The concept
of a Right-Left spectrum of political
ideas contains a measure of truth, but is all too easily spun into a
justification of established power. As most people are naturally inclined to reject
extremes for compromises, they are led to think of those in power as
a “Goldilocks option” between those on the far ends of the spectrum, whose exclusion
is rationalised as a consequence of their own extremism.
Since our European Goldilocks presently finds herself gagged and shackled to her chair, poisoned by her ideological gruel, and assaulted by foreigners in her bed, we can surmise that it is these so-called “moderates” who are the
true extremists. To make sense of this, we must move away from the judgementalism
of the “political spectrum” towards a concept based purely on the facts of
hegemony and marginalisation, namely that of the centre and the periphery.
