We have always heard of the left and the right parties while discussing politics. What or who exactly is the left and what or who exactly is the right? To begin with, the left–right political spectrum can be seen as a common way of classifying political positions, ideologies, or parties along a political spectrum.
The classification of political parties in to left and right originated in France during the French Revolution of 1789 when the members of the National Assembly were divided in to the supporters of the king to the President’s right and the supporters of the revolution to the President’s left. This system of classification of political philosophy was adopted by the world and the present day lefts in France are called the “party of movement” and the rights are called “the party of order”.
Today there exists various definitions of these conflicting political philosophies. The leftists are said to be the group which supports government control and socialism whereas the rightists are seen as the group which advocates for individual freedom and capitalism. Another simple way to identify the left and the right is that the lefts are normally considered to be the progressive whereas the Rights are more conservative. Therefore in the left and right political spectrum on the left are the socialists and the communists and on the right are the conservatives and the fascists.
It can be seen from the above definitions that there is an element of revolution and social struggle associated with the left and an element of individual freedom and economic liberalism associated with the right. The socialist element of the left philosophy normally attract the proletarians whereas the conservative capitalist ideology of the right attract the bourgeoisie. This political divide on the basis of the class struggle have always existed in the society and have thus helped the leftist and the rightist to decorate the seat of power in countries across the world.
Basically the left and right ideologies does exist in all of us. This can be easily understood if we analyse our actions and reactions to various situations that we have encountered in life over the years. The predominant inclination towards left and right in each individual varies with respect to his surroundings and the way he is brought up in the society. An individual with an aptitude for social service, who believes in social equality and posses a sense of social responsibility would be more attracted towards the left ideologies where as an individual with conservative aptitude and believes in economic liberalisation would invariably be attracted towards the right. In addition to these, there are several other factors which can also influence the ideological inclinations of an individual such as age and education.
The left and right ideologies in various forms have been coexisting in the society for many years. The right and wrong of the right and left are different for each individual and society depending up on their perspective of these ideologies. The advantages of leftism would appear as disadvantages to the rightists and vice versa. There are several countries in the world where the groups belonging to both these political philosophies have ruled and have set examples for the world to see and analyse. Every individual would have their own views of life and the social progression and they are expected to be intelligent enough to choose the best ideology based on their values and convictions. One may choose the right or the left or may not choose any as the right is not always right and the left is not the only option left.
Tkays 