Do you have to be left-wing if you want to teach politics?

[Jonny5]

On the broader point I would have thought that on a politics course, students are taught a whole variety of theories from left to right; and at university much of what students learn do so from their own endeavours, rather than having a lecturer tell them what to think.

Yes. They wouldn't be very good students if they couldn't think for themselves.

[natjack]

It didn't show that when I looked at it - here's just the comparison chart. Cameron and Obama are only just to the left of him admittedly but they are to the left of him.

Yes, you're right, I don't know my right from my left, thanks for checking.

 

Although he does appear to be more to the left than Mitt Romney, so the Yanks had a lucky escape there.

 

Obama and Cameron are equally right but Cameron shows as slightly less authoritarian than Obama?

 

Interesting.

[Happ Hazzard]

Why aren't there any right wing libertarians on that chart?

[I1L2T3]

I would say the lefties are better at it, while the righties tend to use strength.

 

Lefties like to make you think you agree with them, while righties like to say, think like us or I'll hit you.

 

It's way more subtle than that. The left wing and right wing press are example.

 

You want to see the dog whistle in action then read the Daily Mail. By 9am each morning hundreds of thousands of people are whipped into a frenzy by it. By 10am they'll most likely be on the message boards. If not the message boards will be seeded with suitable topics. It's an integrated process. Happens on the left as well.

[Halibut]

Why aren't there any right wing libertarians on that chart?

 

Because it's an oxymoron. You can't be right wing and libertarian.

[Mecky]

Utter rubbish. Most righties couldn't care less how other people think. It's the left who have a bug up their behind about making people think differently.

 

Don't be silly

[Happ Hazzard]

Because it's an oxymoron. You can't be right wing and libertarian.

Why on earth not?

[altus]

Because it's an oxymoron. You can't be right wing and libertarian.

 

There's a lot of US gun nuts who'd disagree with that.

[Mecky]

There's a lot of US gun nuts who'd disagree with that.

 

You can be anything you want to be, if the dress fits

[flamingjimmy]

Can anyone be a politics teacher/ lecturer , or do you have to hold left wing views as a pre-requisite to go into teaching in this area ?

 

It just seems a bit biased to me that those who teach impressionable young 18 year olds should be so biased themselves in favour of Labour .

 

Sheffield University boasts links with John Bercow and David Blunkett - I personally feel that this is totally biased , what about inviting Uncle Nick or the Greens into this cosy relationship? Surely the teaching of politics should at least attempt to be neutral?

 

Most of academia is dominated by left wing people simply because people with more/better education tend to be left wing, especially in the humanities.

 

---------- Post added 29-07-2013 at 16:42 ----------

 

Because it's an oxymoron. You can't be right wing and libertarian.

 

I think you'd call the gun nuts in America right wing would you not?

 

Is their stance not libertarian?