On being far right

A regular assertion about the far-right is that it has a tendency towards authoritarianism and against democracy, typically based on attempts to define Nazism and Fascism as far right. Given the left's history of authoritarianism this is a facile assertion, especially as it would capture communist leaders such as Stalin, Mao-Tse-Tung and Pol Pot, each of whom was an authoritarian dictator.

Nonetheless, it is the basis for claiming Bolsonaro and Trump are far-right, because their supporters protested (not without reason) that their electoral defeat was a result of fraud. Yet in neither case was democracy ever in danger, unlike in Venezuela where Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly rigged elections and jailed his opponents. Maduro, being a socialist, is never described as far-right.

The inclusion of Argentina's President, Javier Milei, among the far-right is simply bizarre. Milei, who describes himself as an anarcho-capitalist, has implemented policies to reduce the size of government including winding back regulations, reducing taxes and removing constraints on economic growth. He also supports liberal social policies. There is nothing similar in the other countries where far-right policies are said to be resurgent.

Finally, application of the term gets crazy when it comes to Israel. Those who favour the defeat of the country's sworn enemies so it can live in peace are branded far-right, while those who give either tacit or overt support to its enemies are on the left.

The fact is, the label means nothing. Its only common characteristic is that those to whom it is applied reject certain present-day "progressive" values and left-wing ideologies. It is a word used by the left, primarily intended to be derogatory.

When I hear the term far-right, it actually tells me nothing about those to whom it is applied, but quite a lot about the values of those who apply it.