In the beginning there were internet messageboards. The political left took to them like fish to water. The problem was that they were unmoderated, so they descended into places of general abuse. This suited the left because they were able to debate in the way they prefer: by shouting slogans. The occasional right-winger who tried to explain international trade would not have his ideas examined: he would just face personal insults.

But now internet messageboards are old-hat, and blogs are chic. Unlike messageboards, almost all of the major political blogs are right-wing. The left isn't happy. The New Statesman has called on the left to take part in the blogosphere to stop it being "dominated by the political right".

What the New Statesman missed is that the blogosphere leans to the right for a reason. Blogs offer a medium that is ideally suited to the right. They enable the more detailed explanations that right-wing ideas require.

To be successful in the blogosophere, you have to make reasonable arguments, and win over your readers. Left-wingers are very bad at explaining what they believe. They support fair trade coffee because it is fair. They want "people before profits", because it sounds good. They say "it's all about oil" because it is. They hate multinational companies, but don't understand economics. The more hip and trendy Third Way Left offers a much better tone, but they simply replace the slogans with meaningless jargon, which is just as bad.

Perhaps this lack of understanding is because relatively few on the left have converted to the left. Conversely, many on the right were brought up with left-leaning ideas, ingrained from their teachers and parents, and then during their teenage or university years worked out that they were wrong. An inherited view is just believed: a view you are won over to has to have an intellectual foundation.