[JohnDeHope]

> If "left" and "right" have any meaning at all, "right" describes a worldview under which civilized society depends upon legitimate hierarchy, and a key object of politics is properly defining and protecting that hierarchy.

I've never heard anyone describe left and right this way, and I don't think anybody but the author thinks like this.

[Ancapistani]

I have, but it's wholly incorrect from an American perspective.

This is the individualist/collectivist axis, basically.

[jltsiren]

The left-right division in the general sense is based on equality. The left supports some interpretation of equality, no matter how misguided. Specific instances have included classical liberals supporting free markets and the rule of law, communists aiming for a violent revolution, and progressives focused on identity politics. The right is defined either through its opposition to the contemporary left or by the belief that some forms of hierarchies and inequality are unavoidable and/or desirable.

[raddan]

> Specific instances have included classical liberals supporting free markets and the rule of law, communists aiming for a violent revolution, and progressives focused on identity politics.

I’m not sure I understand how equality factors in. It is certainly a cornerstone of classic liberalism that all people should be equal under the law. But that does not mean that all people are equal, really, and you’d have to be blind to some really obvious circumstances to think that. I’ve always seen “the left” as being more defined by the idea that society should be governed less by tradition and more by a conscientious choice about what rules produce the best outcomes wrt happiness and prosperity. “Freedom” (until the word was co-opted by neocons) was a major feature of this kind of leftist system. This makes the opposition to the right clearer, because they want the converse.

Many progressives talk a lot about equity, but I think it’s fair to say that there are a lot of differing opinions on that particular topic.

[clipsy]

You may find https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Primals-Ranked-by-Varian... to be interesting reading; belief that the world is intrinsically hierarchical is the strongest predictor (among 26 broad worldviews) of right wing political views.

[relaxing]

That is a different statement.