The Left-Right Spectrum Overview Essay

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Introduction

The idea of the left-right spectrum in politics is a form of governance that makes a classification of the political positions. The right-wing ideologies include the following; order hierarchy, tradition, reaction, authority, nationalism, and duty. All these are policies based on the state of national cooperation and unity they are focused on national development and tradition over the aspect of individual well-being. The left-wing ideologies differ from these in that they are based on individual well-being and fair life practices they include; equality, freedom, progress, fraternity, internationalism, reform, and rights.

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The scale, therefore, works in a manner to classify the political ideologies. The classification model works in a way that allows for left-wing ideologies (Richards, 2017). These types value; individualism, liberty, progress, social intervention, and equality among all state individuals, at least not those limited by the correctional bodies (March 2017). At the same time, the right ideologies look into a more controlled form of ruling. It espouses hierarchy, market deregulation, pessimism, and authority. The theory at hand, however, ignores numerous policies and confines theories. Therefore, the approach can be said to have logical flaws. The paper shall argue this out.

Basis of the Left-Right Spectrum

The consideration of political ideas and policies depicted by views such as the left-right spectrum can easily be regarded as a failing spectrum. The main reason for the opinion held is that the aspect of leftist or rightist ideologies is all subjective the aspects of equality and other policies such as fairness and the freedoms availed are all relative to the people experiencing the policies. The inability to formulate a standard measurement for new policies may damage the measure of left or right policies and who has trusted them, and what that means. All the same, the idea of looking into the collectivist policies held by specific ideologies and the freedom proposed can be respected as the basis of the subjective political scaling these include the ideologies of conservatism, monarchism, Nazism, and Fascism. These policies all practiced in the past are right-wing policies all increasing in intensity and most are impossible to practice in the current political environment.

Historical Relevance

The history of the policies is, however, based on the French revolution. The ideas of left- and right-wing ideologies, opinions, and approaches all stemmed from the parliamentary sitting concerning the monarch. At the point of the French revolution, the division in the monarch is a radical split between liberalism and authority (Richards, 2017). The liberalist French were pushing for a more Aristocratic monarch. At the same time, the right-wing conservatives focused on retaining their traditions and the conservative and socialist form of government serving the nation at that point (Goodheart, 2017). The French parliament, who were against the monarch and its controlling nature, sat to the king’s left while those in support of the actualized form of governance sat to the king’s right. The spread of information on this partitioning of the French parliament allowed for the French revolution and the coining of left-wing and right-wing terms.

Illustration Failings of the Left-Right Spectrum

The stance held by this section of the paper is the idea that politics are too complex to be classified using the left-right divide. This segment of the article illustrates that a binary cannot be used as a definitive stance for the representation of political ideologies. Therefore, the binary is regarded as inefficient and weak in defining a fluid aspect of human interaction.

The initial aspect up for consideration in political affiliation and the binary looks into the fact that more political stances exist than those the spectrum represents. Therefore, the idea is to look into matters such as the economy, social affiliations, religion, interventions by the different ideological movements in the citizens’ environments, and the aspect of human nature (Goodheart, 2017). The political affiliation concerning religious belief shows that the believers can be left-wing or right-wing affiliates. However, their views and stance may vary based on the depth of belief, with deeply religious folk taking no stance (McCarthy et al., 2019). Finally, with the combination of belief and the political promises the believers are likely to look at the suppliers of specific solitary policies and disregard an overall view. Additionally, the economic policies may drive market leaders to look at gainful prospects, which in the long run may be liberal as opposed to the presentation of views that promote the holistic view of an improved nation.

The policies are insufficient for individuals to define their political preferences. The options are, therefore, very varied. The political views held currently are based on 19th-century French politics (Engler & Zohlnhöfer, 2019). These were later developed in the early part of the 20th century and put in practice since then. Therefore, the values have to a point now adopted contradictory values following the changes in the voter population (Engler & Zohlnhöfer, 2019). The integrity and intelligence of the people and the difference in the way dynamic and static political organizations run in the 21st century.

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The political upheavals and changes in today’s nationalistic organizations are less prone to drastic changes and great revolutions. The capitalistic socialist and communist views all mentioned are less pronounced worldwide (Bischof & Wagner, 2020). This is seen in the calm nature of international politics and the lack of revolutionary politics and changes for all global states. The United Nations and other forms of internationally cooperative bodies are all based upon the maintenance of peace and stability in the international political landscape. The presence of a unitary constitution through such bodies and the ratification of policies across states limit international politics’ radical nature. Therefore, this limits the possibility of the right-wing reaching the actual dimensions; thus, it can be declared unrealistic or obsolete.

Both Ideologies Have Internal Contradictions

The policies’ original stance on the left- and right-wing policies’ allegations and contradictions were based on guidelines as seen in the early 20th century. What was considered the norm then changed drastically, whereas the norms introduced were gradually changed as even the obscenities of the time can easily be regarded as norms in today’s political system. Therefore, the paper highlights that some changes in the definitions of left- and right-wing political ideation have changed so drastically that the policies can no longer be confined to these predefinitions.

Left-wing Politics

The controversy surrounded the initial definition of left-wing political affiliation. The left-wing political advocates proposed that; they believe in liberal governance, equalities, fair treatment, and gender equality. Whereby the ideas stand for freedom and the individualistic world views (Claessens et al., 2020). These contradict the freedoms proposed and are subjective in that individual freedom allows for loopholes that let weaker members of society fall through the cracks (March 2017). Therefore, the left-wing propositions are based on equality but in no way work towards equal rights and financial situations as they oppose communist views. The left-wingers work against all civil liberties and organized policies, yet they are drastically drawn to government policies on business and the free will to use drastic procedures to equalize enterprises. This shows the subjectivity displayed by the idea of dividing left and right-wing political ideologies.

Right-wing Politics

The conservative right-wing political views were based on consistent belief in the repetitive institution of governance policies. Radical totalitarianism and fascism is a critical factors in promoting the right-wing form of political ideologies (Claessens et al., 2020). However, the idea fails to make sense in that the government policies do not allow for these kinds of governance. Additionally, the possibility of the predefinition of right- and left-wing politics is subjective in that most communist policies are impossible to practice in this age. The ability of right-wing governance to avail free markets goes against the belief that all parts of governance must be regulated (Choma & Hodson, 2017). The policy of free trade opposes authoritarianism and, therefore, fails on the part of the right-wing political affiliations.

The Left-right Spectrum May be Fictional

The left-wing perspective on governance is focused on a hierarchy that endorses the well-being of all members of society. The political focus believes that it is responsible for the well-being of all classes (Baron & Jost, 2019). This utopian worldview goes against all the social ills and the divergence brought on by the theory. The permittance of liberal thought has brought on numerous evils that left-wing politics tries to solve.

The right-wing is meant to focus on the entire nation to allow for the creation of capital and the creation of a better society. In the past, monarchs were the most prevalent forms of right-wing government (Kalpokas et al., 2019). The totalitarian world views held in these regions were similar to the ignorance displayed in the French parliament and the British parliament’s poor houses of the past from when the right- and left-wing parliaments were actually new and freshly classified. The conditions displayed show no form of national fairness, communism, or a socialist government. These views have, therefore, never been actualized.

In all essence, both policies are subjective in that the freedom attained in each differs in the berth permitted (Crouch, 2018). This is seen in that the right-wing governments give fewer choices and are very restrictive of how these life choices may be used together. The left-wing form of anarch is also impossible to actualize (Kalpokas et al., 2019). Therefore, it seeks to predefine a list of more freedoms than those permitted by a right-wing government. It makes use of a more comprehensive set of permutations to actualize further freedom capitalism is the most even part of these policies so far.

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Conclusion

The depiction of the ideologies above regarding the left-right spectrum shows that there are many factors the left-right ideologies ignore. The idea focuses on the perspective that the left-right scope ignores numerous aspects of today’s political landscape. The left-right spectrum is contradictory as the views on the economy and free trade are synonymous with both ideologies. Additionally, there is no evidence whatsoever that the doctrines were ever practiced in a non-diluted form. Therefore, the scale measures all ends while only the middle part is viable for use in a subjective sense. The spectrum fails to consider various factors that are a part of governance. Therefore, it leaves several loopholes that are impossible to fill. The range is unrealistic and can only be applied to the government of a nation is a subjective sense.

References

Baron, J., & Jost, J. T. (2019). False equivalence: Are liberals and conservatives in the United States equally biased? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(2), 292-303.

Bischof, D., & Wagner, M. (2020). What makes parties adapt to voter preferences? The role of party organization, goals and ideology. British Journal of Political Science, 50(1), 391-401.

Choma, B. L., & Hodson, G. (2017). Right-wing ideology: Positive (and negative) relations to threat. Social Cognition, 35(4), 415-432.

Claessens, S., Fischer, K., Chaudhuri, A., Sibley, C. G., & Atkinson, Q. D. (2020). The dual evolutionary foundations of political ideology. Nature Human Behaviour, 41(2), 1-10.

Crouch, C. (2018). The globalization backlash. John Wiley & Sons.

Engler, F., & Zohlnhöfer, R. (2019). Left parties, voter preferences, and economic policy-making in Europe. Journal of European Public Policy, 26(11), 1620-1638.

Goodhart, D. (2017). The road to somewhere: The populist revolt and the future of politics. Oxford University Press.

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Kalpokas, I., Kalpokas, I., & Finotello. (2019). A political theory of post-truth. Palgrave Macmillan.

March, L. (2017). Left and right populism compared: The British case. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 19(2), 282-303.

McCarthy, A. F., Olson, L. R., & Garand, J. C. (2019). Religious right, religious left, both, or neither?

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IvyPanda. 2022. "The Left-Right Spectrum Overview." July 23, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-left-right-spectrum-overview/.

1. IvyPanda. "The Left-Right Spectrum Overview." July 23, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-left-right-spectrum-overview/.


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