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In politics, right-wing, the political right and the Right are terms applied to a variety of political positions. The term has had different meanings in different countries and time periods. Originally it referred to seating arrangements: during the French Revolution moderates sat on the right.[1] In the mid-19th century the left begun to refer to forms of socialism and communism, whereas the right has been used to describe positions leaning to limited government and free markets.[2]

History

The political term right-wing 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. In the successive legislative assemblies, monarchists who supported the Ancien Régime were commonly referred to as rightists because they sat on the right side. It is still the tradition in the French National Assembly for the representatives to be seated left-to-right (relative to the Assembly president) according to their political alignment. By the late 19th century, the French political spectrum tended to be perceived as being composed of the far left (socialists and radicals), the center-left (Liberal Republicans), the center (Moderate and Conservative Republicans), the center-right (Constitutional Monarchists, Orleanists, and Bonapartists), and the far right (Ultra-Royalists and Legitimists).[citation needed]

Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, one of the earliest attempts to study the rise of industry and commercial development in Europe, was a precursor to the modern academic discipline of economics. In this and other works, Smith expounded on how rational self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity and well-being. It also provided one of the best-known intellectual rationales for free trade and capitalism, greatly influencing the writings of later economists.[3][4]

In 19th century Britain, laissez-faire capitalism found a small but strong following by Manchester Liberals such as Richard Cobden and Richard Wright. In 1867, this resulted in a free trade treaty being signed between Britain and France, after which several of these treaties were signed among other European countries. The newspaper The Economist was founded un 1843, partly in opposition to the Corn Laws. Free trade was discussed in places such as The Cobden Club, founded in 1866.[5][6] However, Austrian scholars argue that laissez-faire was never the main doctrine of any nation, and at the end of the 1800s, European countries reintroduced economic protectionism and interventionism.

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 a limited amount of the wealth redistribution measures more characteristic of social democracy.

Objectivism is a philosophy developed by Ayn Rand in the 20th century.[7][8] Objectivism holds that the proper moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness through acting in one's "rational self-interest", and that the only social system consistent with this morality is individualism, embodied in pure, consensual laissez-faire capitalism.

Contemporary usage

Main article: Left-Right politics

The contemporary left-right axis refers to differences in economic policies.[9] The right tends to support a decentralized economy based on economic freedom, and advocates policies such as property rights, free markets, and free trade, some claim that Economic freedom correlates with right-leaning governments.[10]. The left generally advocates regulatory economics and egalitarianism. Cultural positions vary. Theories of economic liberalism, which is the economic component of classical liberalism, were largely developed by Adam Smith during the Age of Enlightenment. Smith advocated minimal interference by government in the economy, but did not oppose the state's provision of a few basic public goods such as roads, canals, schools, bridges and other infrastructure that cannot be efficiently implemented by private entities. [11][12] However, Smith preferred that these goods should be paid proportionally to their consumption (e.g., with tolls).

Private property and individual contracts form the basis of economic liberalism. These theories began in the eighteenth century with the claim that if everyone is left to their own economic devices to pursue their self-interest (the invisible hand), instead of being controlled by the state, then the result would be a harmonious and more equal society of ever-increasing prosperity (spontaneous order).[13]. This theory includes the caveat that minimum standards of public information and justice should exist, and that no-one should be allowed to coerce or steal. Smith also advocated retaliatory tariffs to bring about free trade, and copyrights and patents to encourage innovation.[12] Economic liberal ideas underpinned the move towards a capitalist economic system in the late 18th century and the subsequent demise of the mercantilist system.

The annual surveys Economic Freedom of the World and Index of Economic Freedom are two indices which attempt to measure the degree of economic freedom in the world's nations, using a definition similar to laissez-faire capitalism. Rafael Di Tella and Robert MacCulloch argue that right-wing governments tend to bring economic freedom, and state that rich countries have consistently more right-leaning governments while poor countries have consistently more left-wing governments.[10]

Right-wing libertarianism has focused on the preservation of rights through constraints on government power. Libertarian conservatism, also known as conservative libertarianism, describes certain movements. Ronald Reagan often is quoted as saying: "I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism."[14]

Some associate ethnic nationalism and certain forms of populism with the right.[15][16] According to most scholars of fascism, there are both left and right influences on fascist ideology, and facism has historically attacked communism, liberalism and conservatism. Many scholars argue that fascism is a search for a third way among these views.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] The Italian Facist party was founded by prominent former socialists (Benito Mussolini was a former socialist), and attracted support from trade unions and labor movement. However, some claim that fascist movements have become "more monolithically right-wing", and fascism has become intertwined with the radical right.[26][27]

Positions around the world

Australia

The Australian right is represented by the Liberal Party of Australia, whose most recent Prime Minister was John Howard. It advocates close ties with the United Kingdom and the United States, and during its last period of power sent troops to Iraq and was outspoken against Robert Mugabe.

Botswana

File:SeretseKhama.jpg
Seretse Khama, a right-wing pioneer in Africa and the first president of Botswana.

The Botswana Democratic Party is the major conservative right-wing party of Botswana, currently led by president Ian Khama. It was founded by the country's first president Seretse Khama. Since Botswana's independence in 1966, the party has remained continuously in power. As of the most recent election, the party holds 44 of 57 seats.

The party is considered pro-Western. Supporters of the party believe that it has provided stability again civil unrest, democratic rule, and a level of development that exceeds other African countries. According to the annual Economic Freedom of the World survey, as of 2008 Botswana ranks 36th out of 157. Botswana is the second highest ranked African country behind Mauritius.

Estonia

The right-wing Reform Party's agenda includes low flat taxes. It wants to end conscription and to introduce a voluntary army.

Estonia's market reforms put it among the economic leaders in the former COMECON area. In 1994, Estonia became one of the first countries in the world to adopt a flat tax, with a uniform rate of 26% regardless of personal income. In January 2005 the personal income tax rate was reduced to 24%. A subsequent reduction to 23% followed in January 2006. The income tax rate will be decreased by 1% annually to reach 18% by January 2010. The Government of Estonia finalized the design of Estonia's euro coins in late 2004, and is now intending to adopt the euro as the country's currency between 2011 and 2013, later than planned due to continued high inflation. In 1999, Estonia experienced its worst year economically since it regained independence in 1991, largely because of the impact of the August 1998 Russian financial crisis. Estonia joined the World Trade Organization in November 1999. With assistance from the European Union, the World Bank and the Nordic Investment Bank, Estonia completed most of its preparations for European Union membership by the end of 2002 and now has one of the strongest economies of the new member states of the European Union.

Estonian government has remained especially confident and highly optimistic. It derives at least some part its optimism and confidence from its financial reserves, which exceeded a 10% of GDP mark by the end of 2006 and which will be further increased by an approximately 3.6% of GDP surplus in the 2007 budget. Estonia's public debt is currently just 3.6% of GDP, which is the lowest in the EU and one of the lowest in the whole world. The 2008 budget is planned to produce a 1.5% of GDP surplus.

Denmark

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Prime Minister of Denmark.

Venstre is the largest political party in Denmark. Founded with a basis on free market liberalism, it is now a right-wing party. The party is a member of Liberal International and sits with the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party in the European Parliament. In the 2007 parliamentary elections, it received 26% of the vote, and 46 out of 179 seats. It is led by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Prime Minister, and currently governs in coalition with the Conservative People's Party, with support from the Danish People's Party.

Venstre is a liberal party. Some describe it as a classical liberal party, since the current leader (Anders Fogh Rasmussen) is known for his authorship of the book "Fra Socialstat til Minimalstat" (English: From Social State to Minimal State). His book advocated an extensive reform of the Danish welfare state along classical liberal lines, including lower taxes and less government interference in corporate and individual matters.

Germany

Angela Merkel, the first female chancellor of Germany.

Angela Merkel's first foreign trip took place on the day she was sworn in as Chancellor, and went to Paris for a meeting with the then French president, Jacques Chirac. In his speech, Chirac emphasized the importance of the Franco-German Companionship for Europe. After the meeting with Chirac, she travelled to Brussels for talks with EU leaders and the Secretary-General of NATO, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. She then traveled to London where she met with the then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. On November 28, 2005, she received her first state guest: President Pohamba of Namibia, a former colony of Germany. In her first government address on November 30, 2005 she announced her objective of improving the German Economy and reducing unemployment.

Merkel made her first visit to the Middle East as President-in-office of the European Council on April 1, 2007. She offered Europe's help to get Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, and tried to restart international efforts for renewed peace talks.[28]

France

The largest party in France, the right-wing Union for a Popular Movement - and particularly Nicolas Sarkozy - has pledged to reform the French system, get rid of the old special interests, and make France more competitive.

Nicholas Sarkozy, the president of France, supports closer political ties with Europe's North African and Mideast neighbors on the Mediterranean Sea.

Nicholas Sarkozy would like to see more free trade between Europe and North Africa.

Iceland

Davíð Oddsson became Prime Minister in 1991 and began a program of monetary and fiscal stabilization, privatization, tax rate reduction, definition of exclusive use rights in fisheries, abolition of various government funds for aiding unprofitable enterprises and liberalization of currency transfers and capital markets.[29] In 2007, Iceland was ranked as the most developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index.[30]

Japan

Junichiro Koizumi, a leader of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who won the largest party majority ever in modern Japanese history.

The Japan's right-wing Liberal Democratic Party - which has won most elections for half a century - traditionally identified itself with a number of general goals: rapid, export-based economic growth; close cooperation with the United States in foreign and defense policies; and several newer issues, such as administrative reform. Administrative reform encompassed several themes: simplification and streamlining of government bureaucracy; privatization of stateowned enterprises; and adoption of measures, including tax reform, needed to prepare for the strain on the economy posed by an aging society.

Other priorities in the early 1990s included promoting a more active and positive role for Japan in the rapidly developing Asia-Pacific region, internationalizing Japan's economy by liberalizing and promoting domestic demand, creating a hightechnology information society, and promoting scientific research. A business-inspired commitment to free enterprise was tempered by the insistence of important small business and agricultural constituencies on some form of protectionism and subsidies.

Liberia

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the first elected female head of state in Africa. She has pledged to embark neoliberal reforms.

Middle East

The Middle East does not have a left-right axis.[31]

Tzipi Livni, former right-wing leader in Likud, now designated Prime Minister.

An exception is Israel with its Western political system. In Israel, Likud is the major centre-right political party. Founded in 1973 as an alliance of several right-wing and liberal parties, Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history.[32]

The Likud supports free market capitalism and liberalism. The Likud, under the guidance of Finance minister Binyamin Netanyahu, pushed through legislation reducing value added tax (VAT), income and corporate taxes significantly, as well as customs duty. Likewise, it has instituted free-trade (especially with the European Union and the U.S.) and dismantled certain monopolies (Bezeq and the sea ports). Additionally, it has managed to privatize numerous government owned companies (El Al and Bank Leumi). The last Likud Finance minister, now the party leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, was the most ardent free-market Israeli Finance minister to-date.

New Zealand

John Key, New Zealand's Prime Minister designate.

The New Zealand National Party ("National" or "the Nats") currently is expected to form the largest (in terms of parliamentary seats) political party in the next New Zealand Parliament, and thus function as the core of a governing coalition. For many decades "National" has been the largest liberal-conservative political party in New Zealand.

The National Party currently advocates policies of reducing taxes, reducing social welfare payments, promoting free trade, restoring or maintaining New Zealand's defence alliances, and promoting one standard of citizenship for all New Zealanders ("One law for all").

South Korea

The right-wing Grand National Party is the most popular party in South Korea. Left-wing parties are unpopular, the largest left-wing party receiving only some 3% of votes.

After decades of free market policies, free trade, and low taxation, South Korea is a major economic power and one of the wealthiest countries in Asia. It had one of the world's fastest growing economies since the 1960s, now highly developed[33] and the fourth largest[34] in Asia and 13th largest[35] in the world. Forming the G20 industrial nations and the world's top ten exporters, it is an APEC and OECD member, defined as a High Income Nation by the World Bank and an Advanced Economy by the International Monetary Fund and Central Intelligence Agency. A major non-NATO ally, it has the world's sixth largest armed forces and the tenth largest defence budget in the world. The Asian Tiger is leading the Next Eleven nations and is still among the world's fastest growing developed countries.[33] Today, its success story is known as the "Miracle on the Han River", a role model for many developing countries.[36]

South Korea is leading several key industries in the world, particularly in the fields of science and technology.[37] It has a very advanced and modern infrastructure[38] and is a world leader in information technology such as electronics, semiconductors, LCD displays, computers and mobile phones, led by Samsung and LG. Home of the world's third largest steel producer, POSCO, it is the world's largest shipbuilder, the world's fourth largest oil refiner[39] and one of the world's top five automobile producers, headed by Hyundai and Kia. It is also a leading country in biotechnology, construction, engineering, machinery, petrochemicals, robotics and textiles.

Netherlands

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Dutch right-wing politician and writer.

In Netherlands, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy represents conservative liberalism.

The last Liberal Manifesto of the VVD was published in September 2005. It develops a broad outline around the themes of democracy, security, freedom and citizenship, along with a vision of the future of party's internal structure. Below some of the points from the Manifesto are presented:

  • The Manifesto calls for a directly elected Minister-President, whereby voters can show their preference on the ballot.
  • The question of (advisory) referendums is left open as a possibility.
  • Mayors should be directly elected by the people.
  • Commitment to the Four Freedoms of the European Union.
  • People's right to euthanasia.
  • Reform of the welfare state and lower taxes in order to increase economic growth, while retaining some policies such as taxpayer-paid daycare for working people.
  • Permissive cannabis policy.

Sweden

Leaders of Alliance for Sweden, the right-wing government coalition.

The Moderate Party emphasizes free markets, privatisation, personal freedom and reduction of the public-sector growth rate, while still supporting most of the social benefits introduced since the 1930s. The party emphasises issues such as actions against crime, lower taxes, a strong defence and quality in the education system. The party also supports Sweden's membership in the European Union. They campaigned for changing currency to the euro in the 2003 referendum.

Fredrik Reinfeldt is the current Prime Minister of Sweden.

It is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and the International Democrat Union (IDU).

Republic of China

Taiwan's current President Ma Ying-jeou, who pledged to expand free trade.

In the Republic of China, the right-wing Pan-Blue Coalition generally seeks warmer relations with the socialist People's Republic of China.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party represents the right wing among the two main parties, the other being the historically socialist Labour party. The Conservatives are currently in opposition, but have been in power more than any other political party. Conservative Prime Ministers include Lord North, William Pitt the Younger, Spencer Perceval, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, Benjamin Disraeli, Arthur Balfour, Winston Churchill and Harold Macmillan. Margaret Thatcher was the first female Prime Minister and her thatcherist ideas are credited for starting a new era of economic growth.

Currently, the Conservative Party is led by David Cameron. In recent years, the popularity of the Conservative Party has expanded so much that polls and prediction markets in 2008 showed a possibility to win a landslide absolute majority.[40]

United States

From an international perspective, both major political parties in the United States may lean to the right, but this perspective is based on differing boundaries on the political perspective. Socialism in the United States is considered extreme-left, whereas internationally communism is usually considered the extreme-left and socialism more moderate. For instance, most left-wing parties in Europe lean to socialism, but the left-wing Democratic Party has never leaned that far. Politicians who have leaned to socialism in the United States, such as Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, while often caucusing with the Democrats, usually have run with no party affiliation.[41]

The Republican Party is the major right wing party in the United States and is identified as being conservative. Similarly to the Democratic Party, the Republican Party has never leaned to the extreme right. Politicians who do lean further to the right sometimes still identify themselves as Republicans, such as Texas representative Ron Paul,[42] while others, such as former Georgia representative Bob Barr, may affiliate themselves with the Libertarian Party.[43]

In the United States, the right has long been associated with minimal government and sometimes with law and order. It tends to support free markets, economic freedom, and property rights.[citation needed]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Architecture of Parliaments: Legislative Houses and Political Culture Charles T. Goodsell British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Jul., 1988), pp. 287-302
  2. ^ "Right-wing". Concise Encyclopedia Britannica. Published in 2006.
  3. ^ Hart 1989
  4. ^ Pressman, Steven (1999). Fifty Major Economists. Routledge. p. 20. ISBN 0415134811.
  5. ^ Scott Gordon (1955). "The London Economist and the High Tide of Laissez Faire". Journal of Political Economy. 63 (6): 461–488. doi:10.1086/257722.
  6. ^ Antonia Taddei (1999). "London Clubs in the Late Nineteenth Century" (PDF).
  7. ^ So identified by sources including:
    Hicks, Stephen. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2006), s.v. "Ayn Rand" Retrieved June 22, 2006.
    Smith, Tara. Review of "On Ayn Rand." The Review of Metaphysics 54, no. 3 (2001): 654–655. Retrieved from ProQuest Research Library.
    Encyclopædia Britannica (2006), s.v. "Rand, Ayn." Retrieved June 22, 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
  8. ^ One source notes: "Perhaps because she so eschewed academic philosophy, and because her works are rightly considered to be works of literature, Objectivist philosophy is regularly omitted from academic philosophy . Yet throughout literary academia, Ayn Rand is considered a philosopher. Her works merit consideration as works of philosophy in their own right." (Jenny Heyl, 1995, as cited in Mimi R Gladstein, Chris Matthew Sciabarra(eds), ed. (1999). Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand. Penn State Press. ISBN 0-271-01831-3. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help), p. 17)
  9. ^ Listhaug and Aalberg 1999, p. 117
  10. ^ a b "Why doesn't Capitalism flow to Poor Countries?" Rafael Di Tella (Harvard Business School) and Robert MacCulloch (Imperial College London)
  11. ^ Eric Aaron, What's Right? (Dural, Australia: Rosenberg Publishing, 2003), 75.
  12. ^ a b "Adam Smith". econlib.org.
  13. ^ Adams, Ian. Political Ideology Today. Manchester U Press 2001. p 20
  14. ^ Inside Ronald Reagan, a Reason magazine Interview with Ronald Reagan, July 1975.
  15. ^ Canovan, Margaret. 1981. Populism.
  16. ^ Betz, Hans-Georg (1994). Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0312083908.
  17. ^ Bastow, Steve. Third Way Discourse: European Ideologies in the Twentieth Century. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 074861561X.
  18. ^ Macdonald, Hamish. Mussolini and Italian Fascism. Nelson Thornes. ISBN 0748733868.
  19. ^ Woolley, Donald Patrick. The Third Way: Fascism as a Method of Maintaining Power in Italy and Spain. University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
  20. ^ Heywood, Andrew. Key Concepts in Politics. Palgrave. ISBN 0312233817.
  21. ^ Renton, Dave. Fascism: Theory and Practice. Pluto Press. ISBN 0745314708.
  22. ^ Kallis, Aristotle A. The Fascism Reader. Routledge. ISBN 0415243599.
  23. ^ Griffin, Roger. The Nature of Fascism. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0312071329.
  24. ^ Parla, Taha. The Social and Political Thought of Ziya Gökalp, 1876-1924. Brill. ISBN 9004072292.
  25. ^ Durham, Martin. Women and Fascism. Routledge. ISBN 0415122805.
  26. ^ Roger Griffin, Interregnum or Endgame?: Radical Right Thought in the ‘Post-fascist’ Era, The Journal of Political Ideologies, vol. 5, no. 2, July 2000, pp. 163-78
  27. ^ ‘Non Angeli, sed Angli: the neo-populist foreign policy of the "New" BNP', in Christina Liang (ed.) Europe for the Europeans: the foreign and security policy of the populist radical right (Ashgate, Hampshire,2007). ISBN 0754648516
  28. ^ "Merkel visits Mideast as EU president". International Herald Tribune. 2007-04-01. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  29. ^ Gissurarson, Hannes H. (2004-11-29). "Article on Icelandic economic miracle". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  30. ^ untitled
  31. ^ R.J. Dalton
  32. ^ Israel at the Polls, 1992 By Daniel Judah Elazar, Shmuel Sandler
  33. ^ a b Korea, Republic of
  34. ^ IMF (2007). "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2007". 2007. IMF. Retrieved 2008-02-12. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  35. ^ IMF. October 2007 "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2007". 2007. IMF. Retrieved 2008-02-12. {{cite journal}}: Check |url= value (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  36. ^ Seoul's Green Revolution - TIME
  37. ^ ANNOTATED CHRONOLOGY OF KOREA’S SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Moo-Young Han, Professor of physics, Duke University / Editor-in-Chief, Society of Korean-American Scholars)
  38. ^ Korea, South Infrastructure, power, and communications, Information about Infrastructure, power, and communications in Korea, South
  39. ^ NationMaster - Oil refining ability (most recent) by country
  40. ^ Labour's electoral prospects: Dead-cat bounce. The Economist
  41. ^ The Socialist Senator
  42. ^ Caldwell, Christopher (2007-07-22). "The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul". New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  43. ^ Ex-GOP congressman Barr wins Libertarian nomination
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