“Left” and “right” are thrown around a lot by, well you know, those on the left and right.

Did you know that the terms may be more beholden to the Enlightenment, so fairly recent?

Also, before we glibly designate someone of the left or right, we ought to consider whether we can answer a few questions:

What’s the difference between the left and the radical/progressive left as used today?

What’s the difference between the right and the far right as used today?

What is the irreducible minimum that makes one a “liberal”?

What is the irreducible minimum that makes one a “conservative”?

And I finish by recommending this terrific book: