Clearing up Misinformation: What do you Believe in?

British politics is currently overrun by a clash of militant opinions and an increasing intolerance towards each other, compounded by the spread of unmonitored information online; this is never a healthy setup. A recent incident in Southport, where misinformation about an attacker's identity sparked nationwide riots, highlights how false claims can quickly escalate. The Prime Minister condemned those who linked the tragedy to illegal immigration, labeling them as "Far-Right Thugs," a generalization that has left the public unsettled and questioning their political stance in 2024.

Social media platforms like X (Formerly Twitter), are accessible spaces to exercise our freedom of expression. However, these are often fertile grounds for figureheads to cultivate support of their agenda; while censorship isn't the solution, we can discern trustworthy sources from the nonsense. If we are to take strides in clearing up misinformation, we must delve into the intricacies of our spectrum to encourage a more nuanced understanding of our collective positions and why we are inclined this way. [1]

The Sweeping Scale- A Detailed Breakdown

Far-Left

The Far-Left embody those who seek radical changes to our socio-political system, often aiming for complete equality, and a standardised quality of life. While this seems ideal in theory, attempts to implement this "from the top" is a problematic principle to execute.

Examples:

Communism- rooted in abolition of private property and increased state ownership/control, where society functions by means of production; the ultimate goal is to achieve a society without a class structure and is kept in check by a dictatorship such as Lenin-Stalin Bolshevik Russia.

Anarchism- This theory rejects all forms of hierarchal authority, including the state, capitalism and social institutions like religion. Anarchists believe in self management, a movement that has been attempted in the Spanish Civil War.

Left

The epitome of what it means to be left wing is the pursuit of social justice and a fair system for all, particularly with living standards and in education.

Examples:

Democratic Socialism- Often mistaken for capitalism, Democratic Socialists believe in Public Ownership, rather than than State Ownership. Socialists believe in welfare reforms within democracy and the natural transition from a Capitalist society through elections and policy replacement. Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party of 2015-2019 are a prominent example of this.

Green Politics- A popular entity within 'Gen Z', green policies combine environmentalism with leftist social principles. It makes the connection with issues regarding sustainability with health, and economics. The Green Party are strong advocates of these politics.

Centrist

Centrists take key elements from the left such as with welfare and incorporate this with the idea of a free market, enabling social mobility for those that seek it.

Examples:

Liberalism- The belief in freedom of economic movement but also investment in welfare and a global economy; The Liberal Democrat's fit this narratives due to their Re-Join the EU agenda combined with Ed Davey's manifesto of welfare this election.

One Nation Conservatism- A phrased coined to describe the politics of David Cameron, a centrist take on conservatism, which advocates for a mixed economy, environmental awareness and social cohesion.

Right

Examples:

The right are rooted in business, limited government intervention and they typically support traditional values.

Conservatism- The ideology that dominates the UK right, emphasising the preservation of national tradition and social order. Conservatives believe in low taxes, and a smaller government intervention in economic affairs. They also support strong national defence and are typically brash when it comes to foreign policy.

Thatcherism- This is s more staunch branch of Conservatism, pioneered by, Thatcher. Thatcher opposed welfare institutions such as the NHS, and promoted individual responsibility, less rights for workers through destroying Trade Unions, aggressive foreign policy, using Enoch Powell as the bedrock for her views.

Far-Right

Examples:

The far right, like much of the far-left, seeks an authoritarian to implement their views of anti-multiculturalism and to police their idea of a homogeneous society.

Fascism/Ultranationalism- These ideologies blend into one because they both believe in the superiority of one's race/nation; this cultivates traits of Xenophobia and rejects multiculturalism. Once pioneered by British politician, Oswald Mosley, in the 30's, this has now been adopted by extremist campaigners such as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

Right-Wing Populism- An approach, taken by the likes of Nigel Farage, that seeks to combine nationalism with authoritarianism, and uses 'anti-elitism' as a channel to resonate with working people. These often have a strong rhetoric against immigration as they believe it isn't part of the national interest. [2]

Thinking Beyond Left and Right

Understanding the binary left and right can equip any person with the basic tools to understand our political system, but the traditional spectrum falls short by oversimplifying the complexities of contemporary political beliefs. [3]

Academic studies reveal that populist movements in Britain have created echo chambers within working-class communities. This has been driven by the alignment of politicians with a standard right-left identity, leading many in the working class to simply recite falsehoods. Political academic, Bale, particularly hones in on how there really is no linear path in politics, and that we should now include dimensions based on libertarian and authoritarianism. Therefore, instead of seeing left and right, we should go up and down too for a more accurate reading. [4] For example, while Fascism and Communism are considered Far-Right and Far-Left respectively, they are both authoritarian.

Personally, I would go one step further and rather than seeing politics as a graph, see it as cyclical, a spherical structure because certain patterns blend with authoritarianism and liberalism. The political Right is a prime instance here because although Conservative's promote economic liberty and personal resonsibility, they use their ideology in politics to ensure the system benefits business by creating an unattainable gap between them and regular people, and they use politics to channel this which is a form of social authoritarianism.

Other sources can be used to support this idea; take Goodwin and Heath's publication as an example. They argue that since the days of Brexit, we have seen another dimension of globalism vs nationalism which separates certain aspects of foreign economics from your typical right-left category because this involves a latitude of political issues such as international relations. [5]