Who are the most racist people in the world? All of you who are answering this question have just shown yourselves to be racist. You may claim you are not, but your protests reflect your hypocrisy. Do not be dismayed because you are in “good” company. All the so-called protesters at this weekend’s G20 meeting also are hypocrites, and most are fools as well.

In this blog I intend to take a look at the extreme right and left along the political spectrum for they, together with extreme fundamentalists – the ultra-orthodox – of all religions, are the biggest hypocrites and the most dangerous threats to freedom and democracy in the West.

I start with those on the right. They are paranoid of government and fear almost every initiative by government as the beginning of the end of their freedom. Government puts them on the road to serfdom.

But they are fools. Without government and rules which are enforced, we would have anarchy. Everyone would have to arm himself or herself to protect themselves from roaming thugs. There would be no prosperity, no civility, no stability, and no hope.

However, the fools on the right do not all believe that there should be no government and rules. Many favor the existence of a military to protect them from foreign threats. Many probably even favor the existence of police forces to protect them from domestic threats and to prevent aliens – everyone who is not like they are – from migrating into their countries and communities.

When they travel, and some do, do they ever consider the important role governments play in creating and maintaining the infrastructure they use? And there are many more such examples I can use.

They may pay some lip service to the need for some limited role for government. However, they are not fans of free speech, other than their rights to say whatever they please. They take criticism badly. And they are not supporters of democracy because this opens the possibility that their enemies, just about everyone, might take over and form the government.

Now let’s look at those on the far left. They are no better. Unlike their protagonists on the right who want to be left alone, they believe that they, and they alone, have all the answers. They may not be paranoid, but they are arrogant. Their answers are idiotically simplistic. Destroy capitalism and allow them to run the government and the economy. And tax the surviving rich to “bribe” the poor.

Egalitarianism has never been the hallmark of communist/Marxist regimes. Those in power, together with their families and cronies, enjoyed a lavish life-style, while the masses wallowed in poverty. At the bottom, assuming they survived, were the critics of the totalitarian regimes. Furthermore, there are no examples of any communist state that has been able to generate wealth and eliminate absolute poverty.

Like the fanatical right, the lunatic left are not fans of free speech, other than their own, and they too fear democracy because government might be taken over by pragmatists who do not share their extreme views.

Fortunately, the majority of people are congregated around the middle of the political spectrum. That is why in western democracies we get changes in the parties in power every six to 12 years. The majority of people get fed up with the arrogance and hypocrisy of the party in power and its leader. Obviously, neither the left nor the right is pleased with such outcomes. But these outcomes reflect the strength of our democratic systems.

Unfortunately, freedom and democracy are at risk when economic conditions deteriorate. The common sense of the middle can break down, and a demagogue playing to the inner fears and prejudices of individuals can rise up. As well, while the major parties recognize the need to cater to the center of the political spectrum, they expose themselves too often to the most radical elements in their parties. The most radical are often the most politically active, and so, anyone eager to become the leader of his/her party may have to cater to the lunatic fringe.

While we always need strong leaders who recognize the importance of the political center, too often we end up with weak leaders willing to say anything to get elected. And instead of politics being a civil competition involving pragmatic and reasonable individuals, we are moving more in the direction where politics are becoming a blood sport populated by poor and vengeful losers, and mean-spirited and vengeful winners.

The opinions expressed in this blog are personal and do not reflect the views of either Global Brief or the Glendon School of Public and International Affairs.