True, the comments on newspaper websites are a cesspool of unpleasantness. But that I think is more a byproduct of giving people a (relatively) unfiltered platform that sits alongside high-profile content, rather than an expression of political argument. And I suppose it drives page views, so newspapers accept it.
More important is your comment about the perception that right-wing policies negatively affect the vulnerable, This is perhaps the crux of the issue —some people on the left can’t or won’t see that Tories also care about the vulnerable, but have very different ways of approaching the problems in society.
After all, Labour might want to provide full employment, but it is Tory policies that have driven up employment. Labour governments have repeatedly buggered the economy. One could view economic responsibility and managing the deficit as being the key areas that will help the vulnerable, together with reducing the regulatory burden on small businesses and making it easier and cheaper to employ people. You could agree with this, or not, but it is troubling that alternative viewpoints drive vehement hatred rather than understanding and reasoned disagreement.
I’m not sure what would drive similar vehemence from the right. But I think in a civilised country, where most of our politics is on a reasonably narrow range from centre-left to centre-right, we ought to be able to empathise with alternative viewpoints.
no subject
More important is your comment about the perception that right-wing policies negatively affect the vulnerable, This is perhaps the crux of the issue —some people on the left can’t or won’t see that Tories also care about the vulnerable, but have very different ways of approaching the problems in society.
After all, Labour might want to provide full employment, but it is Tory policies that have driven up employment. Labour governments have repeatedly buggered the economy. One could view economic responsibility and managing the deficit as being the key areas that will help the vulnerable, together with reducing the regulatory burden on small businesses and making it easier and cheaper to employ people. You could agree with this, or not, but it is troubling that alternative viewpoints drive vehement hatred rather than understanding and reasoned disagreement.
I’m not sure what would drive similar vehemence from the right. But I think in a civilised country, where most of our politics is on a reasonably narrow range from centre-left to centre-right, we ought to be able to empathise with alternative viewpoints.