SwiftVets.com

[olympian2004]

Mike Rosen's March 25th, 2005 Rocky Mountain News column:

http://www.insidedenver.com/rosen

Some people believe that all social problems have solutions; other people believe that some problems cannot be solved, only mitigated, and that public policy is a matter of trade-offs. People in the leftist camp tend to fall into the first category, those on the right, in the latter.

In the Political Junkie Handbook, Michael Crane offers a provocative listing of "100+ Differences Between the Left and Right." Here's a sampling with some embellishments and additions:

Left: Human rights are more important than property rights. Right: Property rights are the foundation of all rights.

Left: Karl Marx. Right: Adam Smith.

Left: Humanity. Right: Individuality.

Left: Quotas. Right: Merit.

Left: A fair and living wage. Right: Wages must be based on productivity.

Left: Protectionism. Right: Free trade.

Left: Wage and price controls. Right: Supply and demand.

Left: Regulate. Right: Deregulate.

Left: Coercion. Right: Volunteerism.

Left: Idealism. Right: Common sense.

Left: Counterculture. Right: Judeo-Christian tradition.

Left: Feminize men/masculinize women. Right: Men and women are equals on opposite poles.

Left: Boys and girls are the same, except girls are better. Right: Respect the differences between the sexes.

Left: Herstory. Right: History.

Left: Nurture. Right: Nature.

Left: Mass transit. Right: Automobiles.

Left: Marijuana. Right: Cigars.

Left: Welfare. Right: Charity.

Left: Differently abled. Right: Handicapped.

Left: Visualize peace. Right: Peace through strength.

Left: Feelings. Right: Thoughts.

Left: Centralization and government planning. Right: Decentralization and free enterprise.

Left: Cooperation. Right: Competition.

Left: Alec Baldwin. Right: Charlton Heston.

Left: Alger Hiss. Right: Whittaker Chambers.

Left: John Maynard Keynes. Right: Frederich Hayek.

Left: John Kenneth Galbraith. Right: Milton Friedman.

Left: Jean Jacques Rousseau. Right: Edmund Burke.

Left: Gore Vidal. Right: William F. Buckley Jr.

Left: Michael Moore. Right: George W. Bush.

Left: 2+2 = whatever. Right: 2+2 = 4.

Left: Public schools as laboratories for social engineering. Right: Basic and rigorous academics.

Left: Government school monopoly. Right: Choice and competition.

Left: Veggie soyburgers. Right: McDonald's.

Left: Granola. Right: Wheaties.

Left: Communes. Right: Gated communities.

Left: Mom & Pop's Organic Food Emporium. Right: Wal-Mart.

Left: Boulder. Right: Mayberry, RFD.

Left: Sandals. Right: Wingtips.

Left: Ward Churchill. Right: Bill Bennett.

Left: Hunter S. Thompson. Right: Thomas Wolfe.

Left: Demonstrators. Right: Cops.

Left: Pacifists. Right: Marines.

Left: Takers. Right: Doers.

Left: Tax receivers. Right: Taxpayers.

Left: There is too much inequality of wealth. Right: Free people not equal; equal people are not free.

Left: Redistribute wealth. Right: Create wealth.

Left: Equality of outcome. Right: Equality of opportunity.

Left: Security seeking. Right: Risk taking.

Left: Labor unions. Right: Right to work.

Left: A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. Right: Mankind is the pinnacle of creation.

Left: Environmental purity. Right: Environmental/commercial trade-offs.

Left: Windmills. Right: Nuclear power plants.

Left: Bicycles. Right: SUVs.

Left: Volvo. Right: Lexus.

Left: Self-esteem is an entitlement. Right: Self-esteem is earned.

Left: Al Franken. Right: Rush Limbaugh.

Left: Capital punishment is uncivilized. Right: Murder is uncivilized.

Left: World government. Right: U.S. constitution.

Left: Foreign aid. Right: Foreign investment.

As Ayn Rand once observed, if your differences appear to be irreconcilable, the first thing you should do is check your premises.

Mike Rosen's radio show airs daily from 9 a.m. to noon on 850 KOA.
_________________
Tony in Boulder, Colorado

[olympian2004]

Thought of a fine addition to this list:

Left: Open Space. Right: Golf Courses.


_________________
Tony in Boulder, Colorado

[tony54]

Left: Save the whales....Right: Save the humans.

Left:??????????..............Right: In GOD we trust..

[WilliamShipley]

In my opinion, the biggest difference between the left and the right is the belief that everything is a zero-sum game.

The left believes that there is only a fixed amount of wealth, environment, energy etc. and that if one person has more than another then it is at the expense of someone else. Their entire focus is on redistribution. The 'pie' should be carefully divided so that everyone gets an equal share.

The right understands that these things can be created in almost unlimited quantity. That it is possible for everyone to have more even if the gap between the bottom and top grows. That you can plant new trees when you harvest the old (Young trees generate more oxygen). That nuclear power can give vast amounts of energy with minimal impact. The world is a bakery, we can make all the pie we want.