I agree the idea of "left" and "right" is confusing, to say the least. I tend to only be concerned if society drifts far in either direction, as the extremes on either end definitely don't fit my views.
I kind of like the
Pournelle chart. You sit on a two dimensional spectrum of :
...........Reason
............../\
..............|
State is - - - - State
evil ........|....is great
..............|
..............\/
.........Irrational
Where "Reason" = society's problems can be solved with reason, and "Irrational" = We can't solve any of society's problems due to it being irrational. I tend to be high on reason, middle on State. I find that ijdits in web polls tend to be State evil / Irrational.
