Right-wing politics
In politics, right-wing is the name given to conservative-type politics of all degrees.It is the opposite of left-wing, with both terms originating in the French Revolution. The aristocratic members of the Estates General or National Assembly would sit on the right of the Speaker, while the commoners would sit on the left. From this, "the right" came to mean support for aristocratic interests, or the ancien régime, while "the left" implied opposition to the same.
Today, the term right-wing is sometimes used in a positive sense by conservatives who see themselves as defending society, and its traditional institutions and freedoms, from what they consider the irrational populist liberalism or socialism of the left.
It is also used as a perjorative by leftists who interpret the right as defending the traditional power of aristocrats, royalty, established religions and the wealthy against that of commoners. In this sense, the term has also come to be used for nationalist or racist movements which promote the interests of a dominant majority, or in the case of South Africa a ruling minority, above the rights of other groups. Historically, the radical right has sometimes been associated with fascism or nazism, just like the radical left has with communism or Marxism. Of course, most groups on the left and right tend to vigorously deny any such linkage.
In many western countries, the Right is often associated with laissez-faire economics. However, historically free market economics has been classed as both right- and left-wing ideas, depending on the context. It was left-wing during the French Revolution, since it represented a fundamental change from the then-current feudal system which favored the aristocracy. It is also considered a progressive doctrine in the former Soviet Union, since it represents a shift of power away from the communist elite. However, in most western countries 19th-century laissez-faire economics is considered the traditional system, with 20th-century socialism a progressive departure, thus the advocates of the former are on the Right and the latter on the Left (though many would dispute this characterization).
Because of this confusing usage, some consider the terms Right and Left to be obsolete, and prefer to distinguish political views based not on their attitude to property ownership as such, but on centralized versus decentralized government, attitude to civil liberties, or the natural environment. Libertarianism, Anarchism, Feminism and Green politics all defy simple classification on the traditional left-right axis, though (fairly or unfairly) the former is sometimes associated with the Right and the latter two with the Left, at least in the west. There are also those who explicitly distance themselves from both the Right and Left by claiming to be "moderates" or, more recently, "radical centristss."Beyond Left and Right
