I was asked about this test and what it means. I thought I would explain here because many of us are unsure how politics work. And our vote is going to be important this year.

The test has 6 pagers of questions which are about issues today from the left of politics and the right of politics and the authoritarian and the libertarian stand. Yet this test will not give you an accurate picture of what you believe in. It will not tell you who to vote for. You must decide that yourself.

The left is Labor in NZ. The right is National. These are the 2 main parties. We have other smaller parties which tend to lean left or right over issues and are mostly there so to put their views and wants forward that are unique and may not be included with the left and right parties policies. These small parties make deals with the bigger parties by giving their support for the bigger parties to make changes and gain a move they wanted. Winston Peters wanted extra money for the pensioners so he bargained with Labour. He gave his support to them to pass something and his party got what they wanted.

United future did the same. They wanted a families commission so they bargained with Labor the same way. The Maori party has done the same and so has the Greens.

The talk of politics is full of talk of the left and the right, but what exactly is the difference between the two?

How To Tell Left Wing From Right Wing In Politics

Well, the right wing tends to be associated more with ‘conservative’ values (with a small ‘c’)… the status quo and tradition. They tend to be more tougher on law and order than the left, and emphasise the importance of free trade and low taxation policies, often cutting tax when in power. A welfare state may be seen as important, but not the extent as for a more left wing society.

The right essentially plays up the role of the individual, and in an extreme right wing view, like atomism, there may be no society, but only a collection of individuals. Extreme right wing views are those such as fascism. Most governments these days move away from the right to the centre.

The left wing, on the other hand, is associated much more with what may be termed more liberal values, the role of society, and the community as a whole. Law and order policies tend to be more relaxed, taxation is increased by large amounts as they look to create a safety net and look after the poorer members of society through a more robust healthcare system etc.

The autonomy and role of the individual is undermined much more in such a system, and the state plays a larger role in people’s lives. Many governments of today occupy a centre-left position. These governments are more likely to experience poor law and order records, and declining success of businesses, due to the taxation policies and more relaxed approach to law and order.

An extreme left wing view is something like communism, which looks exclusively at the community as a whole, to the detriment of the individuals that constitute that community. Both extremes lead to very unpleasant systems under which to live.

We in NZ are on the left at the moment and we have very extreme left wing people running the show. Many of these people are behind the scenes and are known to be associated with communism back in Russia. In fact Helen Clarke (our Prime Minister) herself attended a course at a communist school in Russia.

But don’t let that be a reason not to lean to the left. You need to use your vote carefully and think what is best for you as a parent and for your children because you are raising children. They are your concern. Labor is not just socialists but very strong feminists. And feminists do stand up for women and for children. Yet they are biased to men and boys.

If you are a working mother or father who is paying taxes you may want to vote for National to get a tax break. And if you are in business for yourself you will find National gives the best deal for business. The left tends to take from the well off to give to the poorer community. And they are prone to put more pressure and laws on business.

What is an
Authoritarian?

Authoritarianism describes a form of social control characterised by strict obedience to the authority of a state or organisation, often maintaining and enforcing control through the use of oppressive measure. Authoritarian regimes are strongly hierarchical.

In an authoritarian form of government, citizens are subject to state authority in many aspects of their lives, including many matters that other political philosophies would see as erosion of civil liberties and freedom.There are various degrees of authoritarianism; even very democratic and liberal states will show authoritarianism to some extent, for example in areas of national security. Usually, an authoritarian government is undemocratic and has the power to govern without consent of those being governed.

This is the type of Government form we have now. Labor does not listen to the people but pushes laws onto them against their will. We have had the ‘No smacking bill’ this year with much protest from parents and the ‘Electoral Finance bill’ which has stopped free speech and soon we will be under the “No hate laws” and many others to follow an ideology that is socialism through the Western countries.

Other laws have come through the Human Rights Commission such as children being able to choose their own sex at school and free choice in religion and other non discriminative laws.

All this is the state being the parent to the people and telling them how to live.

What is a libertarian?

Libertarianism is, as the name implies, the belief in liberty. Libertarians strive for the best of all worlds - a free, peaceful, abundant world where each individual has the maximum opportunity to pursue his or her dreams and to realise his full potential.

The core idea is simply stated, but profound and far-reaching in its implications. Libertarians believe that each person owns his own life and property, and has the right to make his own choices as to how he lives his life - as long as he simply respects the same right of others to do the same.

Another way of saying this is that libertarians believe you should be free to do as you choose with your own life and property, as long as you don’t harm the person and property of others.

Libertarianism is thus the combination of liberty (the freedom to live your life in any peaceful way you choose), responsibility (the prohibition against the use of force against others, except in defence), and tolerance (honouring and respecting the peaceful choices of others).

Live and let live. The Golden Rule. The non-initiation of force.

This type of life style follows that people are paid for their value and not the same as every one else. It allows people the chance to better themselves and gain from being better. It is like being able to be competitive. The best person for the job. And not a quota of 50% women and so much % of each ethnic group. It means that what you own belongs to you and not the community. People who are well off would want to be libertarians while those on benefits would want to receive the same as the one who puts the effort in to make their life style better.

These people do not want to be told how to be parents. They want the right to decide for themsleves. They want the right to have their children follow their traditions and not be educated to be like everyone else. Today they would be the parents who don’t want their children being taught homosexuality and trans-gender sexuality at school. They would also be the parents who do not want the state running their lives.

You can be a left libertarian also and you can be a right authoritarian.

I am hoping this has been helpful.