Courage

The political spectrum has never been about left, right, center, progressive, conservative, liberal, socialist, or fascist. Fundamentally, it is always about justice and courage:

• How much injustice are you willing to ignore?
• How much change are you willing to risk to address it?

Social hierarchy by its very nature creates injustice. Inequalities of every kind–of income, of opportunity, of power, of recognition–reinforce and feed one another. Addressing the injustice of these inequalities requires social change. Change always comes with risks, and it takes courage to move forward and try new ways.

If your sense of justice overcomes your fear of change, if you are brave and compassionate, you are going to support progressive politics. If you allow your fear to control you and to dampen your compassion into indifference, you will become a conservative, someone who fights to maintain status quo with all its injustices, out of fear of making things worse for yourself.

This is why fear pushes people towards authoritarianism, and why conservatives are first of all cowards. They are often also selfish, indifferent, and aggressive, but it is fear that drives them to look out of themselves, to turn the blind eye to injustice, and to lash out.

It’s time we stopped using euphemisms and abstract labels and started calling the opposite sides of the political spectrum what they are: courage and fear.