Left and Right in Global Politics

There is significant variation in these percentages and, in some cases,
relatively high levels of non-response. One should keep in mind,
however, that on any question, a number of citizens simply will not
answer. The world proportion of non-responses on left–right self-
placement is at 22.4 percent and the percentages are almost as high in
old democracies, where left–right semantics has long been central in
public discourse, such as France, where the terms were invented (17.4
percent), or the United Kingdom (18.9 percent).
Above the world rate of non-responses, we find thirty cases out of
seventy-eight. Seventeen of these can be considered true outliers,
10 points above the world rate: ten outliers are in the former Soviet
sphere of influence, five in the Islamic world, and one in Asia (India),
and one in Latin America (Mexico). Many factors may explain the
importance of non-response in the former Soviet sphere of influence.
First, the left–right labels were distorted and trivialized by the com-
munist regimes, which made their subsequent use by democratic parties
more problematic. Second, apart from being associated with the idea of
substantive equality, the term “left” usually connotes a greater openness
toward social and political change. In post-communist democracies,
however, change was first associated with market-oriented reforms,
which often implied less, not more, equality. Finally, many of those who
benefited materially from market-oriented reforms were part of the
old communist establishment and often legitimized their position
and privileges with reference to symbols and arguments from the
left. “In light of these opportunities for semantic confusion about the
meaning of left and right in the aftermath of communism,” noted a
group of experts, “it would demonstrate the formidable power of

Table 2.1.(cont.)

Country Mean

Mean

deviation

Don’t Know/

No answer (%)

Dominican Republic 6.65 2.34 4.1
Mexico 6.65 2.47 33.4
Tanzania 6.75 3.11 30.8
Bangladesh 7.56 2.17 23.1
Vietnam 9.07 1.21 4.4

Source:World Values Survey.

38 Left and Right in Global Politics