When I first paid attention to politics about ten years ago, it looked like the right stood for capitalism and the left stood against it. What I’ve learned since is that this divide was mostly rhetorical. Over time, it’s become clear that the right often gives lip service to capitalism, while the left is at least explicit about opposing it. In practice, both sides are largely arguing over who should do the planning, not whether planning should exist. To the extent someone is obsessed with politics, it’s usually because they believe their version of central planning is the correct one, regardless of tribe or label. By contrast, the people most serious about freedom tend to judge politicians as individuals, based on their words, actions, character, and policies, rather than as representatives of a team. They’re less interested in imposing their dictates on others and more interested in being left free to live their own lives. The real divide isn’t left versus right or top versus bottom. It’s individualists versus collectivists and freedom-lovers versus authoritarians.