On Left-right politics

There has been a lot of water cooler talk about politics of late and I thought this might help those who indulge have a better understanding of what terms such as Left wing or on the Right mean. A brief not all encompassing attempt to help folks understand the differences in Left and Right political discussions.

Left-right politics is a common way of classifying political positions, political ideologies, or political parties.

Left-wing politics and right-wing politics are often presented as opposites.

In modern political rhetoric, those on the Left typically emphasize their support of working people and accuse the Right of supporting the interests of the upper class, whereas those on the Right usually emphasize their support of individualism and accuse the Left of supporting collectivism.

In politics, left-wing, political left, leftist and the Left are terms used to describe a number of positions and ideologies. They are most commonly used to refer to support for changing traditional social orders or for creating a more egalitarian (equal)distribution of wealth and privilege.

On the Left you have ideologies such as but not limited to...

Liberalism (from the Latin liberalis, suitable for a free man) is the belief in the importance of individual freedom.

Socialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with an egalitarian method of compensation.

Anarchism is a political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which consider the state, as compulsory government, to be unnecessary, harmful, and/or undesirable, and favors the absence of the state.

Communism (from Latin: communis = "common") is a family of economic and political ideas and social movements related to the establishment of an egalitarian, classless and stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general, as well as the name given to such a society.

In politics, right-wing, political right, rightist and the Right are terms used to describe a number of positions and ideologies. They are most commonly used to refer to support for preserving traditional or cultural values and customs or for maintaining some form of social hierarchy or private control of the means of production.


On the Right you have ideologies such as but not limited to...

Conservatism (from Latin: conservare = "save" or "preserve"[1]) refers to various political and social philosophies that support tradition and the status quo, or that call for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo

Fascism, comprises a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology and a corporatist economic ideology developed in Italy. Fascists believe that nations and/or races are in perpetual conflict whereby only the strong can survive by being healthy, vital, and by asserting themselves in conflict against the weak

Capitalism typically refers to an economic and social system in which the means of production (also known as capital) are privately controlled; labor, goods and capital are traded in a market; profits are distributed to owners or invested in new technologies and industries; and wages are paid to labor.

Excerpts from Wikipedia Please see that site for more discussion.