For me, I consider myself quite right in Belgium. But in the US, I'd be far more centric. Their right is so right, even someone like me is labeled a Leftie.
In Germany, I'm relatively left. In the US, I'd get murdered by some fanatic for being a durn cummunest.
According to a poll, I'm a left-wing progressive libertarian! In terms of US media characterization, they'd probably call me right-wing. I don't think it's so much about the Overton Window at this point as it is about spin.
I dunno, if I told people in a bar what I think they might just beat the crap out of me. Maybe not murdered. My disrespect for their heroic, self-sacrificing soldier god humans would be pretty bad, too
The U.S. president poll in the other thread told me I am medium authorian extreme left. In my country I would be considered medium authorian medium left. In reality I would argue that left/right spectrum is an outdated model and at least partly a boring oversimplification of political thought.
On another note: A friend of mine from the U.S. who had studied international relations here once explained to me that even the democrats would be considered a extreme right wing party here, and that our most non-extremous right wing party would be on the extreme left in the U.S.;
I didn't imply the average. I mean you can probably say your opinion in almost any place besides some of the really bad bars and you wouldn't get beaten for it.
I don't think it would be easy to put it in the same spectrum. The ruling party right now is very right wing in British terms, and would probably be further right than the democrats. The main opposition party is very left wing in British terms- perhaps similar to a center-left German party. But the political parties are somewhat constrained by public opinion - the right would suffer a big backlash if it attempted to privatise the health service for example (though it is attempting to do so by stealth), and the current left leader would like to disarm our nuclear weapons but faces all sorts of opposition.
The notions of "Right" and "Left" are too damn subjective to be discussed in any proper analytical way, as I've said before. It's almost always simply used as a catchphrase to create scorn or generate support. As it is, and using the terms as best I can, I agree with Badger's comments above. The Conservative party in power at the moment are unabashedly neo-liberal in their approach to political and economic policy while the new Labour leadership would perhaps find a closer example in the mid 1900' collective based economic and political policy.
