Political Position
A clearer definition is: a political position is an ideology that is based on complying with certain ethical, economic and doctrine parameters, which leads an individual or a group of people to define more clearly how society should function and how it is. that should behave and develop.
How did the terms left and right come about?
The political terms left and right originated in the 18th century during the French Revolution and are based on the seating arrangements in the French National Assembly.
Those who sat to the left of the parliamentary president (Jacobins) supported the revolution, opposing the monarchy. They were in favor of a radical change, which would lead to the end of the monarchy and give more power to the people. Therefore, this ideology is related to the struggle of the workers.
Those who sat on the right (Girondinos) supported the old monarchist regime. The stronger their opposition to change and their desire to preserve traditional society, the further to the right they would be. Tradition, institutional religion and the privatization of the economy were considered the fundamental values of the right.
What do each political position refer to?
Right:
The right-wing political position refers to the fact that there are certain things in the social order that are inevitable and immovable, such as the fact that there are certain hierarchies that will define society to comply with an established order.
Commonly, right-wing parties will complement their ideals based on ideologies such as traditionalism and conservatism, they even tend to have certain religious overtones and are usually supported by the church .
Left:
Without a doubt, the position of the left is the opposite of the right, those political parties that define themselves as left will support ideals such as the fact that hierarchies should not exist in society, strengthening definitions such as equality and change.
There are some political doctrines that define this position very clearly, such as Communism or socialism. It is common to find hints of liberalism in this left-wing position. Left-wing parties tend to be populist and appeal for the welfare of the poor.
Center:
This political position, although its definition seems obvious and one would think that what it seeks is a balance of ideals, the reality is that it is the most controversial, this is because the vast majority of parties or people can define themselves as center, but in turn these will have a tendency towards any of the above.
In other words, they can be defined as a center with a leftist tendency or a center with a rightist tendency. Which means that their ideals will not be as radical as if they defined themselves as left or right, but they will have a certain inclination to defend the proposals of this or that political spectrum.
Differences between left and right
The main differences between the left and the right are based on what each of these ideologies stands for:
- Left : defends the rights of workers and minorities, collective well-being and equality between individuals.
- Right : is in favor of a more traditional and conservative view that defends elite power and individual well-being.
Individuals who defend the current government, for example, are considered “right-wing”, and those who oppose the regime are considered “left-wing”.
liberal and conservative
In the past, the concepts of liberal and conservative were linked to the permanence or not of the current political system. While conservatives wanted a strong central government, liberals wanted its decentralization.
However, with the establishment of democracy, the terms liberal and conservative became more used to define other agendas of the groups, whether in the social or economic context.
When it comes to the social context, conservatives have a more traditional view, opposing guidelines such as same-sex marriage, drug legalization, abortion and migration. Meanwhile, liberals tend to support these agendas.
On issues such as the death penalty and gun legalization, they are generally supported by conservatives and opposed by liberals.