Why Is America More Right Wing Than Europe?

TL:DR Politcal spectrums are complex and not actually dependent on edgy teenagers having discussions on internet forums

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Also on twitter @ibxtoycat

[diegoyuiop]

The concept of Right Wing and Left Wing are not universal, but depend on the context (place and time, mostly).
For example, the Danish party "Venstre" (Literally "Left") is on the right, today

[pizzaboy]

Anyone claiming Japan is to the left of the US has no idea how right wing Japan actually is

[mattesdrescher]

The Christian tax you talked about is actually more like a membership fee for church. So if you are a member you have to pay, but it also means that you can get married in the church or get a religious funeral etc.

[robertsnapp]

Russia has universal healthcare. Does that make them left-wing? Distinctions should be drawn between culturally and economically right/left-wing.

[piekay]

In Germany the church tax isn’t really a tax (you are not allowed to tax someone because of his believes, etc…). See it as a membership fee, that the government collects for the catholic/protestant church. You can just officially leave the church and you don’t owe anyone anything. But as far as I know nobody really likes the system, it is just difficult to change

[Ketumak]

I'm reminded of the story (no doubt apocryphal) of the British comedian touring the USA. He was trying to explain British politics. "Back home, " he said, "We've got two main political parties. There's the Labour Party, or as you would call them, the Democrats. Then there's the Conservative Party, or as you would call them, the Democrats".

[Will-ktjk]

I tend to go with the ‘all models are wrong… …but some are useful’ approach, & I’m not sure how useful left/right split is.

When people start talking past each other based on what’s left wing and what’s right wing & framing things as "group A does X or has Y values, therefore group B members should avoid those", or "you did X therefore you’re an A", and that the Xs & Ys vary across time & culture:
it feels like left/right classification detracts from & muddies the discourse rather than aids/clarifies anything.

[ThyCow]

I'm gonna be honest I watch your geography channel more than your minecraft channel

[Orincaby]

"here's proof I live in the UK"
*shows new zealand flag shirt*

[Dasug]

Quick side note about trains in Japan:
While all JR companies are privatized, some of them are actually still fully government-owned (mostly the ones that cannot operate profitably). Also many of the smaller "private" railway companies in Japan are (mostly) owned by provincial and local government as JR closes down unprofitable lines and the government has to step in to preserve local railway service.

[Garugaa]

“You cant agree with that, because the bad guys agree with that”
I dont care, if i agree on one point out of 20.000.000 different topics with bad guys

Different opinions are great and we need them, but Twitterwarriors wont agree with this lol

[rufioh]

If I understood you right, you think comparing Left v Right between countries is weird cos every culture cares about different stuff due to their own historical circumstance.

Also, I like how you managed to talk about politics without really taking a side. It’s pretty cool

[brandonm]

People commenting very surface level responses to the title alone rather than actually watching the video and listening to the points Toycat actually addresses

[cheeseninja]

The Overton Window is probably the term you would use to describe what your talking about. Different times and areas have different needs to be addressed affecting how the people of a given place and time view politics as left or right.

[piekay]

Talking about healthcare: Germany has one of the most interesting healthcare systems (that is also the oldest one in the world) combining private insurance and the basically state controlled insurance companies. The system just worked out very well and was never changed, which doesn’t make it more right wing than Britains for example, an universal healthcare system that has to put it mildly a few monetary problems

[robclark]

In the United States, follow the money. That is the primary reason why both Republicans and Democrats are right-wing. It's the primary reason the US doesn't have universal healthcare/socialized medicine. The private health insurance industry has too much money to lose. Nearly all politicians in American have been bought and paid for.

[Luciano_]

My personal theory on why the US is so right wing is the Cold War, which stamped out most left leaning movements for fear of communism. It’s the political pendulum. When you have a competing power near or in your country, you tend to swing the other way in opposition. For example, Western Europe experience and strong right wing movement, so swung a little more left. Eastern Europe was under a communist regime so swung right.

[Dhi_Bee]

I honestly think this is one of the best & most accurate videos I’ve seen of yours. And I’ve been subscribed for at least 3 years. Thanks for the outstanding video, Andrew!

[zaelarose]

Speaking of healthcare, the Netherlands has only private health insurance, but it's heavily regulated and doesn't see the same insane price inflation as the US

Also the US does have public healthcare, it's just not universal and for Medicaid accessibility to it and coverage from it varies heavily by state (Medicaid = low income, Medicare = disability and old people)

[veryblocky]

I think the policital compass you showed was more of a meme than trying to be serious