The main difference between left wing and right wing is that left wing is characterized by equality, freedom, rights, progress, and reform, while right wing is characterized by duty, hierarchy, authority, order, tradition, and nationalism.
Left wing and right wing are two political extremities. We can trace back the history of these two concepts to the French Revolution, especially to the seating arrangement in the French Estates General in 1789. The members who sat on the left generally supported the French Revolution, the creation of a democratic republic, while those on the right were supportive of the traditional institutions.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is Left Wing
– Definition, Features, Politics
2. What is Right Wing
– Definition, Features, Politics
3. Difference Between Left Wing and Right Wing
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Left Wing, Right Wing
What is Left Wing
Left wing refers to liberal or radical political parties and their supporters. Left wing politics supports social equality and egalitarianism and gives importance to ideas such as freedom, rights, progress, and reform. They consider social welfare as the most important goal of government. Political analysts often describe left wing political party members as communists, socialists, democratic socialists, anarchists, social democrats, social liberals, left libertarians, and progressives.
Furthermore, left wing politics believe in concepts like welfare state, equality in society, central planning, government intervention in the economy, secularism (separation of religion and state), and protectionism- anti-free trade. In addition, they also hold progressive views on subjects like homosexuality, abortion, and immigration.
What is Right Wing
Right wing politics refers to a conservative or reactionary political party and its members. Right wing politics usually oppose extensive political reform. According to right wing politics, social order and hierarchy is inevitable and natural, and right wingers typically support this position on the basis of natural law, tradition, or economics. Political analysts describe right-wing political supporters as conservatives, neoconservatives, imperialists, right-libertarians, monarchists, fascists, and traditionalists.
Furthermore, right-wing politics emphasize concepts like duty, authority, order, tradition, and nationalism. Right-wing politics also have traditional views in matters like abortion, homosexuality, and immigration. Moreover, right-wing politics believe in the limited role of government in people’s life and economy. In addition, they believe in concepts like nationalism, personal freedom of people, less regulation of the economy, low taxes, promotion of private sector for growth, equality for all (with no special provisions to minorities), religious conservation and tradition.
Difference Between Left Wing and Right Wing
Definition
Left-wing refers to a liberal or radical political party while right-wing refers to a conservative or reactionary political party.
Liberal vs Conservative
While left wing is more liberal in its approach, right wing is conservative.
Economic Policies
Economic policies of the left wing include reducing income inequality, increasing taxes for the wealthy, and government intervention in the economy, whereas economic policies of the right wing include less regulation of the economy, low taxes, and promotion of the private sector for growth.
Characteristics
Left wing is characterized by equality, freedom, rights, progress, and reform, while right wing is characterized by duty, hierarchy, authority, order, tradition, and nationalism.
Religion
While left wing ideology believes in secularism, i.e, separation of the state and religion, right wing ideology supports religion and believes that it has an important role in society.
Same-sex Marriage, Abortion, and Immigration
Moreover, left wing politics holds progressive views in matters like same-sex marriage, abortion, and immigration whereas right wing politics have traditional views regarding them.
Conclusion
Left wing refers to a liberal or radical political party, while right wing politics refers to a conservative or reactionary political party. The main difference between left wing and right wing is that left wing is characterized by equality, freedom, rights, progress, and reform, while right wing is characterized by duty, hierarchy, authority, order, tradition, and nationalism.
Reference:
1. “Right-Wing Politics.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Aug. 2021.
2. Javaid, Arfa. “What Is Left-Wing and Right-Wing Politics?” Jagranjosh.com, 14 Oct. 2020.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Left vs Right: A view of the political Spectrum” By David McCandless and Stefanie Posavec, taken from the book The Visual Miscellaneum (CC BY-NC 2.0) via Flickr
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