George Orwell's "1984" foresaw a world locked in eternal conflict between three competing totalitarian superstates. John Fonte sees a three-way ideological war emerging between Islamofascism, traditional liberal democracy, and transnational oligarchic collectivism.
Perhaps the socio-economic conflict is fundamentally really a triangle as well.
At one apex one has the paleoconservatives. They believe (static) inequality to be a positive good ordained by G-d or Nature, seek to perpetuate inherited individual or group privilege, and are generally antipathetic to upwardly mobile individuals or groups ("uppity n**ger", "pushy Jew",...). They see the role of the state first and foremost as protection of the established societal order.
At a second apex one has the (post-)Marxists, including many of those who call themselves 'left-liberal'. They believe inequality to be an evil in and of itself (if not the root of all evil), seek to coercively redistribute wealth and influence through state power, and combine a professed sympathy for real or perceived 'oppressed' groups with indifference or outright antipathy to individuals or groups who make it on their own.
At the third apex, finally, one has classical liberals. They believe (dynamic) inequality to be a natural condition resulting from competition, but reject inherited privilege as well as preferential or discriminatory treatment based on mere group allegiance. They see the role of the state primarily as upholding the rule of law, and particularly of the individual's freedom from assaults on property, life, and limb. Classical liberals tend to be highly sympathetic to upwardly mobile individuals or groups, but somewhat impatient with groups perceived as unwilling to help themselves.
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