abandonconflict
Well-Known Member
Inconsistent. First off, my comment referred to the US, which while not exactly obvious, means that I am referring to the groups that identify with those descriptions, according to accepted vernacular.I will disagree. Right-wing extremists can be found in some Mid-eastern states with either monarchies or oligarchies pursuing a totalitarian caesaropapism. I agree that today's Republican Party is right of center, but not far right since it doesn't espouse totalitarianism or even authoritarianism. I dismiss the dominionist splinter as ultimately inconsequential.
I see more authoritarian sentiment coming from today's Democratic Party, and they have gone well left of center with their emphasis on collectivism and Government control of more and more of private life.
The center belongs inter alios to the libertarians (not capitalized). They currently do not have an influential party representing them. The Libertarians fail to serve this need because their vision of utopia (witness Spooner), while not like the Communist extremum, is still an extremum inconsistent with human history and nature.
Now to the huge mistake you just made. You are denoting the group that identifies itself as "libertarian-lower-case" as occupying the center. You could not be further from correct. It is the most extreme right position. The term itself does not mean extreme right, but the position you mention does. The term itself is antonymous with authoritarianism with no connotation of left or right, because there are libertarians from both sides of the spectrum. However, the position you described, is most certainly not centrist.
To compound this mistake (libertarians are extreme right, not center) it seems that you mention this in response to what I said about conservatives. I'll point out, that what I call conservative, you call libertarian, and while we did not use the same language, I think we are referring to the same position.