> and in the west the left is firmly the "establishment"

When I think of the left i think of socialists and anarchists, the establishment you mean are liberals, meaning pro-market/privatization/etc. It always amazes me how the right was able to sell themselves as anti-establishment with the average politically uneducated person. The right also pushes the surveillance state forward, the most substantial surveillance legislation in US history, the Patriot act was bipartisan for instance.

> Also there's nothing about Linux or hacking culture that would be necessarily left or right wing

I agree. But if you pretend there is there’s a big audience on one side ready to lap it up and give you ad views.