Left and right parties - who are they and what do they want?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

Right-right forces held a rally… The center-left did not support the bill… These words are constantly heard from TV screens, they can be seen on newspapers. Who are the right and left that are constantly being talked about? And why are they called that?

Origin of terms

These definitions of political currents are quite old. They appeared in France during the bourgeois revolution. And they had an absolutely literal meaning.

That is, there were really leftists, really rightists and real centrists. Simply because this is how supporters of certain political movements took seats in parliament. On the left sat the left, and on the right - the real right. Who were these people? Representatives of three parties: Feuillants, Girondins and Yakboins.

The Feuillants were staunch supporters of the monarchy that existed at that time in France. They were the first "right". Who are the leftists? Their opponents, the Jacobins, are revolutionaries and subversives of the foundations. And in the center were the Girondins - a moderate party that supported the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a republic, but not in such a radical form as the Jacobins.

Turn right roundabout

That's how these terms came about. Moreover, if at first they were called precisely the supporters of the monarchy and the bourgeois republic, then later these words began to denote simply conservatives advocating the preservation of the old system, and radicals striving for significant changes. The consequence of this was a funny linguistic incident. During the French Revolution, the Yakboins fought for the overthrow of the monarchy and the creation of a bourgeois republic. And they were on the left. And then, many years later, bourgeois republics became the political norm. And the revolutionaries were already fighting for socialism. Out of habit, such fiery fighters with the existing system were called leftists. But who are the right ones? Of course, their opponents are conservatives. That is, already supporters of the bourgeois trend. This is how the terms both retained their former meaning and lost it. The revolutionaries remained on the left, but now they fought not for the bourgeois republic, but against it.

So right left

Later, the terms changed their meaning several times. In the thirties in Germany, to the question: "Who are the rightists?" there could only be one answer.

Of course the National Socialist Workers' Party! But this trend is now referred to only as fascism. This trend had nothing in common with the French supporters of the monarchy or the Russian adherents of the doctrine of the bourgeois republic.

In the 60s in France, the right meant a political trend that denied the possibility of equal rights and opportunities for all members of society.

Obviously what to givea clear answer to the question of what kind of political trend it is is impossible. Because everywhere there were different right. Who these people are and what they want depends on the country and on the historical period.

Conservatives and innovators

The only thing that unites all right-wing parties is that they are, by definition, conservative. The force that stands up for the preservation of the existing system is the right, for its categorical overthrow - the left. And the supporters of consistent change and compromise are centrists.

Modern right-wing parties tend to respect private property, consider a certain level of class inequality to be natural and inevitable, and advocate a strong vertical of power.

This rather conservative course is followed by parties based on religion or the principles of national identity.

This is what the average right looks like. Who are the Left then?

Now such currents adhere to the concept of minimizing the influence of the state on the lives of citizens. It is often proposed to introduce public ownership of the means of production - at least the largest ones. And, of course, they stand for total and universal equality. That is, in a way, utopians. The left parties usually include socialists, communists, anarchists and movements based on the principles of class equality - workers' associations, labor unions. An interesting paradox. While nationalist currents tend to be left-leaning, the various liberation movements fighting forindependence - on the contrary, right.

Criticism of terms

At present, such a bipolarity of party systems exists only on the pages of newspapers and in the conversations of the townsfolk. Political scientists prefer to use more precise definitions.

Yet the political picture of the world, consisting of left, right and centrists, is oversimplified. Many ideologies have lost clear boundaries, become less radical, so it is already difficult to say whether they are conservatives or, conversely, supporters of change. A political current may simultaneously believe that the state owes social life and the economy, as is typical of right-wing currents. But if this influence will be used by the authorities for typically “leftist” goals – ensuring equality and guaranteeing social protection.

A good example is very close. At the moment, it is rather difficult to determine who the right and left are in Ukraine - at least in terms of the classical interpretation of terms.

Practical difficulties of classification

Supporters of the DPR and LPR position themselves as left-wing parties. But at the same time, their ideas lie rather in the plane of the right. After all, the main stumbling block is the unconstitutional change of power in the republic, and it is the “separatists” who do not accept these changes. Their political platform is absolutely conservative.

It's just as hard to understand who the right-wing radicals are in Ukraine. Because there is nothing left of traditional conservatism. "Right Sector" is notas much a position definition as a title. This nationally oriented party took an active part in changing the political order in 2013, although, by definition, this is the lot of left-wing parties.

Obviously, in this case, the terms are used not in the classical international sense of "conservatives and innovators", but in a specific one, formed by local traditions. The left are communists, the right are nationalists. It is unlikely that with such a wide range of interpretations, these terms can be considered correct.