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At the end of the 18th century, upon the founding of the first liberal democracies, the term Left was used to describe liberalism in the United States and republicanism in France, supporting a lesser degree of hierarchical decision-making than the right-wing politics of the traditional conservatives and monarchists.
The fundamental differences between left-wing and right-wing ideologies center around the the rights of individuals vs. the power of the government. Left-wing beliefs are liberal in that they believe society is best served with an expanded role for the government.
The left-wing vs right-wing divide in politics represents general and simplified ideological differences in political positions. The left represents progressive social and economic values; and the right represents conservative social and economic values.
Generally, the left wing is characterized by an emphasis on "ideas such as freedom, equality, fraternity, rights, progress, reform and internationalism" while the right wing is characterized by an emphasis on "notions such as authority, hierarchy, order, duty, tradition, reaction and nationalism".
We explain the American political left-wing and right-wing by looking at the different factions that make up American liberalism and American conservatism.
In politics, the word left is applied to people and groups that have liberal views. That generally means they support progressive reforms, especially those seeking greater social and economic equality.
The single-axis description of politics along a left-right dimension remains relevant to politics in the United States. Increased political polarization among the two major parties tends to collapse political differences into a one-dimensional spectrum.
People who broke from the Communist party line were described by opponents as left-wing or right-wing deviationists, especially during the Stalinist era.
Left-wing politics in the United States dates back to the French Revolution which gave rise to the terms Left and Right and which influenced American politics, with the Democratic-Republican Party representing the Left as opposed to the Federalist Party representing the Right.
Those on the left side of the chamber, often referred to as the “left-wing,” espoused principles of equality, liberty, and popular sovereignty. They advocated for sweeping reforms aimed at dismantling the old social order, redistributing wealth, and empowering the common people.