EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion
Author: Brian Kaplan
(Backstory: The Greek luminaries Socrates, Pericles, and Leonidas traveled via time machine from Antiquity to the 21st century. A few months after their immersion in the modern world, Pericles is a staunch follower of what in modernity we call the "left," while Leonidas is an equally staunch follower of the "right." Socrates, in contrast, finds 21st-century political thought superficial and confused. But, perhaps it's his fault...)
Socrates: Quite an interesting intellectual journey, friends.
Pericles: That's right. I can't believe how much I learned in such a short time.
Leonidas: Well, I learned a lot. Pericles looks more stupid than ever.
Socrates: Gentlemen, please! Let us be civilized. As you know, I am puzzled by your sympathy for any of these strange schools of thought. In fact, I find it difficult to determine what defines and distinguishes them.
Pericles: It's not that difficult. Leftists, like me, care about everyone. While rightists, like Leonidas, only think about themselves.
Leonid: You don't care about "everyone." You only care about the people on your side. And you expect the rest to pay the bill.
Socrates: And who exactly is on your side, Pericles?
Pericles: I don't know what Leonidas is talking about. I'm on everyone's side.
Leonid: Really? What about people who value the traditional family? Believers in traditional religions? White people living in small towns? Police officers? Soldiers fighting on the front lines?
Pericles:The game you play of identity politics is simply an attempt to distract people from their real problems: inequality, corporate power, structural oppression.
Leonid: Yes, yes. Your rant about values is just an attempt to distract people from the real problem: Liberals like you run governments half the time and culture all the time. It's no wonder the world is getting leftist with each passing generation.
Socrates: Since you have both lost the ability to communicate with each other in a civilized manner, perhaps you will allow me to lead the conversation?
Pericles: Okay.
Leonid: I don't mind.
Socrates: Very good. The general perception is that leftists are for a greater role for government, and rightists are for a lesser role for government.
Pericles:Of course! Because only government, when directed in the right direction, can address and solve the real problems of inequality, corporate power, and structural oppression.
Leonid: I guess most right-wingers are advocates of smaller government, but most of us are pragmatists. The military is definitely “big government,” and if government at all levels worked as well as the military, I would be impressed. In fact, when I looked at government budgets, I found quite a few programs that were worthwhile: social security (unemployment insurance), health care, education, police, and many others.
Socrates: I understand. Another shared opinion is that the left is concerned about and defends the poor, and the right is defending the rich.
Pericles:To some extent. I wouldn't say that I care less about the rich to any extent. I just think that they already have far more than they need or deserve.
Leonid: I don't know anyone on the right who says, "We should be on the side of the rich." I care about the middle class and the working class, as long as they follow the rules. If we can help them by taxing the rich more, great. But don't believe the left on this. When they say, "Let's raise taxes on the rich to help the poor," they mean, "Let's tax everyone who follows the rules to help everyone who doesn't."
Socrates: And what about the theory that the left is led by smart, well-educated people who are firmly on the ground, while the right follows arrogant demagogues?
Pericles:There is little doubt that the left dominates academia, the media, and science, especially at the higher levels. Leading leftists tend to come from these more educated circles. Are they particularly “smart” or “down to earth”? I don’t know how I can prove that to an outsider, but it seems like a reasonable conclusion.
Leonid: Scientists are very strong in their fields, but when it comes to politics, I don't see them knowing more than anyone else. The media and academia are even worse. They may have a lot of "smart" books on the subject, but they lack a solid, down-to-earth mindset.
Socrates: According to a very smart man named Scott Alexander: "The right is what happens when you try to survive in an uncertain environment, and the left is what happens when you aim to thrive in an already secure one." Is that true?
Pericles: I don't think we are in a "safe environment"! The world is much richer than it was in Ancient Greece, but there is still widespread insecurity caused by inequality, corporate power, and structural oppression.
Leonid:And I think the modern environment is pretty safe, as long as you follow the rules. Or at least it was. People like Pericles feel like they can make the rules however they want.
Socrates: Then what is the greatest danger that threatens society?
Pericles:Climate change. Global capitalism is slowly burning the planet to ashes.
Leonid: I would say: “Islamofascism.” Although I feel like saying: “the leftists,” because they are the ones who are not allowing us to address the looming danger.
Socrates: Another very smart guy named Robin Hanson argues that the battle between the left and the right reflects the primal conflict between hunters and farmers. Here's a summary of this theory:
The basic idea is that individuals differ in the thresholds they use to switch between focusing on solving problems through comprehensive collective enforcement of norms and/or through Machiavellian social skills mediated by personal resources and partners. Everyone tends to become more collectively focused when the environment becomes richer and more secure. People who feel more insecure are more afraid of changing something that has worked in the past and cling more tightly to traditional behaviors and practices. They are more concerned about the group undermining the security of the hesitant collective by tolerating those who seek to exploit it, thereby allowing subgroups to form, and by demanding too much from members of the collective who may simply leave. Also, those who find it much harder to influence community discussions prefer group norms to be applied more simply and mechanically, without as many exceptions that can be used by those who are good at persuasion.
I think that this basic orientation towards the "left vs. right" dichotomy of focusing more or less on the collective is the main basis that determines who people are willing to work with in large political coalitions.
Pericles: I'm a big fan of dialogue, but not because I feel "safe". As I said, I think the world is facing serious and perhaps even existential problems. We need dialogue because it is the only way to fight the control of our society and protect ourselves from corporate interests.
Leonid: The leftist idea of “dialogue” is to talk down to the rest of us and scold anyone who doesn’t applaud loudly enough. I would love to have a series of honest discussions – discussions where the truth is sought sincerely and pragmatism prevails. And we really need them, because Pericles is right about the level of threat that hangs over us. He just can’t understand that people like him are a big part of the problem.
Socrates: Hmmm... Before we continue, let me share one last theory from the obviously less brilliant thinker Brian Kaplan. His theory: The left is anti-market; the right is anti-left. He elaborates:
Leftists are anti-market. On an emotional level, they are critical of the results that the free market achieves. No matter how good the results of market processes are, they would never admit, "Markets do a great job. Why do we need anything more?"
The right is anti-left. On an emotional level, they are critical of the left. No matter how much they agree with the left on a particular topic, they would never say, "The left is completely right, it would be very annoying to criticize them."
Pericles: That's quite simplified.
Socrates: I know. Kaplan even calls it "The Simplified Theory of Left and Right." So, is he right?
Pericles:Of course not. Leftists are rarely anti-market. We just don't like how unregulated markets work.
Socrates:Is the poor performance of unregulated markets a short-lived coincidence?
Pericles: No, this is a problem that will never go away. Have you heard of market failure?
Socrates: Wouldn't an anti-market person say that?
Pericles:I don't want to eliminate markets. I just want serious government interventions to correct the problems and vigilant government oversight.
Socrates: Kaplan never accuses the left of promoting the abolition of the market. He simply claims that the left has a serious dislike for it.
Pericles:Well, there are quite a few unpleasant things that come from the market economy!
Leonid:Yes, I also disagree with the assumption that I am an intellectual naive.
Socrates: Does Kaplan claim that?
Leonid: Implicitly. I really hate the left, but that's because they're moving society in the wrong direction.
Socrates: But you seem to embrace a lot of ideas that in the past were perceived as typically leftist, like the welfare state and state healthcare.
Leonid: We on the right are pragmatists. We would gladly accept left-wing ideas that work in practice.
Socrates: What about the right-wingers we talked about earlier - supporters of the small state?
Leonid: The right is a large and diverse group. I don't agree with all of them, but they have some pretty interesting ideas.
Socrates: Then what unites you with the rightists, with whom you disagree on these issues?
Leonid: (left speechless)
Pericles:Maybe Kaplan is half right. It's hard to name anything Leonidas and Milton Friedman have in common, other than their dislike of the left.
Leonid: Let's get back to you, Pericles. What do you and Hugo Chavez have in common, besides your outrage at the right?
Socrates: Kaplan would say that they share a resentment towards the market. How could he be wrong?
Pericles:Chavez may be part of the left, but he is too radical.
Socrates: Probably. But Kaplan's theory doesn't say who is right. He simply offers a political taxonomy.
Pericles:On the surface, maybe. But there's a hidden strategy. Kaplan's simplified version suggests that the left and right are shallow and confused. But only one side has those qualities.
Leonid: I agree here. The left is shallow and confused.
Pericles:No, the right is shallow and confused.
Socrates: My friends, you two are extremely persuasive. What you lack in logic you make up for in ethics.
Pericles: (disapprovingly) Very funny, Socrates.
Leonid: In other words, you agree with Kaplan.
Socrates: Agree? Not quite. As he openly states, his theory is simplistic. That means "simple to a fault." A simplistic theory leaves many questions unanswered. But... unlike the competition, it at least satisfactorily answers some of my basic questions about contemporary political thought.
Translated from English: Ivan Milanov Petrov
