Left & Right

[pjm007]

In politics, What does left wing and right wing mean ?

What are the differences ?

Why are they called left & right ?

Thanks.

[Quizmonster]

The words 'left' and 'right' in politics come from the French Parliament, known as the Estates General. There, the nobility sat on the King's right-hand side and the rest on his left. The nobles, of course, wanted things to go on just as they always had...ie they were 'conservative'. The others wanted change...more fairness in wealth, ownership etc. Nowadays, the same idea applies to modern governments. In the UK, the Conservative Party is right-wing and the New Labour Party is left-wing; in the USA, the Republicans are right-wing and the Democrats are left-wing.

[flip-flop]

So nothing to do with dextra and sinistra then - that's a shame, I like the idea that people of a right wing bent have dextrous minds, whereas left wingers are just simply sinister..........

[Loosehead]

Try this for a more detailed explanation and a further dimension:

http://www.politicalcompass.org/

[Tweed]

I wouldn't call New Labour left wing.

[UosdwisjewoY]

Well, Dan Marino didn't care. He used to aim for either wing!

[vehelpfulguy]

It could also be said that extreme left wing is Communism (like they had in Russia), and extreme right wing is Facism (like Adolf Hitler)

But of course Stalin became a dictator in Russia and so the extreme left wing went full circle and joined up with extreme right wing.

[Loosehead]

Check the link above and you'll see that Hitler was more of a centre left on the left right scale, Ie National socialism etc, but very high on the authoritarian scale.

[Ward-Minter]

Very loose explanation pjm007 would be....

left wing means collectivism. i.e a collected consciousness. Working togetrher in Unions, socialism etc.

right wing means individualism. i.e the rights of the individual in a free market economy. Working alone in competion with other individuals.

try looking up info on The Adam Smith Institute for best information.

[Stu in USA]

Nobody should call the US Democratic party left wing!!