Left and Right; Time for a tax?

I think I have provided an evolutionary explanation for the existence or right and left; Democrat and Republican, Whig and Tory. (here).

I suspect the caveat is that in our modern society these inherited advantages break-down; they can and seemingly do become counter-productive.

I’ll take as an example food and fat.

We evolved to live in small groups, hunter-gathering. We were very successful as a species at cooperative working, ganging together against an unsuspecting impala. I don’t have figures for the kill rate of a leopard or tiger, suffice it to say, humans are far better when calling, whistling or shouting from treetops than the larger more robust big cats. The latter are on the verge of extinction, we are, well… what are we?

(Please don’t call me a self-hating human!)

In that environment of feast or famine, plenitude or nada, our ability to eat lots and rapidly gain fat was an asset, in fact, those with a tendency to fattiness were at a significant advantage when the next famine came around.

Nowadays, with famine only really a man-made event (war, government, environment), it is a rarity. Yet, the food keeps on coming.

We acquire fat, we develop diabetes and so on. You know the story.

What was once adaptive has become a disease process.

Could the same be said of The Right?

An example of this might be Brexit and all the demagoguery surrounding the referendum.

There is no logic to our departing from the EU. It is insane. Yet, when you view the process through a primitive rightist lens, when you see invading Europeans and Syrian refugees, when you look at Germany profiteering from what was described as an imbalanced marketplace, when you provoke concerns about the NHS and education, all pulling on the strings of our primitive fears, you get the Right rising-up, believing that a threat exists when there is none and going to the polls.

We live in a world where far more can be achieved by dialogue than force. Whether good walls make good neighbours is probably for another day; yet, there is clearly so much more to be gained by discussion than stone throwing and cutting ourselves off from our family.

Therefore, my conclusion?

We are not going to get rid of the right and left debate, it is embedded in our genes, our cultural inheritance, it is time however to realise just like a propensity to rapid weight-gain that aspect of our natures needs to be tamed, brought under control.

We have a sugar tax.

How about a Right tax?