Thanks again Don for a thought provoking essay.

And as before, my thanks to all Posters for a stimulating read.

Diver Dan referred to "...picking our own point on the spectrum...", and perhaps that's pretty close to where we are at.

By this I mean (in part) that the days of short, pithy "catch-all" phrases to summarize either Left or Right are long gone.

For example, if anyone avers that the Right is all about "small government", then even a cursory examination of number of M.P.'s, public officials, Quangos, etc,. **per capita** should quickly convince them otherwise.

In any public discussion these days, and particularly on this topic, it has almost got to the point of prefacing one's remarks with a glossary of terms.

Don refers to this when he says: "If I have to use any of these labels at all, I try to speak and write so it is quite clear what I mean."

Consequently, and notwithstanding the many excellent suggestions already posted, I find that for brevity's sake alone, I have to agree with Don's conclusion that: "Debate and discussion are much better, I think, if we dispense with the labels altogether, and talk about specific policies."