[Red Slinger]

Left and right and representations for societal progression or societal conservation respectively. Progressives embrace change and moving society forward. The most obvious targets of societal progression are social issues like the standard bearers of civil rights, voting rights and human rights. But those are more the results of having a progressive society not the goal itself.

Historically, it's the economic issues that drive societies, and ultimately culture, forward. Generally speaking, those societies with economic systems that are the least socialized also tend to be the most repressive. I don't believe that Communism can be considered here because we've never seen a real Communist system in action. All of the so-called Communist nations still had all of the wealth concentrated with a very small group of people. A real communist society would be more akin to an indigenous tribe or an Israeli Kibbutz.

The polarization of left vs. right, change vs. remain, progress vs. conserve has always been in place since at least the Ancient Greeks. They debated how quickly society should progress. Typically, those with the most resources argued for little to no change while those with fewer resources argue for quicker progress. This debate is a necessary. Progress that is too fast can have negative unintended consequences while a lack of progress can lead to the ultimate collapse of a society. So, the pendulum back and forth between dynamic and static societal progress is a vital component of any democracy. Progress is inevitable but it must remain in check otherwise it can lead to chaos.

It's inevitable that there will be extreme positions on both sides. And of course, those with the bulk of the resources will almost always want to protect the status quo and vice versa. That said, most modern democracies tend to progress slowly with the occasional hard swing one way or the other. I don't think it's worse now than it normally is but what is worse is that those extreme voices actually have a platform so they are more readily heard than at any other time in history. That may end up causing more extreme swings of the pendulum.