Much of this can be attributed to the mao revolution. No regard or respect for life. Yet some hold mao upon a pedestal. For an in depth perspective there's a book called Aquariams of Pyongyang. It was told by a prisoner in the gulag system of nk from the late 70s.
That defines Communism, and to a certain extent, Obamunism, in general.
The right to left spectrum really is a linear path from respect for the individual as the supreme master of his own destiny, to belief that the state and the rulers of such, as the rightful masters of all.
For the left, an individual has no worth. They are merely a part in the machine, easily replaced with another part. Some parts may be specialized, thus of more worth - but the left sees no value in humans, no more than there is value in a clutch - only as a function in the machine of the state, does the left hold that people have any worth.
