Left and right parties: differences and similarities in ideology

In recent decades, after the "blue screen" has lit up in every house, international news can not be avoided without mentioning the left wing of the Bundestag or the right wing in the French parliament. Who of them conducts the policy? In Soviet times, everything was clear: the leftists are adherents of socialism, and the rightists, on the contrary, stand for the capitalists, and their extreme manifestation are fascists, they are National Socialists, a party of small shopkeepers and bourgeois. Today, everything has changed, and both appeared in almost all countries that arose as a result of the collapse of the USSR. Both the left and the right parties take seats in one session hall of the parliament, sometimes they conflict, and sometimes they vote quite in solidarity, and there are centrists too.

Why the "right" and "left"?

More than two centuries ago, the French Revolution thundered, overthrew the monarchy and established a republican form of government. In the "Marseillaise", which became a national anthem, there are the words "aristocrats on the lantern" - in the sense of a loop around the neck. But democracy is democracy, and parliamentarians with hostile positions are housed in one spacious hall of the People's Assembly, and so that there are no skirmishes between them, they are grouped together. So it turned out that the Jacobins chose their seats on the left (Gauche), and their opponents - the Girondins - on the contrary (Droit). Since then, it has been ruled that the political forces advocating radical changes in social life have become leftists. It's clear that the Communists ranked themselves to them, it is enough to recall the "Left March" by V. Mayakovsky. The right-wing political parties occupy the opposite positions, they are, as it were, conservatives.

A little modern history, or how the left becomes the right

Under the slogans of improving the situation of workers to power, leaders came many times, bringing many misfortunes to their people. Suffice it to recall German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, who proclaimed National Socialism. During the struggle for the post of head of state, he promised voters many benefits, including high prosperity and justice, the cancellation of the disgraceful Treaty of Versailles for the Germans , work for everyone, social guarantees. Having achieved its goal, Hitler first dealt with his political opponents - the left-wing Social Democrats and Communists, who were partially destroyed physically, while others "perekoval" in concentration camps. So he became right, after exiled Albert Einstein proving that everything in the world is relative.

Another example. LD Trotsky was "too left" even for VI Lenin. This does not mean that the leader of the world proletariat was right. Just the idea of the labor army at that time seemed too inhuman, although quite Marxist. The lionized Lev Davidovich was slightly scoffed, corrected, gave friendly advice.

But this is all history, and now it's old. And what happens to the left and right parties today?

The confusion in modern Europe

If before 1991 everything was clear, at least for us, then in the last two decades, the definition of "lawfulness" in politics has become tug. Social democrats, traditionally considered to be leftist, in the European parliament easily carry out decisions that would have been quite natural for their opponents quite recently, and vice versa. A huge role in determining the political course today is played by populism (especially during the election period), at the expense of traditional platforms.

The left-wing political parties, namely the liberals, voted to provide financial assistance to Greece, which is completely inconsistent with the declared position to improve the social policy of their own people. There is, however, continuity with regard to antifascism. The Left Party of Germany repeatedly spoke through the lips of its deputies against Merkel's policy of supporting Ukrainian nationalist forces, arguing for her position with numerous anti-Semitic and Russophobic quotes from the speeches of the leaders of the "Right Sector" and the Freedom Association.

The financial crisis significantly complicated the situation. Currently, the European left and right parties have largely changed roles, while maintaining a visible unity in everything that concerns promises to improve the living standards of their citizens.

"Right" positions in the former USSR

In the post-Soviet space, the interpretation of political orientation along the "sides of the world" as a whole remained the same as in Soviet times. The right-wing parties of Russia and other countries-former "republics of the free" indicate in their program documents the goals to which, according to their leaders, society should strive, namely:

- building a truly capitalist society;

- Full freedom of entrepreneurship;

- reduction of the tax burden;

- fully professional armed forces;

- Absence of censorship;

- integration of the state into the world (read: Western) economic system, which is currently experiencing an acute systemic crisis.

- personal freedoms, including the removal of a whole range of restrictions, which "entangled" the country with "undemocratic regime". The most courageous representatives of the right wing declare "European values" on the verge of propagating permissiveness.

The variety of forms of "right"

Nevertheless, the ruling United Russia party also refers to this parliamentary wing, since it stands for the development of market relations. In addition to it, the Unity and Fatherland, the Union of Right Forces, Yabloko, the Party of Economic Freedom, the "Choice of Russia" and many other public associations that are in the position of liberalizing all forms of relations are indispensable in the right bloc.

Thus, in the camp of political parties of one orientation, there can also be contradictions, sometimes very serious ones.

For what the left

Traditionally, the left wing parties advocate the revival of the achievements of socialism. To such they include:

- public funding for medicine and education, which should be free for the people;

- prohibition of the sale of land to foreign citizens;

- state planning and control over all vital programs;

- expansion of the public sector of the economy, ideally - a complete ban on private entrepreneurship

Equality, brotherhood, etc.

The leftist parties of Russia are represented by the vanguard - the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (in fact, two parties, Zyuganov and Anpilov), as well as the affiliated "Patriots of Russia", "Agrarniki", "National Sovereigns" and several other organizations. In addition to nostalgic projects of the departed socialism, they sometimes put forward quite useful and sensible initiatives.

Ukrainian Right

If in Europe it is difficult to sort out the orientation, then it is practically impossible to do it on (or in) Ukraine. About capitalism, socialism, liberalism or ownership of the basic means of production, this is no longer the case. The main determining criterion in determining political as well as economic goals is the attitude towards Russia, which the right-wing parties of Ukraine consider an extremely hostile country. The European choice is something for which they do not feel sorry for anything: no remnants of industrially-cooperated productions, nor their own population. The notorious "Maydan" became the apotheosis of development of this direction in domestic politics, it is quite possible that it is not the last. The so-called "Right Sector", along with other ultranationalist structures, has turned into a militarized organization, ready to carry out tasks on ethnic cleansing.

Left in Ukraine

The Ukrainian left and right parties constantly oppose each other. For all time of existence of the independent state in power there were exclusively supporters of market transformations that, however, was treated very originally. Nevertheless, the "Left bloc", consisting of socialists, their own, but progressive, All-Ukrainian Workers' Party, and, of course, the Communists, was constantly in opposition. This situation, on the one hand, is convenient, because of the lack of responsibility for what is happening in the country, on the other, it shows that the ideals of Marxism are not very popular among the people. Actually, in Russia the situation is similar for the Communists. The difference is one, but significant. In today's Ukrainian parliament, the left is the only opposition association that opposes the aggressive nationalist government.

Who is right and who is left

So, the understanding of "leftism" and "right" in the Western world and the post-Soviet countries differs significantly. At present, Ukrainian "pravoseki" have the opportunity to punish fellow citizens who dared to tie a ribbon on the sleeve of the St. George ribbon on the sleeve, declaring them "separatists" and "colorades", and if the matter is verbal obstruction, then this is not the worst option.

Accordingly, each of these is automatically ranked to the left, regardless of his attitude to the ideas of universal social justice. At the same time, the European left and right parties differ only in colors of party flags, certain program items and names.