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Left or right, that is the question.

Before delving into this query, it is essential to clarify what "left" and "right" truly represent. While some might believe that communism falls under the former and capitalism under the latter, this is not entirely accurate.

When the concepts were initially developed, "left" was identified with radicalism, and "right" with conservatism. Eventually, Marx posited that the left represented progressive systems and the lower classes, while the right stood for traditional systems and the upper classes.

In western socio-economics, however, "left" is associated with democracy, and "right" with liberty. Yes, you read it right; originally, democracy and liberty were antithetical concepts.

We need not delve deeper into intricate specifics, but it's crucial to mention the extremes on both sides.

The "far left," to provide a somewhat oversimplified but clear definition, implies sacrificing individual liberties without limits, serving public safety, and subjecting all to the absolute control of a mighty state apparatus, leaving no room for personal freedom.

The "far right," conversely, advocates for lifting all restrictions, cancelling welfare for the disadvantaged, letting the survival of the fittest reign, and deterring any state control, thereby favoring oligarchy and the doctrine of absolute liberty.

Upon studying this, many might discern that, in actuality, the Superhero Registration Act is a decidedly leftist bill.

As previously mentioned, only the left tends to prioritize the safety of the lower-class public, the so-called public safety, advocating for the partial sacrifice of personal freedoms, supporting the weak, and promoting equality.

If it were rightist, there would be no need for the act at all, the stronger superheroes would grow stronger, the weak weaker—that's their own business.

But the fact remains that this is America, a capitalist country, where the right holds sway. The reasons for this are tied to the concepts mentioned earlier. Capitalists, of course, wish their government to refrain from intervening in the economy, the less meddling, the better, and ideally, they'd prefer not to offer any benefits to the lower classes, thus freeing them from taxes.

So, within such a nation, why did the Superhero Registration Act come about? Two reasons come to light.

Firstly, inherently, politicians differ from capitalists. For politicians, power supersedes wealth. They rely entirely on the magnitude of their authority, making it the top priority above everything else.

Thus, in ideological battles, a struggle is like a gun, to be fired when needed and better silenced when not. Regardless of left or right, if they can maximize power, it's not an issue.

Therefore, ideological considerations aren't paramount as long as they can control these superheroes and have them serve their interests.

Secondly, the survival-of-the-fittest doctrine held by the right isn't applicable in this context. For, in the lens of superheroes, all ordinary people are the weaker party. The survival of the fittest would mean they are merely feeding themselves to these superheroes.

When they're the strong ones, they naturally advocate for survival of the fittest, but when they're the weak ones, they must propose laws to restrain and supervise the strong. That's why the left and right remain an eternal dilemma, forever swaying back and forth.

Some might argue that, since the left tends to align closer to communism and cares more for the lower classes, Congress, in this scenario, assumes the role of a liberator, a good guy.

However, things aren't that simple. Left and right aren't solely dependent on actions and outcomes, but motives as well. Or rather, to discern the essence behind an ideological dispute, it's crucial to examine the primary motives.

Congress proposed this Act, not fundamentally to uphold the interests of the lower-class public. As stipulated by the Congressman presiding over the meeting, "Public safety is our overriding duty," the phrase can be alternatively interpreted.

In reality, public safety is arguably the least of their concerns them. Their primary concern revolves around their jurisdiction size, followed by divisions of power, personal profits, and perhaps at the end, the safety of ordinary people.

Or, maybe they did not consider the safety of ordinary individuals at all. They must be acutely aware that the warfare stirred up or triggered by conflicts amongst superheroes could potentially threaten public safety more significantly, but this does not concern them.

Therefore, if we are to characterize the Superhero Registration Act, we may state that the logic of the Act leans left, but its motive and eventual outcome are undoubtedly right-leaning.

Having analyzed this, now let's glance at how everyone reacted to the Act in the original comic.

Iron Man agreed to it, whereas Captain America did not. This fundamentally isn't because Iron Man was protecting ordinary civilians and Captain America was defending superheroes but due to the trap that the Congressman had set with the Act.

Specifically, they allowed Iron Man to sight the left-leaning components within the Act. With Iron Man's wisdom, he could indeed comprehend that the Act was biased towards the left and that its earnest implementation would safeguard ordinary civilians.

Yet, what they revealed to Captain America related to the far-left aspects of the Bill, namely, the extreme sacrifice of personal freedom to gain more power and control, and the potentially mutual damages resulting from an impracticable execution of the Act.

In essence, each of them viewed different parts of the proposal, and it cannot be simply stated who was wrong. If there must be a culprit for the civil war, then it would be the individual who devised this Act and employed this wordplay and information gap to polarize them.