Right and Left?

Question

I am slightly confused. In politics what exactly is meant by 'the right' and 'the left'? What is the dividing line? Can somebody give me a 'www' where I can get detailed information?

Answer 1

Right and Left refer to the political spectrum. Think of it as line of deliniation, as you move right on the line you move toward conservatism, as you move left you move toward liberalism. At the extreme ends of each you have Facism on the right and Communism on the left. Some have theorized that it actually isn't a line but a circle and as you go further left or right you end up meeting at the same point, as there is little difference between true Communism and Facism.

American politics is typically somewhere near the center, with some examples of extemists. Typical American examples of the difference between Right and Left thinking might be:

Right: Free-market economy Left: Redistrubution of wealth
R: Lassiez-faire government L: Interventionist Gov
R: Individualism L: Collectivism
R: Traditional Values L: Broad lifestyle choices
R: Nationalism L: Internationalism

The fact is except for some extremists on both sides, most Americans fall into a moderate or centrist classification. Not everyone in either party truly believe in everything there political party professes.

However, and this is just my opinion from years of life and politics, there are more liberals that follow the exact party-line than conservatives. Conservatives tend to have one or two "hot button" issues that make them Republican, while most liberals embrace everything the Democratic party spouts. Myself I am a republican, I believe in individual rights, I believe in lasseiz-fair government, I am a nationalist, I don't believe in many of the "hot button" issues, I'm not christian, I don't care who you want to love and marry, I do believe our healthcare system needs to be reformed, I'm pro-choice, I'm pro stem cell research and I want to expell all foreign invaders from our soil. My politics straddle both sides of the fence. As should yours, don't get sucked into the party system vote with your head and your heart.

Edited to respond to the moron who posted after me: You're absolutely wrong Dave P.

Answer 2

Typically, people on the "left" believe that government, if run properly, is capable of making our lives better than they would be if there were no government.

People on the "right" tend to believe that government, even at it's best, is still a detriment to our lives, and should be limited as much as possible.

In theory, Democrats align with the "left," and Republicans align with the "right." In actual practice, politicians will usually say whatever they think they need to in order to get elected, so those lines are blurry, at best. Those lines are blurred even more by the fact that many people are more concerned with the political game than they are with truth, or even their own ideologies. You'd do best to ignore anyone, from either side, who spends more time insulting his opponent, than he does supporting his own position.

Answer 3

Most people view the political spectrum as a line. Actually, it is a circle. In the middle of one side of the circle are the independants, who have some conservative ideas and some liberal ones. As you go farther right from that midpoint you are in the conservative territory, and when you go left from that midpoint you're in liberal territory. When you've gone all the way around the circle, opposite from the independants you get libertarians. Libertarians are so radical that they combine the most extreme views from both sides of the circle. Now Republicans are conservative and Democrats are liberal. But a conservative Democrat is someone who is closer to the indpendant point than the libertarian point and vice versa.
I hope that explains it....

Answer 4

Um, well yeah if you're not talking about politics the left and right have lots of things in common.

Right wingers eat apples, so do lefties.
Right wing goes swimming, so does left.
Right wing has a garden, so does left.

so on and so forth ad nauseum.

If you want to find common ground between politically opposed units, just look outside of politics. Not that it's a very useful exercise.

Answer 5

"The Right" is Conservative, "The Left" is Liberal.

This goes back to the days of the French Revolution, and the meeting of the French Chamber of Deputies. There, the conservatives were seated to the right side of the Speaker, and the radical Liberals to the left.

Answer 6

Left: Socially Liberal, more people than corporation. Far Left: Borderline socialists, just two pegs short of a Lenin mural.

Answer 7

The right is the conservative side and the left is the liberal side. If you're in the middle you're considered moderate. Typically conservative = republican and liberal = democrat, but there are conservatives democrats and liberal republicans - those are your moderates. The moderates are usually the swing votes and will be the ones that the right and left will go after for their votes.

Answer 8

Right and Left refers to the Senate and House chambers. Traditionally the Conservatives sat on the right sides of the halls and the Liberals sat on the left side. This is where the phrase "right or left side of the aisle" comes from.

Answer 9

Don't go to www. Look or read the news The right says shoot and ask questions later... The left says ask and you'll understand the answer !!!

Answer 10

Wow, out of 14 answers only one knows that is has to do with Congress and which side each sits on.