What are the core beliefs of the political left and the political right?

Question

What are they trying to achieve in the end?

Answer 1

at the root of the political institutions of the left and right, there are simple human emotions. Because of this, what those institutions eventually achieve or fail to achieve is ultimately beyond the reach of such institutions to predict, no matter how much the followers of a particular philosophy want it to be otherwise.

to sum up the emotions I'm referring to: If the status quo benefits someone, they tend to be conservative and on the right. If the status quo doesn't particularly do any good for a person, they tend to be liberal and on the left.

this is why students and young people tend to the left - they have no property or high social status to defend, no great steady job to hang onto. But these same people, a few years later, often wouldn't be going to protests anymore, because they have a good job and a mortgage and car payments and whatnot. Generally, as people age they become more conservative.

the more status and property people have, the higher their priority is to protect what they've got. So, the old dad who used to be a hippy, is a grumpy stick-in-the-mud by the time his kids are idealistic teens!

this dynamic all works on a large, collective scale as well. It's all about what people have to lose. The more they have to lose, the further right they drift...

Answer 2

I'm a jaded cynic so you might view this as the rantings of a malcontent. :)

For the UK there is no political left anymore, the space occupied by the Labour party is vacant now that Tory Blair has moved them over to right wing politics.

The basic beliefs for left and right are simplistic in theory but because mankind never overcomes it's greed and quest for power all the lines blurr.

Left - everybody is equal. There is no such thing as one person being better than another because every member of a society is important to that society and everybody works for the good of the state.

Right - the elite are at the top and keep all other members of society under their dominion, workers have no rights, they are their to do as they're told and the government uses whatever force is required to maintain the status quo.

I deliberately used the George Orwell line "Everyone is equal" to describe socialist ideology: in theory it means we are all working for each other and to make our world better for everyone. But as has been seen with every socialist society human nature comes into play and the leaders/party activists want and expect more than the ordinary people, hence Orwell's critically sarcastic second part of the doctrine "but some are more equal than others".

The ideology of the right is far easier to describe and fits in with the class system present in the UK, it's about the have's and the have not's. Some have everything other's have next to nothing and are expected to be content. The UK and the US regardless of what governments will tell you are progressively moving towards the right. I can't recall the exact figures but I believe over 80% of the land in the UK is owned by less that 1% of the population, over 90% of the wealth is likewise owned by 1% of the people, you'll be able to get the exact statistics on the net.

We are all working for a dream that is as totally false as the reality sold to the Soviet peoples under communism.

HoHum

Answer 3

Hi ya Soldier, its quite a deep question, but I can offer my humble opinion. Basically in any political arena, you allways have opposite ends to the spectrum. Unless it is a Facshist regime, which is nationalistic, crushes any opposition parties, to assume full control, over the civilian populas. Then the other extreme, Communism, which again like Facshisim, crushes any opposition parties, also a Monarchy if it exists is wiped away, unless the leader is a non-dictator, like the Imperial King of Japan, then the Facshist regime co-existed with the Monarch. So Labour, is seen, as a left-wing party, a party founded and made up by the Trade Union movement, (Socialist) meaning a party for the working class, and believes in Government ownership of Public services (a form of Communism), then on the opposite corner, the Conservatives (Faschists), a right-wing party, mostly made up of middle, upper class members, who believe in a Nationalistic society, meaning dislike intergration with other members from outside the U.K, also believe in private ownership and enterprise, now whatever you believe in Labour or Conservative, is up to you, neither has a wrong or right way of going, depending on what you believe to be right. Personally, I believe in the Labour Movement, because I'm a working class, socialist, and don't mind intergrating with people of different cultures and faiths, also, the Conservatives try and break down the Trade Union movements, basically, if Trade Unions are broken down, the people who own private companies can then treat the workforce unfairly, because no-one is in place to protect their interests, vote Labour, the truly socialist party, who have the working class interests at heart........

Answer 4

In a nutshell,

The Left;
Strong Fed. Government
Individual choice
Government FOR the people

The Right;
Strong State Government
Moral Choice
Government BY the people

Answer 5

maybe its best to stay in the centre... slightly a level or 2 more up.... and just watch, learn, laugh, and have fun... in the end... i think understanding GOD has a better chance than understanding people with their Political Sh**

Answer 6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pournelle_chart_color.gif

Core beliefs and where they fall on the spectrum.

Here's the quick test to see where you fall.
http://www.politopia.com/quiz_index.php3

http://www.friesian.com/quiz.htm
Great quote by Ronald Reagan...those neo-con attack poodles who esteem the glory days of Ronny should stick that in their crack pipe and smoke it.

Answer 7

right- make the masses work hard for as little pay as poss to make huge profit for the elite at the top, tell anyone who poor its their OWN fault for not working hard enough.
left-make the masses work hard for as little pay as poss to make huge profit for the elite at the top,tell anyone who poor its EVERYONES fault for not working hard enough.

Answer 8

No difference.Sharing power and making money

Answer 9

you want too much information for an answer here, Is this your homework?