomes.
The Left does not acknowledge that the market produces
the best outcomes. To the Left, the market on its own will yield an unfair
distribution of resources, which is a suboptimal societal outcome. Instead,
market-based outcomes inherently arouse their suspicion. As a result,
governments of the Left aim to sublimate markets to their own ends.
Each camp aims to govern capitalism according to these
philosophical tenets. The Right following a market-first approach. The Left
following a government-first approach. Because the Right believes the market
should take precedence over the government, it must look for ways to constrain
government. Ultimately, these ways must rely on principles.
Why the Right
Needs to Restrain Government
The Right needs some principles ensconced beyond the
ordinary reach of government. Relying only on laws means anything so enacted
could be simply overturned in the legislative process’ normal course. So the
Right seeks a supra-legislative bulwark.
The Constitution is a perfect example. Yet even here, the
Right ultimately must rely on principles that it intends to be beyond
challenge, which all political actors will simply respect and accept. Without
this, even supposed bulwarks stand little chance—witness the many constitutions
regularly violated at will around the world.
Because the Left believes government should take
precedence over the market, it must ensure government is not constrained. For
something to be truly a principle, it must be a universal. However, because the
Left believes government cannot be constrained—that the market is constantly
changing and thereby demanding that government keep pace with circumstances yet
unforeseen or foreseeable—the Left must ultimately adhere only to power.
Again, the Constitution is a perfect example. For the
Left’s vision of government to be realized, there must be ways around a
supposedly immutable constraint. So the Constitution must be characterized as
“a living document”—one not simply taken literally. It becomes malleable and
increasingly porous so that government can move through it.
The Result Is
Eternal Conflict
Of course, there are exceptions to these observations,
but their exceptional nature serves to prove them as rules. Just as ships can
wander off course, the Right and Left can as well for limited periods. However,
each’s fundamental orientation does not change, even when off course.
Eventually their compasses will bring them back, so neither drifts far or for
long.
The basic stance of the Right and Left determines their
government’s approach to the economy and the individual. And their supporters’
attachment to them determines these individual’s approach to government and the
economy. The Right and Left’s contradictory approaches also explain their
permanent confrontation. This conflict can never be more than temporarily
resolved. Nor can either side hold the advantage for an extended period.
Both the Right and Left harbor the seeds that undermine
them in their respective ascendancy. The Right continually hamstrings itself by
adhering to principles the Left does not, foregoing the full use of political
power when it holds it. The Left constantly and transparently seeks power at
all costs, willingly sacrificing the principles the general population embraces
as their security.
If contemporary politics seems confusing, it is not
because of its vagaries. It is because of the basic certainties arising from
the conflict between the Right and Left. Not only are the Right and Left unable
to reconcile their differences, they cannot even reconcile their own
limitations.
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