What is the difference between right wing and left wing?

[Karin W]

Can someone give me a simple, non-partisan explanation of what the difference is between right-wing and left-wing? I passed social studies but politics isn't my strong suit - I want to be as informed as possible. Thanks!

[chiquis707]

Right wing would be considered the Conservatives (Republicans) , Left wing would be the liberals (Democrats). These terms are derogatory and you should try to stay away from them at your age (or any age for that matter).

[Daniel S]

I don't like to follow the social stigmas - to me right wing and left wing means two parties in politics. It's just this simple to me. Sometimes things should be simple,even though people want to draw them dark.

[brenda r]

Leftists hate progress and fight it all the way and Righties try to preserve your rights and keep you moral and try to keep immoral junk from being the norm!

[Casey]

They have different positions on the issues. In general:

Right wing:
Pro-military and believes that war should be pursued when necessary
Pro-life
For a greater role for religion in public life
Anti-gay marriage
For lower taxes and smaller government
Against environmentalism
Tend to oppose nanny government such as laws telling us we're not allowed to smoke

Left-wing:
Anti-war and wants to solve conflicts through diplomacy. They tend to think war doesn't solve anything
Pro-choice
Pro-gay marriage
For a strict seperation of church and state
Pro-environmentalism
For higher taxes and bigger government -- they believe government can be used as a tool to improve peoples lives for the better
For nanny government because the government needs to help us make good choices

[dezavala_rd]

The meaning of the terms "left" and "right" in a political context has changed radically over time. The Right is generally against intentional political, economic and social change, the Left is in favour of it.[1] The Left broadly identifies itself with the interests of the masses, while the Right is seen to favour the interests of the established propertied classes.[1]

Some commentators, such as Norberto Bobbio, have argued that the central difference between left and right is that the left prioritises social equality, while the right prioritises individual responsibility and the maintenance of natural and inherent inequalities between people. Bobbio also makes clear, however, that "left" and "right" are not absolute terms, but vary between different countries and different periods.[2]


[edit] Definitions
Left Right
economic interventionism laissez-faire In general, the political debate is about the extent to which the government should (interventionism) or should not (laissez-faire) intervene in the economy in order to effect desired social outcomes. The Nolan chart proposes this as one of its axes of distinction between left and right.[3] This is a reversal of the situation of the late 18th century, when the left favored laissez-faire and the right favored mercantilism.
"larger" government preference "smaller" government preference Large and small here refer to policies and attitudes - although the number of government employees is often used as an indicator - and to social and economic policy rather than to military, police and judicial institutions and activity. This definition is most common in American politics, where the mainstream right has been most heavily influenced by free market economics and the mainstream left most influenced by Keynesian economics.[citation needed] Some[citation needed], however, cite the existence of factions that may serve as counter examples to this definition -- libertarians, the authoritarian right, libertarian socialists, anarchists and the old right -- and see the above definition as an entirely distinct political dichotomy.
equality of outcome equality of opportunity Two writers who characterise the distinction along these lines are Norberto Bobbio and Danielle Allen. In his book Left and Right: The Significance of a Political Distinction, Bobbio argues that the only valid difference between left and right is people's attitude to the ideal of equality.[2] Left-wingers and right-wingers alike tend to speak in favour of both equality and liberty, but they have different interpretations of each of the two terms.
secular government religious government This distinction has deep roots in Europe's early modern period when the left-right distinction first emerged, as the Ancien Régime associated with the right was closely connected to the Catholic church and the left was thus often anti-clerical. It remains relevant in the United States, India and the Catholic countries in Europe, but there are now many examples of religious movements associated with the left (such as liberation theology or certain forms of Islamic radicalism) as well as many atheist or secular people on the right.
innovation conservatism Although in some countries 'right' and 'conservative' are used loosely as synonyms, this aspect gets little attention in discussion of the left-right axis. The American left writer Eric Hoffer was one of those who emphasised it.
culture dictates law law dictates culture This formulation was put forward by US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, but is prefigured by Edmund Burke.
human nature and society are malleable human nature and society are fixed This is an example of the "nature versus nurture" argument. It was proposed as a definition of the left-right dichotomy by Thomas Sowell, and later endorsed by George Lakoff in his book Moral Politics.[4] Many leftists, however, do believe in human nature, some, such as Noam Chomsky, even making it central to their political philosophies.[5][6]

Writers have also been known to use the term more loosely and perhaps anachronistically, as did H. G. Wells when, writing of the Jews of the Roman Empire, he refers to the Pharisees as "on the right" and Hellenised Jews such as the Sadducees as "of the left."[7]

[Mr.Wizard]

In absolute terms the left (socialism) advocates the use of force as the means to their ends... Today this is true of both sides of politics and therefore they are both left... Right wing means to ban the use of force in all social relationships, this used to be known as laissez-faire capitalism; there can be no such thing as the right to violate rights.

Today the terms 'left' and 'right' are relative... That is, compared to the liberal left (Democrats) the Republicans are 'right' or less left etc... In reality you either advocate the violation of rights or you don't, there can be no compromise between a thief and his victim...