When I was younger, I thought that the defining distinction between #theLeft and #theRight was **solidarity** — as in, the former necessarily _has_ to have way more of it than the latter.

Gradually I came to realise that characterisation is problematic for three reasons:

1. #Leftists want to _impose_ #solidarity, which is an oxymoron (by definition, you can't mandate voluntary inclinations, such as affection or desire, on people).
1. In practice, and at least in my own country (#Spain), the Left has become pro-independence and sympathetic towards secessionists (but more solidarity would require larger unions, stronger federations — not the richest regions going their own way).
1. Sometimes the Right puts in practice _more_ solidarity towards certain groups or causes (eg, non-elites, non-conformists, disadvantaged people who reject the orthodoxy) than the Left itself.

I now think that the **ratio _personal freedom_ vs _economic freedom_** better categorises Left vs. Right (cf #NolanChart). I like to think of those two dimensions as “#freedom to do what you please with your **body**” (food, drugs, euthanasia, suicide, sex, read, speech, thought, association, religion) and “freedom to do what you please with your **property**” (save, invest, buy, sell, donate, build, trade, settle).

This is not a defence of #anarchism or #libertarianism, by the way — I do believe _certain_ restrictions on both kinds of liberties are necessary for any society to function at all.