when most top politicians in the uk are proposing a very narrow definition of political differences, is it time to forget the major parties when talking about left and right? i was just reading 'homage to catalonia' this afternoon where orwell was clearly accusing the communists of the day as little different from the right in their desire to manage capitalism rather than offer a genuine alternative. while in the '30s we had the whole range from anarchists to fascists all with a reasonable chance of a bit of power (in spain anyway)- today the free market fascists are in the saddle in many parts of the world. the left is still there outside of parliament (in uk and usa and in all the countries they terrorise)but we are struggling to make any inroads in curbing the power and wealth of the 1%. good music helps though. and lively argument. and beer. i have plenty of arguments with my old man but apart from him i never meet anyone prepared to seriously propose right wing views. i don't think we will ever change each others ideas on forums like this but for me, its quite interesting to see what they think. they seem to be have plenty of points to make but never really say why they hold such a depressing view of humanity.