But the word "leftist" does not describe a relative position on a continuum. You're committing the same kind of error as a Floridian who calls a denizen of Ohio "Canadian", and then justifies it by saying "Well, he lives closer to Canada than I do."
Come on. "Canada" or "U.S." is a binary choice with a well defined boundary. "Leftish" or "rightish" is not. Not only is there a spectrum, but the labels refer to clusters of principles and policies that rarely receive unanimous approval from one's neighbors in the opinion space.
I'm pretty certain I agree with James on many specifics, although possibly for different reasons. But for the issues he brings up here, he's pretty clearly on the left, and I'm on the right.
[weary sigh] No, no, being on the right doesn't mean I'm right on everything, as in correct. How can I be, when I keep finding my opinions changing with new information? I often don't even agree with myself. One of me is wrong.
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james_davis_nicoll) wrote2012-04-24 11:25 am
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Come on. "Canada" or "U.S." is a binary choice with a well defined boundary. "Leftish" or "rightish" is not. Not only is there a spectrum, but the labels refer to clusters of principles and policies that rarely receive unanimous approval from one's neighbors in the opinion space.
I'm pretty certain I agree with James on many specifics, although possibly for different reasons. But for the issues he brings up here, he's pretty clearly on the left, and I'm on the right.
[weary sigh] No, no, being on the right doesn't mean I'm right on everything, as in correct. How can I be, when I keep finding my opinions changing with new information? I often don't even agree with myself. One of me is wrong.