It is often said that the Far Right and the Far Left have many things in common, what are they?

Question

Sorry, it was a badly worded question. It should read "Have the far right and the far left got anything in common"? I seem to recall reading (and I admit, I can't find anything on the internet to back up this) that they have some similarities when it comes to immigration for example. May be I am wrong, but I am happy to admit when I am wrong.

Answer 1

It was bogus propaganda by the Communists that the right wing bought into to attack people who were like themselves. both are Fascist. It has always been a fight for free people to have a government that serves them rather than a totalitarian elite, who are always coming up with schemes to give themselves more power.

After the fall of Russia and when the Chinese could no longer sustain their fantasy that they were doing anything for those not in power, they all became right wing rather than moving to the center.

Actual Socialism such as is practiced in Norway or Sweden is the real polar opposite of an elite that take all power and benefits for themselves, But if the world realized it they would all throw the Gang Of Pirates out. So the GOP invent an enemy ususlly with a very similar ideology and act as if those guys were evil and they were the opposite

Now there is a new Religion based Islamofascist enemy and their mirror selves are promoting Christofacism as the polar opposite, even though they both have more in common with each other than either has with their claimed religion.

Because they have not had 80 years to promote this fantasy it is easier to see how fake that duality is.

Answer 2

No, I think it is a myth. It was the kind of thing I heard said at school by teachers who were trying to draw parallels between totalitarian regimes on the left and the right. In reality, by the time that a democratically elected Socialist or Communist government becomes a dictatorship it has moved a long way from any Marxist-Leninist ideals. So sure, superficially extreme left and right governments may have some similarities, such as control of the media, suppression of dissent and political opposition and so on, but they are not the core principles of a Socialist/Communist government.

Answer 3

" east meets west and never the twain shall meet" " everything comes full circle" " what goes around comes around" If you look at Hitler (far right) and Stalin (far left) what really was the differnce between them? When you go to the extreme of either political standpoint you will find very little difference as circle will be complete! However some misguided people believe that right wing depicts a upper class of society and left wing depicts a lower class!

Answer 4

Read works by Ernst Nolte, a controversial German historian, who has made a lifetime's study of this very subject. He argued at one time that Communism and Nazism were mirror images of each other. One obvious similarity is the emphasis both place on authoritarianism and coercion to achieve their ends.

Read: Fascism and Communism (European Horizons)
by Francois Furet, Ernst Nolte and Katherine Golsan

While many consider him to be right wing his work offers some interesting insights into the origins of Nazi and Communist politics and ideas.

Answer 5

Both nationalist and communist regimes have historically been proven to be persecutors of minority racial and religious groups. Both have historically, for example, carried out mass imprisonment and extermination programmes against Jews.

So, the most common link would, based on history anyway, be the word "intolerance". Another thing they have in common, as evidenced by their histories, is their requirement for a State police tasked with maintaining their political dominance, the Gestapo in Nazi Germany; the KGB, and their forebears under Beria, in Soviet Russia and its territories. This is because - I forget who said it - you can only kick a dog a certain number of times before it will bite you. Something like that anyway, meaning that without the existence of those police, sooner or later an oppressed people will revolt.

Both extremes are now viewed largely with suspicion and fear because their history has defined them. The old saying applies: You only get one chance to make a first impression. Both extremes had their chance and, as history has shown, they both threw it away through thuggery.

Answer 6

If the Far Left are one minute to Twelve on the clockface of politics, then the Far Right sit at one minute pass. The real question is who sits at Twelve?

Answer 7

An inability to think critically if it in any way impinges on their world view. Both extremes suffer from this narrowmindedness that does nothing but push the middle closer together.

The rhetoric, the angry labels and insults add nothing to the national debate and tends to discourage those in the middle to partake. Why? Who wants to argue with someone who refuses to be level headed and fair? And who lie to make their point.

I accuse both sides of this, neither is exempt.

Answer 8

I think conviction of their beliefs. Unfortunately the far left doesn't have the important things that bond our nation as one as a priority.

Answer 9

Greed
Power
Control

Answer 10

Comparing Stalin and Franco, the following come to mind:

Dogma instead of compromise
Individuals sacrificed, and restrictions imposed 'for the good of the country'