What if, much in the same way that Marxism believes that the Left-Right political divide is merely a symptom of the "true" problem, that both of these interpretations are merely shadows. By "shadow" I refer to how a three dimensional object, illuminated by an energy source, projects a lesser-dimensional representation on its surroundings. Shine a light at a basketball and its shadow is merely a circle.
I would like to make the argument that society is affected in its highest dimension by a two sided divide imposed upon a third, larger faction. These three "sides" are, from least populous to most, the Intellectual Class, the Socialized Class, and the Working Class. Each of these is definable primarily by the way in which they define, order, and contribute to their own priorities in pursuit of human development.
To demonstrate this theory, let us later consider the implications of political correctness and the "Social Justice Warrior" phenomenon. First, some background.
>The Intellectual Class
The Intellectual Class (IC) could be roundly defined as a class of people who prioritize general scientific, intellectual, or material improvement as human progress .
>The Socialized Class
The Socialized Class (SC) can be defined as a class of people who prioritize general improvement in interpersonal and inter-group social relations and the production of positive emotional states as human progress.
>The Working Class
The Working Class (WC) can be defined as a class of people who view improvement in their own personal material and/or social standing as progress and who are less concerned about human progress as a whole due to their lack, or perceived lack, of personal ability to impact it.
Examples of the IC are typical and easy to produce and recall from memory. Chemists, physicists, engineers, computer programmers, philosophers, great inventors, historians, explorers, archaeologists, resource managers, and participants in any other field of endeavour which require a level of technical intelligence and which has at least the potential to improve mankind's scientific, intellectual, or material standing.
The SCs, likewise, provide easy and typical examples. Artists, sociologists, political scientists, psychologists, musicians, therapists, feminists, political activists, actors and actresses, screenwriters, and persons engaged in any other endeavour which does not require technical skills and which has at least the potential to improve interpersonal or inter-group relations, or generate positive emotional states in society.
The WCs offer the easiest and most simple example of them all: The common citizen, working a normal, boring nine-to-five job and whose primary concern is acquiring a minimum necessary level of social and financial stability for themselves and their family to survive, with advancement along other axes being desirable but secondary. The vast majority of the world's population fits into this category.