This is in response to the recent letter from Kevin Van Elswyk and his assertions and assumptions about the political spectrum. The Tribune was correct in labeling Vladimir Zhirinovsky a member of the “far-right.”
Left and right are not, as Kevin asserts, a progression along the spectrum from communist to monarchist, but instead are references to being either a liberal or a conservative. A conservative is a defender of the conventional and traditional; a liberal is a progressive or agent of change. In American politics, that translates into Republicans on the right and Democrats on the left.
In Russia, Boris Yeltsin is the agent of change, and consequently is on the left of the political spectrum. Zhirinovsky, in his promotion of return to their communist ways, is indeed on the far-right.
