Niall Ferguson’s recent (Dec. 11) essay should be taken seriously [1] ([2] is related). He warns that current American universities are following the steps of the 1920-30s German universities. At the time, German universities were the envy of the world. Then ideology and politicization began to dominate German academia. It did not take long for Germany to lose its academic leadership. Niall Ferguson is a world-renowned scholar. I do not always agree with his viewpoints. However, they should be taken seriously. He was the only well-known figure who predicted Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in early Jan., 2022. I was dubious when I read his commentary (thought only a 20% chance of Putin’s invasion). Shortly after, Putin began the war.
This write-up is about the meanings of political left/right. Political left and right first appeared during the French Revolution. It was based on the seating of the French Parliament, which in turn was based on social class at the time in France. Political left or right was associated with social classes and their political leaning, respectively. (Philosopher Roger Scruton gives a clear explanation in [3].) This has a few implications. First, political left-right is only a crude, two-value label; politics is way too complicated to fit into two values. The French Revolution was the start of mass political participation. The left-right label is helpful to explain and motivate the masses and facilitate political debates. Later its usage spread to other nations when mass political participation became common. Second, because each nation has its own politics (for example different social classes and fabric, different cultural heritages, different ideologies), the meanings of political left or right are often different from the original. Even in the same nation, the meanings of left and right may change in time.
Another important term is conservatism. Conservatism is an important ideology. When I studied a political ideology textbook [4], I was taken back by Edmund Burke, who was a British parliamentarian, statesman, and philosopher. When Burke served in the British parliament, both France and America underwent revolution. Burke supported American Independence while strongly criticizing the French Revolution. Later development proved that Burke was correct. There is much to learn about conservatism [4]. Only two things I wish to mention here. First, Mainland Chinese are familiar with Mao’s maxim (不破不立), which is the opposite of conservatism, which states that unless you destroy old institutions, you cannot establish new institutions. Most often conservatism is correct. Second, opposite to conservatism is radicalism, progressivism. It is more complicated to analyze and compare them with conservatism. Third, conservatism is often associated with political-right while progressivism is associated with political-left. However, one cannot say that right is always correct and left is always wrong. I also encourage you to view a video by Os Guinness [5]. In a very broad view, he is correct. In other words, much current trouble in the West is caused by the left, Marxism and the French Revolution. Although has viewpoint has values, it is oversimplified.
Political science is in fact quite complex and difficult. Consider one recent commentary that criticizes a former AU primer minister Paul Keating (BTW, Keat was a labor (left) prime minister who had done many good things). “Every genocide in the 20th century had Western intellectuals willing to downplay it. Heidegger rallied in defence of Nazism and minimised the Holocaust. Jean-Paul Sartre dismissed reports of gulags when they emerged from Stalinist Russia. Michel Foucault was a committed Maoist and, when refugees described cities being emptied in Pol Pot’s Cambodia, Noam Chomsky cautioned Westerners against listening.”[6] Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, Jean-Paul Sartre, Noam Chomsky are very famous. However, they were wrong. Indeed, many left ideas are wrong. However, some ideas of the political right are also wrong. Thus, the correct way to understand current news, analysis, and commentaries, is to begin with a good background knowledge (bachelor level or above in politics, economy, international relations, etc.) and get information from reasonably good sources. Good American weekly programs include Journal Editorial Report (right), CNN GPS (left): i.e. from both sides. Then do objective analysis yourself.
References:
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Niall Ferguson The Treason of the Intellectuals | RealClearP..., Dec.11, 2023.
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Ivy-League Anti-Semitism with Bari Weiss, Regarding Henry, and Santa Hats | GoodFellows https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAZw_Elft_Y (12-13-2023)
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Roger Scruton, Fools, Frauds and Firebrands: Thinkers of the New Left, Bloomsbury Continuum, New ed. 2019.
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Andrew Heywood, “Political Ideologies,” 4th ed., Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
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Freedom, Faith & Forgiveness | Os Guinness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trmcvsIK_MI (12-23-2022)
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Keating ignores genocide to defend his ‘China fantasy’ CLAIRE LEHMANN 3-17, 2023 Au, p15 (Chinese trans.【译丛】 基廷无视中共的种族灭绝行径，为他的”中国幻觉“辩护 https://yibaochina.com/?p=249853)