Political Spectrum
The political spectrum of contemporary U.S. politics places liberals such as Democrats on the left and conservatives such as Republicans on the right.
Other political spectrums have been posed, dating back at least as far as the seating arrangements of the French National Assembly of 1789.
The standard definition of the political spectrum classifies some political positions as leftist or rightist. Politics on the 'right' usually support the traditional institutions and values of a society. Politics on the 'left' usually favor challenging traditional institutions and values.[1], The political spectrum of contemporary U.S. politics places liberals such as Democrats on the left and conservatives such as Republicans on the right. - [2] This does not mean all political views can be correctly classified on this scale, especially since the original source of the term is old, and not necessarily relevant for today's debates.[3]
Conservatives frequently call liberals "left-wing", but liberals prefer to call themselves centrist or "middle of the road".
In US politics, liberals frequently call conservatives "right-wing", a term which carries connotations of Hitler and fascism.
Notes
- ↑ H. Winter and T. Bellows (1997), Conflict and Compromise: An Introduction to Political Science, 8th ed., Ch. 3. Longman, Inc.
- ↑ S. Tansey (2000), Politics: the Basics, 2nd ed., Ch. 4. Routledge, Inc.
- ↑ "The old one-dimensional categories of 'right' and 'left', established for the seating arrangement of the French National Assembly of 1789, are overly simplistic for today's complex political landscape." The Political Compass