The Illusion of Disagreement

Same shit, different party.

In truth, most people harbour an anti-market bias, want the government to do things for them, and dislike immigration. Most people on the left claim to be socialists wanting to drastically expand government services. They also talk about opening the borders. They lie. Many on the right assert they are pro-market, favouring low taxes and a smaller government. They also lie.

The Median Voter Theorem ruled the day - parties that don't hover around the centre fail. When in power, the leftists don't hike taxes up to 90% and let in more immigrants. Right-wing politicians don't lower taxes, rethink socialised healthcare, and shrink the size of the welfare state.

It's all rhetoric, and it's boring. The parties aren't that different because they share one overriding principle: please the voter. Voters are anti-foreign, sceptical of businesses, narrowly concerned with job creation rather than overall welfare, and generally pessimistic. Everything falls out of that fact and politicians' overriding social desirability bias (telling people what they want to hear).