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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, during the French Revolution, right-wing referred to seating arrangements in parliament; those who sat on the right supported the monarchy and aristocratic privilege.[1][2][3] It has since been used to refer to wide variety of politically conservative and reactionary ideologies and support for traditional values. In the 20th century the term right wing has also been used to refer to support for laissez faire capitalism and free markets.[4]
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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).
Since then, the right wing has come to be associated with preserving the status quo in the form of institutions and traditions; favoring meritocracy and hierarchies;[5] and preferring free market economies with strong private property rights. Modern Western conservatism was influenced by the works of figures like Edmund Burke. Burke argued against the idea of abstract, metaphysical rights of men and instead advocated national tradition: He put forward that "We fear God, we look up with awe to kings; with affection to parliaments; with duty to magistrates; with reverence to priests; and with respect to nobility. Why? Because when such ideas are brought before our minds, it is natural to be so affected".[6] Burke defended prejudice on the grounds that it is "the general bank and capital of nations, and of ages" and superior to individual reason, which is small in comparison. "Prejudice", Burke claimed, "is of ready application in the emergency; it previously engages the mind in a steady course of wisdom and virtue, and does not leave the man hesitating in the moment of decision, sceptical, puzzled, and unresolved. Prejudice renders a man's virtue his habit".[7] Burke criticised social contract theory by claiming that society is indeed a contract, but "a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born".[8]
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.[9][10]
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 in 1843, partly in opposition to the Corn Laws. Free trade was discussed in places such as The Cobden Club, founded in 1866.[11][12] 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.
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.[13]. The left generally advocates regulatory economics and egalitarianism. However, many conservative authoritarians and rightist radicals supported corporatism.[14]
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. [15][16] 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).[17]. 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.[16] 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.[13]
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 said in an interview: "I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism."[18] Some associate ethnic nationalism and certain forms of populism with the right.[19][20] According to some libertarian scholars of fascism, there are both left and right influences on fascist ideology, and fascism has historically attacked communism, liberalism and conservatism. A prominent potential link between the right and fascism is corporatism. But many scholars argue that fascism is a search for a third way among these all these views.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Roger Griffin claims that fascist movements have become more monolithically right-wing, and fascism has become intertwined with the radical right.[30][31]
In terms of partisan politics, conservatism and right-wing politics in Australia has often been defined as opposition to the Australian Labor Party. Australian groups that have historically been grouped on the conservative side include social conservatives, British Empire nationalists, organizations supporting rural interests, anti-socialist Catholics, fundamentalist Christians and free-market liberals."[32]
Historically, for the first 70 years after the Federation of Australia, the non-Labor (and hence implicitly conservative) side of Australian politics was associated with policies of moderate protectionism in trade, and of support for the welfare state, coupled with maintenance of Australia's ties to the British Empire. Many scholars have seen the government of Robert Menzies as exemplifying this trend.[32] However, from the 1980s, free-market economic policies were increasingly associated with conservatism in Australian politics, following the same trend as the United States under Ronald Reagan and the United Kingdom under Margaret Thatcher.[32] In contemporary Australian politics, the Liberal Party of Australia is seen as the main conservative party.
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, having been accused of accepting money from the United States. 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 Socialist-run Mauritius.
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. Sarkozy supports closer political ties with Europe's North African and Mideast neighbors on the Mediterranean Sea. The party provoked extreme reaction in the United States when the French President, Jacques Chirac, showed scepticism about Saddam Hussein's possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and links to al-Qaeda. Among other reactions, American conservatives attempted to change the name of "French Fries" to "Freedom Fries".
The French party National Front argues for: a return to traditional values: to include making access to abortion more difficult or illegal; giving an income to mothers who do not go out to work; promoting local traditional culture; greater independence from the European Union and other international organizations; the establishment of tariffs or other protectionist measures against cheap imports; reinstatement of the death penalty and the end of non-European immigration and the establishment of the jus sanguinis. The party opposes immigration, particularly Muslim immigration from North Africa, West Africa and the Middle East. In a standardized pamphlet delivered to all French electors in the 1995 presidential election, Jean-Marie Le Pen proposed the "sending back" of "three million non-Europeans" out of France, by "humane and dignified means".[33] Observers in the media describe the party as "far right"[34] or "extreme right".[35][36]
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.[37] David Oddsson has been blamed for the total collapse of the Icelandic economy following the 2008 economic meltdown.
India’s political right is represented by Hindu nationalist parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[38] The party advocates conservative social policies, self reliance, robust economic growth, foreign policy driven by a nationalist agenda, and strong national defense. Hindutva has a special place in its ideology and the party believes that ancient Hindu culture and values will make India a more enlightened society.
In Iran, right-wing politics is represented by conservative parties such as the Combatant Clergy Association/Association of Militant Clergy ('Jame'e-ye Rowhaniyat-e Mobarez) and the Islamic Coalition Society.[39][40][41] The CCA includes the nation’s foremost politicized clerics (including the current Ayatollah) and was the majority party in the fourth and fifth parliaments after the Islamic revolution.[42] It was founded in 1977 by a group of clerics with intentions to use cultural approaches to overthrow the Shah.
Since then Iran's right wing camp has taken with an open-minded outlook, as opposed to the rigid-mindedness of the conventional right wing. The open-minded current found its voice in the Executives of Construction Party (ECP) associated with former President Hashemi-Rafsanjani. The latter group embraced the openness characterizing Iranian domestic and foreign policy during Rasanjani's time. This was the first division that took place in the ranks of the Iranian right.[43]
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.[44] 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 United States) 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.
Likud has in the past espoused hawkish policies towards the Palestinians, including opposition to Palestinian statehood and support of the Jewish settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, it has also been the party which carried out the first peace agreements with Arab states. For instance, in 1979, Likud Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, signed the Camp David Accords with Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat, which returned the Sinai Peninsula (occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967) to Egypt in return for peace between the two countries. Yitzhak Shamir also granted some legitimacy to the Palestinians by meeting them at the ill-fated Madrid Conference following the Persian Gulf War in 1991. However, Shamir refused to concede the idea of a Palestinian state, and as a result was blamed by some (including U.S. Secretary of State James Baker) for the failure of the summit. Later, as Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu restated Likud's position of opposing Palestinian statehood, which after the Oslo Accords was largely accepted by the opposition Labor Party, even though the shape of any such state was not clear.
The Likud emphasize such nationalist themes as the flag and the victory in Israel's 1948 war with neighbouring Arab states. The Likud advocates teaching values in childhood education. The Likud endorses press freedom and promotion of private-sector media, which has grown markedly under governments Likud has led. A Likud government headed by Ariel Sharon, however, closed the popular right-wing pirate radio station Arutz 7 ("Channel 7). Arutz 7 was popular with the settlement movement and often criticised the government from a right-wing perspective. However, the Likud is inclined towards the Torah and expresses support for it within the context of civil Judaism, as a result of its Irgun past, which aligned itself according to the word of the Tanakh.
Japan's centrist 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 state-owned 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 high-technology 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.
There has also been a nationalist movement in Japan. Kousaku Hino heads the right-wing Issui-Kai (One Water Association), which supports a stronger military and is critical of the United States.[45]
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the first elected female head of state in Africa. She has pledged to enact neoliberal reforms.
The New Zealand National Party ("National" or "the Nats") currently[update] 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 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").
The Kiwi Party advocates more direct democracy through referenda and a return to the "Judeo-Christian ethic in democracy". Likewise the Family Party advocates Christian-based social conservatism and describes its support base as "pro-family, traditional Christian"[46] voters.
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.[47] and the fourth largest[48] in Asia and 13th largest[49] The country's economic success story is known as the "Miracle on the Han River", a role model for many developing countries.[50]
In Netherlands, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy represents conservative liberalism. The 2005 Liberal Manifesto by the VVD includes: commitment to the Four Freedoms of the European Union; people's right to euthanasia; reform of the welfare state and lower taxes, while retaining some policies such as taxpayer-paid daycare for working people; and permissive cannabis policy.
In Sweden, 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. It is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and the International Democrat Union (IDU).
The National Democrats (Nationaldemokraterna, ND) was formed by a faction of the Sweden Democrats in October 2001. The far right party describes itself as a democratic nationalist ("national democratic") and ethnopluralist party.[51][52][53][54] The mainstream media and other observers frequently designate the party as xenophobic and/or racist[55][56][57][58][59][60] and the Stephen Roth Institute has described it as "neo-Nazi"[61], while the party itself rejects these descriptions.[62][63]
In the Republic of China, the right-wing Kuomintang and Pan-Blue Coalition parties generally support Chinese nationalism and Chinese reunification.
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 Thatcherite 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.[64] The party is made up of different factions.
One Nation Conservatism was the party's dominant ideology in the 20th century until the rise of Thatcherism in the 1970s, and included in its ranks Conservative Prime Ministers such as Stanley Baldwin, Harold Macmillan and Edward Heath. The name itself comes from a famous phrase of Benjamin Disraeli. The basis of One-Nation Conservatism is a belief in social cohesion, and its adherents support social institutions that maintain harmony between different interest groups, classes, and—more recently—different races or religions. These institutions have typically included the welfare state, the BBC, and local government. Some are also supporters of the European Union, perhaps stemming from an extension of the cohesion principle to the international level, though others are strongly against the EU (such as Sir Peter Tapsell). Prominent One-Nation Conservatives in the contemporary party include Kenneth Clarke, Malcolm Rifkind and Damian Green; they are often associated with the Tory Reform Group and the Bow Group. One Nation Conservatives often invoke Edmund Burke and his emphasis on civil society ("little platoons") as the foundations of society, as well as his opposition to radical politics of all hues.
The second main tradition in the Conservative party is the free market, or Thatcherite wing. Economic liberals achieved dominance after the election of Margaret Thatcher as party leader in 1975. Their political goal was to reduce the role of the government in the economy, and to this end they supported cuts in direct taxation, the privatisation of public services, the ending of nationalised industry, and a reduction in the size and scope of the welfare state. Matters of social policy are not so clear cut. Although Thatcher herself was socially conservative and a practising Methodist, her supporters harbour a range of social opinions from the libertarian views of Michael Portillo and David Davis to the traditional conservatism of William Hague. Many are also Eurosceptic, since they perceive most EU regulations as an unwelcome interference in the free market and/or a threat to British sovereignty. Rare Thatcherite Europhiles include Leon Brittan.
Many take inspiration from Thatcher's Bruges speech in 1988, in which she declared that "we have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain, only to see them reimposed at a European level". Thatcherites also tend to be Atlanticist, dating back to the close friendship between Thatcher and US President Ronald Reagan. Thatcher herself claimed philosophical inspiration from the works of Burke and Friedrich Hayek for their defence of liberal economics. Groups associated with this tradition include the No Turning Back Group and Conservative Way Forward.
The Cornerstone Group (or Faith, Flag and Family), is the third main tradition within the Conservative Party. The name stems from its support for three English social institutions: the Church of England, the unitary British state and the family. To this end, they emphasise the country's Anglican heritage, oppose any transfer of power away from the United Kingdom—either downwards to the nations and regions or upwards to the European Union—and seek to place greater emphasis on traditional family structures to repair what they see as a broken society in Britain. Most oppose high levels of immigration into the UK, and some members have in the past professed controversial opinions on issues of race and ethnicity in modern Britain.[65][66] Some members also support capital punishment. Prominent MPs from this wing of the party include Nadine Dorries, Andrew Rosindell, Ann Widdecombe and Edward Leigh—the last two prominent Roman Catholics, notable in a faction marked out by its support for the established Church of England. The conservative English philosopher Roger Scruton is a representative of the intellectual wing of the Cornerstone group: his writings rarely touch on economics and instead focus on conservative perspectives concerning political, social, cultural and moral issues.
Although the United States does not have ideological parties, most Republicans since the administration of Ronald Reagan have identified themselves as "conservatives." In the 21st century U.S., some of the groups making up America's right-wing include:
1. Christian conservatism — Conservative Christians are primarily interested in what they describe as family values. They believe that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, believe that abortion is wrong, favor teacher-led Christian prayer in state schools, define marriage as between one man and one woman (rejecting same-sex marriage), and desire regulation of the public media to reduce profanity and sexual references. They strongly oppose the normalization of homosexuality.
2. Neoconservatism — A modern form of conservatism that supports a more assertive foreign policy, aimed at supporting American business interests abroad. Neoconservatism was first described by a group of disaffected liberals, and thus Irving Kristol, usually credited as its intellectual progenitor, defined a neoconservative as "a liberal who was mugged by reality." Although originally regarded as an approach to domestic policy (the founding instrument of the movement, Kristol's The Public Interest periodical, did not even cover foreign affairs), through the influence of figures like Dick Cheney, Robert Kagan, Richard Perle, Kenneth Adelman and (Irving's son) Bill Kristol, it has become more famous for its association with the foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration.
3. Small government conservatism — Small government conservatives look for a decreased role of the federal government. They follow the Founding Fathers in their suspicion of a powerful federal government.
4. Paleoconservatism — Arising in the 1980s in reaction to neoconservatism, stresses tradition, especially Christian tradition and the importance to society of the traditional family. Paleoconservatives strongly oppose government intervention into people's lives. Some, Samuel P. Huntington for example, argue that multiracial, multiethnic, and egalitarian states are inherently unstable.[67] Paleoconservatives are generally isolationist, and suspicious of foreign influence.
5. Libertarian conservatism — Emphasizes a strict interpretation of the United States Constitution, particularly with regard to federal power. This mode of thinking tends to espouse laissez-faire economics and a disdain for and distrust of the federal government. Libertarian conservatives' emphasis on personal freedom often leads them to adopt social positions contrary to those of Christian conservatives.