[Lerc]

I would characterise myself as being very left. Yet people who I perceive as to the right of me perceive themselves as much further left.

I have always considered compassion the driving force underlying left wing views. I really can't understand the mind of the spiteful left, it seems such a contradiction of values.

[ranger_danger]

As for those on the far-left, it's like they want to be their own kind of fascist while also proclaiming to be anti-fascist.

[int_19h]

"Far left" can mean a lot of different things, but generally it means far left economic positions (on matters such as property rights, for example). This is orthogonal to authoritarianism though - yes, there's absolutely a large authoritarian left wing tendency, the "tankies", but on the whole in the West various libertarian takes (anarchism, most obviously, but as with right libertarianism there are degrees here) dominate.