What are the definitions of these political labels?

Question

They are on a chart, and this is the order from left-right with the more extreme viewpoints on each end.

1. Radical
2. Left Wing
3. Liberal
4. Progressive
5. Moderate
6. Middle of the Road
7. Conservative
8. Status Quo
9. Reactionary
10. Right Wing

Answer 1

Radical -- not part of the mainstream -- out on the fringe

Left wing -- an arbitary label that sometimes means liberal, somtimes means Democrat and sometimes means anything that is not conservative -- no actual meaning

Liberal -- someone who advocates for civil liberties, personal freedoms, and diversity -- and who opposes restrictions, especially discriminatory ones

Progressive -- someone who things govt should change to deal with new issues or provide new solutions -- usually used by someone who used to be a liberal, but is now more concerned with addressing a particular agenda that requires specific govt control

Moderate -- someone who is not strongly in one direction or another -- may be someone who favors balance, or someone who is undecided

Conservative -- someone who favors stablity, security, conformity -- and often favors govt regulation of personal conduct to achive those goals

Status Quo -- the way things are now

Reactionary -- someone who makes choices based on events that happen (reacting to current situations) rather than someone who has a clear plan and agenda -- often used to indicate someone who over-reacts as well

Right Wing -- an arbitrary label sometimes used for Conservatives, sometimes for the Republican party -- meaningless, except it's the opposite of left wing

Answer 2

You forgot fascist and fundamentalist on the far right.

Basically the more right-wing a person, the more likely he is to believe that certain groups of people are naturally superior to others based on their race, ethnicity, nationality, language, gender, sexual orientation, religion and/or social class.

The more left-wing a person is the more they tend to believe in egalitiarianism. Take that too far and you got communism and expansion of equal rights to animals.

These fundamental beliefs pretty much explain every other position there is. Egalitarianism is why liberals support animal rights and social programs to help poor people work their way up. The superiority complex is why conservatives are for "english-only", against the french and mexicans and other foreigners, and against social programs. They believe poor people are poor because they are lazy. Therefore they believe social programs are a waste of money because no amount will change that.

Answer 3

LEFT
Radical- individual who wants vast change in society and believes that it needs to be implimented immediately. Generally people who are radicals share a common belief in individualism, that the gov should not interfere in the lives of individuals unless it endangers others.

Liberal (Left wing) individuals that believe themselves to have mostly liberal views and believe that change in society should be sought...Its an arch term that encompasses a lot, and individuals not necessarily will have the same by the book beliefs. It generally refers to an individuals beliefs socially on a variety of topics (education, health care, abortion, welfare, immigration, etc...) Believes in broad interpretation of constitution.

Progressive- sometimes used interchangeably with liberal but a true progressive believes that change must happen slowly in comparison to liberal and radical where there is a belief in making it much sooner.

Moderate (middle of the road)- individual that is btw liberal and conservative sharing beliefs of both. Most people fall into this category but tend to lean either way.

Conservative (status quo)- person who believes that change must happen slowly so that there is no upset of the balance of the status quo. Believes in strict interpretation of constitution.

Reactionary- extreme conservatives that want to go back and establish instituitions that previously existed that helped society to be stable. (ex: powerful monarch)

Right Wing- another name for conservatives. those who hold opposing views of the left wing liberals.

*keep in mind that most people share both conservative and liberal views yet they may associate themselves as supporting the right or left wing totally. They are terms that encompass so much!

Answer 4

I hope you find my link useful. There is another axis in the left-right divide, one of freedom and authority. Many do not realise that you can be authoritarian and also be either left or right wing. - http://www.politicalcompass.org/