You seem to be implying that left-right is the natural ideological spectrum. Isn’t it more likely that it’s just a particular axis that is salient at this time?
I’d rather say “left-right refers to the most salient axis at a given time” (approximately). Whatever the big divisive issue of the day is, one side will be called “left”, and one side will be called “right”, and the label called “left” will be the one that has the most overlap (in terms of supporters) with the “left” side of yesterday”s big divisive issue.
If there is a single divisive issue at any given time, wouldn’t people notice that it abruptly changes? Why would there be a lot of overlap between one team today and one team yesterday? The kind of change that seems to me more likely for people to not to notice is if there are many issues and the axis only refers to the arbitrary alliances at a given time. If a small issue switches sides, most people don’t care and so there is a lot of overlap.
But people don’t just identify with the conflicts of the previous generation. They identify with the conflicts two hundred years ago that introduced the terms “left” and right” and the conflicts a hundred or more years before that under the names Whig and Tory. If the axis were randomly shifting with time, wouldn’t that be enough time to destroy the relationship? Do you think that people are mistaken in seeing a similarity?
I’d rather say “left-right refers to the most salient axis at a given time” (approximately). Whatever the big divisive issue of the day is, one side will be called “left”, and one side will be called “right”, and the label called “left” will be the one that has the most overlap (in terms of supporters) with the “left” side of yesterday”s big divisive issue.
If there is a single divisive issue at any given time, wouldn’t people notice that it abruptly changes? Why would there be a lot of overlap between one team today and one team yesterday? The kind of change that seems to me more likely for people to not to notice is if there are many issues and the axis only refers to the arbitrary alliances at a given time. If a small issue switches sides, most people don’t care and so there is a lot of overlap.
But people don’t just identify with the conflicts of the previous generation. They identify with the conflicts two hundred years ago that introduced the terms “left” and right” and the conflicts a hundred or more years before that under the names Whig and Tory. If the axis were randomly shifting with time, wouldn’t that be enough time to destroy the relationship? Do you think that people are mistaken in seeing a similarity?