Left To Right

How left/right ideology has evolved in the postwar era and changed Canadian politics.

Left to Right: The cultural shift from words to pictures is an in-depth study of the influence digital technology has had on the way we communicate, and the increasingly visual nature of our culture.

Following the collapse of communism and the decline of Marxism, some commentators have claimed that we have reached the 'end of history' and that the distinction between Left and Right can be forgotten. In this book - which was a tremendous success in Italy - Norberto Bobbio challenges these views, arguing that the fundamental political distinction between Left and Right, which has shaped the two centuries since the French Revolution, has continuing relevance today. Bobbio explores the grounds of this elusive distinction and argues that Left and Right are ultimately divided by different attitudes to equality. He carefully defines the nature of equality and inequality in relative rather than absolute terms. Left and Right is a timely and persuasively argued account of the basic parameters of political action and debate in the modern world - parameters which have remained constant despite the pace of social change. The book will be widely read and, as in Italy, it will have an impact far beyond the academic domain.

Handedness is a multidimensional phenomenon co-determined by polygenetic and developmental aspects, multifactorial influences and in some cases, pathological impact. It is important for professionals working with children, including those who are still undecided about their writing hand, to assess, analyse and understand the complexity of handedness comprehensively to prevent problems related to switched or atypical handedness. Beyond Left and Right Handedness uses a practice-based approach to handedness and systematically integrates theory, research and practice. Part I, ‘Theory and Research,’ critically evaluates and utilises the broad spectrum of the handedness literature as a theoretical basis for the development of handedness instruments. Part II, ‘Assessment and Analysis,’ presents diagnostic and analytical instruments developed by the author based on numerous in-depth studies and extensive clinical practice over 20 years. These include the Handedness Profile, a standardised assessment of various handedness dimensions; and the Handedness Typology, an analytical framework to interpret different types of handedness. Part III, ‘Implications for Practice,’ contains detailed case studies on assessment and treatment by professionals working with children presenting with unclear and/or atypical handedness. “This book provides the reader with a comprehensive and scholarly discussion of the topic, presenting a careful, in-depth description of all aspects of the topic and providing professionals with the necessary, evidence-based tools to address handedness in practice. It is an invaluable resource that is well situated in the latest evidence-based understanding of handedness and provides a comprehensive guide to addressing the important development of handedness.” - Prof. Dr. Helen Polatajko

Originally published in 1976, this title deals with the problem of how we tell left from right. The authors argue that the ability to tell left from right depends ultimately on a bodily asymmetry, such as preference for one or the other hand, or dominance of one side of the brain. This has implications for child development, reading disability, navigation, art, and culture.

Politicians and pundits have long disparaged their opponents with polemicist cries of "leftist!" or "rightist!" But with the fall of communism and the recent conservative ascendancy in the United States and Europe, many commentators have flatly declared that the traditional left/right distinction has lost its relevance. Now, even as political players scramble to redefine themselves with freshly "spun" labels, Norberto Bobbio asserts that the demise of the left/right distinction has been greatly exaggerated. Bobbio argues that left and right are not absolute terms, but represent a shifting map of the political spectrum, relative to the particular cultural and historical contexts of a given time. The distinction continues to endure because it reflects the essentially antithetical nature and dynamics of democratic politics. In his accessible yet provocative style, Bobbio constructs a historically informed, analytic division of the political universe along two foundational axes, from equality to inequality, from liberty to authoritarianism. He then charts the past and present tendencies of the left and the right, in both their more moderate and more virulently extreme forms. Ultimately, for Bobbio, the measure of post-modern democracy will indeed lie in where and how we situate ourselves relative to these critical left/right parameters, in whether we cast ourselves, our votes, and our era in terms of political expediency, social viability, or moral responsibility. A bestseller in Italy, where it sold over three hundred thousand copies, Left and Right is an important contribution to our understanding of global political developments in the 1990s and beyond.

This book brings together for the first time an updated, revised collection of influential essays and articles that capture some of the most exciting scientific and scholarly contributions to the topic of political ideology. John Jost tackles fundamental questions about how psychology, neuroscience, and societal factors impact political attitudes and group divisions. In what sense, if any, are ordinary citizens "ideological"? Is it useful to locate political attitudes on a single dimension of representation? Are there meaningful differences in the beliefs, opinions, and values of leftists and rights-or liberals and conservatives? How are personality traits related to ideological preferences? What situational or contextual factors contribute to liberal and conservative shifts in the general population? What are the implications of ideological polarization for the future of democracy? Drawing on Max Weber's concept of elective affinities, one of the world's leading political psychologists discusses the myriad ways in people choose ideas and ideas choose people.

"AMERICAN POLITICS IS AT a breaking point. This became obvious when a mob of American citizens, upset with the results of the 2020 presidential election, stormed the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. to stop Congress from tabulating the election results. In order to work, democracies require citizens who respect the rights of individuals, defer to the outcomes of elections, and abide by the rule of law, but today's toxic political culture has caused many Americans to abandon these vital norms. Ideological tribalism and partisan hatred have become so rampant that frightening numbers of American citizens countenance violence against their political opponents to get their way"--