Left Wing

From WikiPilipinas: The Hip 'n Free Philippine Encyclopedia

(Redirected from Left wing)
Jump to: navigation, search
[to access the knowledge database on the Left, click the Left link)
The Left Wing is a political faction or ideological group favoring radical reform or
sometimes even revolution to change the social order with the aim of greater freedom.
Communists have also been called left wing, despite the totalitarian nature of
communist societies. Within a group however, the term 'left' is sometimes applied to
the more liberal members, while conservative members are known as the right wing.
The political spectrum of the Left is associated, in varying degrees, with social
liberalism, social democracy, socialism, communism, syndicalism, communalism,
communitarianism, libertarian socialism, anarchism, left-libertarianism, some forms
of populism, anti-colonialism, green politics, most forms of progressivism, and the
Religious Left.

Contents

1 Origins and history of the term

2 Left-wing issues in the Philippines

3 The left and feminism

4 The left and the Third World

5 Organizations of the Left

6 References

[edit] Origins and history of the term

The term originates from the French Revolution, when liberal deputies from the Third
Estate generally sat to the left of the president's chair, a habit which began in the
Estates General of 1789. The nobility, members of the Second Estate, generally sat to
the right. It is still the tradition in the French Assemble Nationale for the
representatives to be seated left-to-right (relative to the Assemble president)
according to their political alignment.
As this original reference became obsolete, the meaning of the term has changed, and
is now used to denote a broad variety of political philosophies and principles. In
contemporary political discourse, the term is most often used to describe forms of
socialism, social democracy, or, in the sense in which the term is understood in the
Philippines, liberalism.

[edit] Left-wing issues in the Philippines

The left has traditionally been concerned with the lower classes and with combatting
oppression. Since the Japanese period, left-wing politics has been associated with
worker's rights in the industry sector and with farmer's rights in the agriculture sector.
This led to movements around social democracy, socialism and trade unionism. More
recently, the left has criticized what it perceives as the exploitative nature of current
forms of globalization, like the rise of sweatshops, and either has sought to promote
more just forms of globalization, such as fair trade, or has sought to allow nationstates to "delink" or break free of the global economy.
As civil rights and human rights gained more attention during the twentieth century,
the left has allied itself with advocates of racial and gender equality and cultural
tolerance. Most of the left has been opposed to imperialism, colonialism and war. The
left has historically supported movements for national self-determination.
The above strands of left-wing thought come in many forms, and individuals who
support some of the objectives of one of the above strands will not necessarily support
all of the others. At the level of practical political policy, there are endless variations
in the means that left-wing thinkers advocate to achieve their basic aims, and they
sometimes argue with each other as much as with the right.

[edit] The left and feminism

Early feminism in the West the nineteenth century was closely connected to radical
politics. However, there was also a right-wing current, which rejected alliances with
other radical movements such the movement for the abolition of slavery and for
workers rights. Contemporary feminism in the Philippines emerged alongside the

New Left and other new social movements partly within and partly as a challenge to
the left. Today, socialist feminists, Marxist feminists and liberal feminists are, to a
greater or lesser extent, on the left of the political spectrum. Radical feminists reject
the entire left/right distinction.

[edit] The left and the Third World

Many third world left movements experienced a loss in activity as they became
increasingly linked with the Soviet Union, regardless of whether or not they were proStalinist or anti-Stalinist. With the rise of right-wing dictators and the increase of
Neoliberal influence in most third world countries, left movements often became
ostricized by their governments or denounced by their country's national media.
However, with the fall of the Soviet Union and the increasing unhappiness with
Neoliberalism and globalization in third world countries and the role of the United
States as the sole superpower, left movements in the Philippines have been
experiencing a resurgence in numbers and influence in recent years. The antiglobalization movement around the world is one of the main generators of support for
left-wing social causes of all types.

[edit] Organizations of the Left

Communist Party of the Philippines
New People's Army
National Democratic Front
Anakpawis
Akbayan
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
Bayan Muna
Kabataang Makabayan
Makabayang Kawaning Pilipino
Cordillera Peoples' Democratic Front

Right-wing
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Left-Right politics. (Discuss)
Right birds-wing redirects here. For its use in sports, see winger (sport).
In politics, right-wing, the political right, and the right are terms used in the spectrum of Left-Right
Politics, and much like the opposite number of Left Wing, it has a broad variety of definitions and termsthe same name can, in politics, sometimes mean different things. However, it is generally used to refer to
the segments of thepolitical spectrum often associated with any of several strains
of conservatism, monarchism, fascism[1], libertarianism, anarcho-capitalism, reactionism, the religious
right, nationalism, militarism, or simply the opposite of left-wing politics.
The term originates from the French Revolution, when liberal deputies from the Third Estate generally sat
to the left of the president's chair, a habit which began in theEstates General of 1789. The nobility,
members of the Second Estate, generally sat to the right. In the successive legislative
assemblies, monarchists who supported the Ancien Rgime were commonly referred to
as rightists because they sat on the right side. It is still the tradition in the French Assemble
Nationale for the representatives to be seated left-to-right (relative to the Assemble president) according
to their political alignment.
As this original reference became obsolete, the meaning of the term has changed as appropriate to the
spectrum of ideas and stances being compared, and the point of view of the speaker. In recent times, the
term almost always includes some forms of conservatism.
Some consider the political Right to include those forms of liberalism that emphasize the free
market more than egalitarianism in wealth, but many free-market advocates, including most libertarians,
share certain political ideologies with the left-wing and conceive of a two-dimensional political spectrum
that they say more accurately portrays their political position. [1] (See Nolan chart, Pournelle
Chart, Political Compass). Many anarchists (including libertarian socialists) also avoid placing themselves
on the classic political spectrum.
See political spectrum and left-right politics for further discussion of this kind of classification.
Contents
1 Right-wing issues
2 History of the term
3 See also

4 References
5 External links
6 Original Source

[edit]

Right-wing issues

Outside the United States (where capitalism is supported by politicians and people from both the left and
right), the most notable distinction between left and right is in economic policy. The right
advanced capitalism, whereas the left advocated socialism (often democratic socialism) or communism.
Some on the right advocate laissez faire capitalism, tending toward minarchism, with little government
intervention in the economy other than to control the money supply and little taxation except to support
military and police functions. At the other extreme within what is usually considered right of centre, the
centre-right Gaullists in post-World War II France advocated considerable social spending on education
and infrastructure development, as well as extensive economic regulation and even a limited amount of
the wealth redistribution measures more characteristic of social democracy.
More recently as new social issues arise, right wing views have been concerned with keeping "traditional"
values (often religious values) and the preservation of individual and corporate rights through constraints
on government power. In a hard-line form the second and third of these priorities are associated
with libertarianism, but some on the right reject the most ardent assumptions of libertarianism, especially
outside of the United States. Many libertarians do not consider themselves to be right wing and reject the
traditional one-dimensional political spectrum, preferring to think in terms of liberty vs. authority rather
than socialism vs. capitalism.
A more obscure strand of right wing thought, often associated with the original right wing from the times
of monarchy, supports the preservation of wealth and power in the hands that have traditionally held
them, social stability, and national solidarity and ambition.
Strands of right wing thought come in many forms, and individuals who support some of the objectives of
one of the above stands will not necessarily support all of the others. At the level of practical political
policy, there are endless variations in the means that right wing thinkers advocate to achieve their basic
aims.
The values and policy concerns of the right vary in different countries and eras. Also, individual right wing
politicians and thinkers often have individual priorities. It is not always possible or helpful to try to work out
which of two sets of beliefs or policies is more right-wing (see political spectrum).

[edit]

History of the term

Main article: Left-Right politics
Since the French Revolution, the political use of the terms "left" and "right" has evolved across
linguistic, societal, and national boundaries, sometimes taking on meanings in one time and place
that contrast sharply with those in another. For example, as of 2004 the government of the People's
Republic of China claims to remain on the "left," despite an evolution that has brought it quite close
to what is elsewhere characterized as "right," supporting national cultural traditions, the interests of
wealth, and privately owned industry. Conversely, the late dictator of Spain, Francisco Franco, who
was firmly allied internationally with the right[citation needed] and who brutally suppressed the Spanish left,
nonetheless pursued numerous development policies quite similar to those of the Soviet Union and
othercommunist states, which are almost universally considered to be on the "left." Similarly, while
"right" originally referred to those who supported the interests of aristocracy, in many countries today
(notably the United States) the left-right distinction is not strongly correlated with wealth or ancestry.
Fascism is usually described as right-wing[2], although some scholars dispute that classification [citation
needed]

. Others argue that there are elements of both left and right ideology in the philosophy

underlying the development of Fascism. See: Far right and Fascism and ideology.