A Guide to Basic Differences Between Left and Right

By Dennis Prager Source of Human Rights Left: government Right: the Creator Human Nature Left: basically good (Therefore society is primarily responsible for evil.) Right: not basically good (Therefore the individual is primarily responsible for evil.) Economic Goal Left: equality Right: prosperity Primary Role of the State Left: increase and protect equality Right: increase and protect liberty Government Left: as large as possible Right: as small as possible Family Ideal Left: any loving unit of people Right: a married father and mother and children Guiding Trinity Left: race gender and class Right: liberty In God We Trust and e pluribus unum Good and Evil Left: relative to individual and/or society Right: based on universal absolutes Humanitys Primary Division(s) Left: rich and poor; strong and weak Right: good and evil Ideal Primary Identity of an American Left: world citizen Right: American citizen How to Make a Good Society Left: abolish inequality Right: develop each citizens moral character View of America Left: profoundly morally flawed; inferior to any number of European countries Right: greatest force for good among nations in world history Gender Left: a social construct Right: male and female Most Important Trait to Cultivate in a Child Left: self-esteem Right: self-control Worth of the Human Fetus Left: determined by the mother Right: determined by society rooted in Judeo-Christian values Primary Source of Crime Left: poverty racism and other societal flaws Right: the criminals malfunctioning conscience Place of God and Religion in America Left: secular government and secular society Right: secular government and religious society American Exceptionalism Left: chauvinistic doctrine Right: historical reality Greatest Threat to the World Left: environmental catastrophe (currently global warming) Right: evil (currently radical Islamist violence) International Ideal Left: world governed by the United Nations and no single country is dominant Right: world in which America is the single strongest entity Primary Reason for Lack of Peace in Middle East Left: Israeli settlements in the West Bank Right: Palestinian Arab and Muslim denial of Jewish states right to exist Purpose of Art Left: challenge status quo and bourgeois sensibilities Right: produce works of beauty and profundity to elevate the individual and society Guns Left: ideally universally abolished except for use by police the armed forces and registered sportsmen Right: ideally widely owned by responsible individuals for self-protection and the protection of others Race Left: intrinsically significant Right: intrinsically insignificant Racial Ethnic and Gender Diversity at Universities Left: most important Right: far less important than ideological diversity Black Americas Primary Problem Left: racism Right: lack of fathers Greatest Playwright Left: entirely subjective; there is no greatest playwright Right: Shakespeare War Left: not the answer Right: sometimes the only answer Hate Left: wrong except when directed at the political Right: wrong except when directed at evil Cultures Left: all equal Right: some are better than others Americas Founding Fathers Left: rich white male slave owners Right: great men who founded the greatest society Purpose of Judges Left: pursue social justice Right: pursue justice National Borders Left: a relic of the past Right: indispensable for national survival View of Illegal Immigrants Left: welcomed guests Right: illegal immigrants Nature Left: intrinsically valuable Right: made for man