Right is a word used to represent a political, partisan and ideological position. According to the concept of Political Sciences, the political positioning of the right is marked by more conservative characteristics in relation to social and government aspects.
When a person identifies with the right-wing political ideology he tends to prioritize individual rights over collective rights. It is also common for you to regard religious and traditional values as fundamental to society.
What does the right stand for?
Right-wing political ideology understands that society will be better organized if individual rights have priority over the rights of everyone, that is, the collective. It is considered a more conservative position.
The right also defends that the power of the state is limited, that governments do not have as much power over the functioning and regulation of sectors of society and companies. This means that part of the responsibility must lie with the citizens and not with the state.
The right also believes in the concept of free market, in which companies are free to act and regulate themselves, without suffering intervention by the state.
Origin of the Right in the Political Scene
To better understand the origin of the concept of the right in politics, it is necessary to understand what happened at the time of the French Revolution, at the end of the 18th century.
The term right was used to refer to the group of parliamentarians who sat on the right side of the president of the National Assembly while drafting the laws that would govern the Republic. These politicians defended more conservative and traditionalist ideals and laws.
This form of organization took place in confrontation with the politicians who sat on the left in the Assembly, who defended more radical political proposals, which sought changes in society and defended the interests of groups that were more popular.
It was from this configuration that different political ideas came to be associated with the terms right or left. The terms began to be used to define each person's political preference: as conservative or revolutionary.
right and left currently
The concepts of right and left have changed over the years due to changes in thinking and political transformations that have taken place in the world.
Today there are intermediate political positions between right and left, which can be arranged on a scale that is called the political position spectrum or ideological ruler. Positions are: far left, passing through left, center-left, center, center-right, right, and far-right.
The parties that rank on the right are conservatives, liberals and democrats, for example. The parties on the left can be socialists, communists, social democrats and environmentalists.
Currently there is still a strand that is called the liberal left because, even though it has positions of left, also defends some principles that belong to the concept of liberalism, which is a position considered of direct.
The concepts of right and left are also used in reference to who has a government position and who opposes the government. The opposition is often called the left, while groups that support the government are called the right.
Differences between right and left in politics
Right-wing political ideology advocates more conservative and traditional values, market freedom and limited state intervention power. The left defends the rights of groups called minorities, equality through public policies and state intervention.
See other differences:
| . | Right | Left |
|---|---|---|
| What do you stand for? | Market freedom, individual freedoms and traditional values | Equality among citizens and defending the rights of minorities |
| Philosophy | Conservative | Liberal |
| role of the state | Respect for individual rights with little intervention in the economy | Guarantee of equal opportunities for all citizens |
| Economy | Decrease in tax and public spending amounts and less state power over the market | Social programs and public policies, taxes paid according to income and state regulation on the market |
| Main parties in Brazil | PP, DEM, PR and PSC |
PSB, PSOL, PT and PCdoB |
right in Brazil
Currently, parties in Brazil that are considered to be on the right have group characteristics conservatives who support ideals typical of right-wing parties, such as non-intervention by the state and economic freedom.
But, many political scientists believe that the concepts of right and left are no longer applicable due to the existence of variations between current political positions, which mix typically left-wing ideologies with attitudes and interests of right.
See also the meaning of Left, Socialism and Liberalism.