View source for Right-wing politics

{{Short description|Political ideologies favouring social hierarchy}}
{{Redirect-multi|3|Right-wing|Political right|The Right|the term used in sport|Winger (sports)|political freedoms|Civil and political rights|other uses|Right (disambiguation)}}
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{{Party politics|expanded=political spectrum}}

'''Right-wing politics''' is the range of [[Ideology#Political ideologies|political ideologies]] that view certain [[social order]]s and [[Social stratification|hierarchies]] as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable,{{R|Johnson-2005|Bobbio-1996|Goldthorpe-1985a}} typically supporting this position in favour of [[conservatism]], [[natural law]], [[economics]], [[authority]], [[property]], [[religion]], or [[tradition]].{{R|EB online|Carlisle|T. Alexander Smith 2003. p. 30|Allan Cameron pg. 37|Fuchs, D. 1990. p. 203|Lukes|Clark}} Hierarchy and [[Social inequality|inequality]] may be seen as natural results of traditional social differences{{R|Smith-2003b|Gidron-2019a}} or competition in [[market economies]].{{R|Scruton-1996|Goldthorpe-1985b|Gidron-2019b}}

Right-wing politics are considered the counterpart to [[left-wing politics]], and the [[left–right political spectrum]] is the most common [[political spectrum]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=McClosky|first1=Herbert|last2=Chong|first2=Dennis|date=July 1985|title=Similarities and Differences Between Left-Wing and Right-Wing Radicals|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/abs/similarities-and-differences-between-leftwing-and-rightwing-radicals/C46411F0228745583D2EB8E91A19D881|journal=British Journal of Political Science|language=en|volume=15|issue=3|pages=329–363|doi=10.1017/S0007123400004221|s2cid=154330828|issn=1469-2112|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The right includes [[social conservatives]] and [[fiscal conservatives]],<ref>Leonard V. Kaplan, Rudy Koshar, ''The Weimar Moment: Liberalism, Political Theology, and Law'' (2012) p. 7–8.</ref><ref>Alan S. Kahan, ''Mind Vs. Money: The War Between Intellectuals and Capitalism'' (2010), p. 184.</ref><ref>Jerome L. Himmelstein, ''To the right: The transformation of American conservatism'' (1992).</ref> as well as [[right-libertarianism|right-libertarians]]. "Right" and "right-wing" have been variously used as compliments and [[pejorative]]s describing [[neoliberal]], [[conservative]], and [[fascist]] economic and social ideas.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Desk Encyclopedia of World History|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7394-7809-7|editor-last=Wright|editor-first=Edmund|location=New York|pages=370, 541}}</ref>

== Positions ==
The following positions are typically associated with right-wing politics.

=== Anti-communism ===
Early [[Communism|communists]] used the term "right-wing" in reference to conservatives, placing the conservatives on the right, the liberals in the centre and the communists on the left. Both the conservatives and the liberals were strongly [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]], although the conservatives' anti-communism was much stronger than liberals'. The history of the use of the term ''right-wing'' about anti-communism is a complicated one.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hendershot|first1=Cyndy|title=Anti-Communism and Popular Culture in Mid-Century America|date=2003|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0786414406|location=Jefferson, N.C.}}</ref>

Early Marxist movements were at odds with the traditional monarchies that ruled over much of the [[Europe]]an continent at the time. Many European monarchies outlawed the public expression of communist views and the ''[[The Communist Manifesto|Communist Manifesto]]'', which began "[a] spectre [that] is haunting Europe", and stated that monarchs feared for their thrones. Advocacy of communism was illegal in the [[Russian Empire]], the [[German Empire]], and [[Austria-Hungary]], the three most powerful monarchies in continental Europe before [[World War I]]. Many monarchists (except [[Constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarchists]]) viewed inequality in wealth and political power as resulting from a divine natural order. The struggle between monarchists and communists was often described as a struggle between the Right and the Left.
[[File:За единую Россію.jpg|thumb|[[Anti-communism|Anti-communist]] propaganda poster depicting the [[White movement]] which says "For a united Russia", 1919]]
By [[World War I]], in most European monarchies the [[divine right of kings]] had become discredited and was replaced by [[Liberalism|liberal]] and [[Nationalism|nationalist]] movements. Most European monarchs became figureheads, or they yielded some power to elected governments. The most conservative European monarchy, the Russian Empire, was replaced by the communist [[Soviet Union]]. The [[Russian Revolution]] inspired a series of other [[Revolutions of 1917–1923|communist revolutions across Europe in the years 1917–1923]]. Many of these, such as the [[German Revolution]], were defeated by nationalist and monarchist military units. During this period, nationalism began to be considered right-wing, especially when it opposed the internationalism of the communists.<ref name="sticks" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Revolutions / 1.0 / handbook |url=https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/revolutions/#toc_russia |access-date=5 February 2025 |website=1914-1918-Online (WW1) Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>

The 1920s and 1930s saw the decline of traditional right-wing politics. The mantle of conservative anti-communism was taken up by the rising [[Fascism|fascist]] movements on the one hand and by American-inspired [[Liberal conservatism|liberal conservatives]] on the other. When communist groups and political parties began appearing around the world, their opponents were usually [[Colonialism|colonial authorities]] and the term ''right-wing'' came to be applied to [[colonialism]].

After [[World War II]], communism became a global phenomenon and anti-communism became an integral part of the domestic and foreign policies of the [[United States]] and its [[NATO]] allies. Conservatism in the post-war era abandoned its monarchist and aristocratic roots, focusing instead on patriotism, religious values, and nationalism. Throughout the [[Cold War]], postcolonial governments in [[Asia]], [[Africa]], and [[Latin America]] turned to the United States for political and economic support. Communists were also enemies of capitalism, portraying [[Wall Street]] as the oppressor of the masses. The United States made anti-communism the top priority of its foreign policy, and many American conservatives sought to combat what they saw as communist influence at home. This led to the adoption of several domestic policies that are collectively known under the term ''[[McCarthyism]]''. While both liberals and conservatives were anti-communist, the followers of Senator McCarthy were called ''right-wing'' and those on the right called liberals who favoured free speech, even for communists, ''leftist''.<ref name="sticks">{{Cite news|last=Nunberg|first=Geoffrey|date=17 April 2003|title=Sticks and Stones; The Defanging of a Radical Epithet|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/17/weekinreview/sticks-and-stones-the-defanging-of-a-radical-epithet.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=23 March 2022 |title=What was the Cold War—and are we headed to another one? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/cold-war |access-date=5 February 2025 |website=Culture |language=en}}</ref>

=== Economics ===
{{Main|Capitalism|Corporatism}}
[[File:Sanzio 01 Plato Aristotle.jpg|thumb|[[Plato]] (left) and [[Aristotle]] (right)]]
Early forms of corporatism would be developed in [[Classical Greece]] and used in [[Ancient Rome]]. Plato would develop the ideas of [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] and [[Communitarianism|communitarian]] corporatist systems of natural based classes and social hierarchies that would be organised based on function, such that groups would cooperate to achieve social harmony by emphasising [[Collectivism|collectives]] interests over [[Individualism|individual]] interests.<ref>Adler, Franklin Hugh. ''Italian Industrialists from Liberalism to Fascism: The Political Development of the Industrial Bourgeoisie, 1906–34''. p. 349.</ref><ref name="Wiarda1997">{{Cite book|last=Wiarda|first=Howard J.|title=Corporatism and comparative politics: the other great "ism"|date=1997|publisher=Sharpe|isbn=978-1-56324-716-3|series=Comparative politics series|location=Armonk, NY}}</ref> Corporatism as a [[political ideology]] advocates the organization of society by [[Corporate group (sociology)|corporate groups]]—such as agricultural, labour, military, scientific, or guild associations—based on their common interests.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wiarda|first=Howard J.|url=https://archive.org/details/corporatismcompa0000wiar|title=Corporatism and Comparative Politics: The Other Great "Ism"|publisher=[[M.E. Sharpe]]|year=1997|pages=27,141}}</ref><ref name="Clarke, Paul A. B. 2001. Pp. 113">Clarke, Paul A. B; Foweraker, Joe. ''Encyclopedia of democratic thought''. [[London, UK]]; [[New York (state)|New York]]: [[Routledge]], 2001. Pp. 113</ref>

After the [[Decline of Rome|decline of the Western Roman Empire]] corporatism became limited to [[religious order]]s and to the idea of Christian brotherhood, especially in the context of economic transactions.<ref name="Wiarda1997" /> From the [[High Middle Ages]] onwards corporatist organizations became increasingly common in Europe, including such groups as religious orders, [[Monastery|monasteries]], [[Confraternity|fraternities]], [[Military order (religious society)|military orders]] such as the [[Knights Templar]] and the [[Teutonic Order]], educational organizations such as the emerging [[University|universities]] and [[Learned society|learned societies]], the [[Municipal charter|chartered]] [[German town law|towns]] and [[Free imperial city|cities]], and most notably the [[Guild|guild system]] which dominated the economics of population centres in [[Europe]].<ref name="Wiarda1997" />

In post-revolutionary France, the Right fought against the rising power of those who had grown rich through commerce, and sought to preserve the rights of the hereditary nobility. They were uncomfortable with capitalism, the Enlightenment, individualism, and industrialism, and fought to retain traditional social hierarchies and institutions.<ref name="Parliaments 1988 pp. 287–302" /><ref name="Appleby">{{cite book|last1=Marty|first1=Martin E.|title=Fundamentalisms Observed|last2=Appleby|first2=R. Scott|date=1994|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|isbn=978-0-226-50878-8|edition=2nd|location=Chicago|page=91|quote=Reactionary right-wing themes emphasizing authority, social hierarchy, and obedience, as well as condemnations of liberalism, the democratic ethos, the "rights of man" associated with the legacy of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution, and the political and cultural ethos of modern liberal democracy are especially prominent in the writings and public statements of Archbishop Lefebvre.}}</ref> In Europe's history, there have been strong [[Collectivism and individualism|collectivist]] right-wing movements, such as in the [[Catholic social teaching|social Catholic right]], that have exhibited hostility to all forms of [[liberalism]] (including [[economic liberalism]]) and have historically advocated for paternalist class harmony involving an organic-hierarchical society where workers are protected while class hierarchy remains.<ref>Holland, J., ''Modern Catholic Social Teaching: The Popes Confront the Industrial Age'', 1740–1958. Paulist Press, 2003, p. 132.</ref>

In the 19th century, the Right had shifted to support the newly rich in some European countries (particularly Britain) and instead of favouring the nobility over industrialists, favoured capitalists over the working class. Other right-wing movements—such as [[Carlism]] in Spain and nationalist movements in France, Germany, and Russia—remained hostile to capitalism and industrialism. Nevertheless, a few right-wing movements—notably the French [[Nouvelle Droite]], [[CasaPound]], and American [[paleoconservatism]]—are often in opposition to capitalist ethics and the effects they have on society. These forces see capitalism and industrialism as infringing upon or causing the decay of social traditions or hierarchies that are essential for social order.<ref name="Fascism">{{cite book|last1=Payne|first1=Stanley G.|title=Fascism: Comparison and Definition|date=1983|publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]]|isbn=978-0-299-08064-8|location=Madison, Wisc.|page=19|quote=Right radicals and conservative authoritarians almost without exception became corporatists in formal doctrines of political economy, but the fascists were less explicit and in general less schematic.}}</ref>

==== ''Laissez-faire'' schools ====
{{Main|Austrian school of economics|Chicago school of economics}}
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In modern times, "right-wing" is sometimes used to describe [[Laissez-faire|''laissez-faire'' capitalism]]. In Europe, capitalists formed alliances with the Right during their conflicts with workers after 1848. In 1871, the Austrian school came to be with the work of [[Carl Menger]], [[Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk]], [[Friedrich von Wieser]], and others,<ref>Joseph A. Schumpeter, History of economic analysis, Oxford University Press 1996, {{ISBN|978-0195105599}}.</ref> originating from methodologically opposition to the [[Historical school of economics|Historical school]], in a dispute known as ''[[Methodenstreit]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Birner |first1=Jack |url=https://archive.org/details/hayekcoordinatio0000unse |title=Hayek, Co-ordination and Evolution: His Legacy in Philosophy, Politics, Economics and the History of Ideas |last2=van Zijp |first2=Rudy |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-415-09397-2 |location=London, New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/hayekcoordinatio0000unse/page/94 94]}}</ref> The Austrian school opposition to be [[Heterodox economics|heterodox]],<ref name="Boettke and Leeson">{{Cite book |last1=Boettke |first1=Peter J. |title=A Companion to the History of Economic Thought |last2=Leeson |first2=Peter T. |author2-link=Peter T. Leeson |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-631-22573-7 |editor=Samuels |editor-first=Warren |editor-link=Warren Samuels |pages=446–452 |chapter=28A: The Austrian School of Economics 1950–2000 |editor2=Biddle |editor-first2=Jeff E. |editor3=Davis |editor-first3=John B. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3H8gBQv5MysC&pg=PA445}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=December 31, 2011 |title=Heterodox economics: Marginal revolutionaries |url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2011/12/31/marginal-revolutionaries |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222004727/http://www.economist.com/node/21542174 |archive-date=February 22, 2012 |access-date=February 22, 2012 |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Denis |first1=Andy |date=2008 |title=Dialectics and the Austrian School: A Surprising Commonality in the Methodology of Heterodox Economics? |url=https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/3961/ |journal=The Journal of Philosophical Economics |language=en |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=151–173 |access-date=19 May 2022}}</ref> advocating strict adherence to [[methodological individualism]], the concept that social phenomena result primarily from the motivations and actions of individuals along with their [[self interest]]. Austrian-school theorists hold that economic theory should be exclusively derived from basic principles of human action.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Menger |first1=Carl |url=https://cdn.mises.org/principles_of_economics.pdf |title=Principles of Economics |publisher=Ludwig von Mises Institute |year=2007 |location=Auburn, Alabama |language=en-us |translator-last1=Dingwall |translator-first1=James |orig-date=1871 |translator-last2=Hoselitz |translator-first2=Bert F.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Heath |first=Joseph |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2015/entries/methodological-individualism/ |title=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |date=1 May 2018 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |access-date=1 May 2018 |via=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy}}</ref><ref name="Mises_Action">Ludwig von Mises. [[Human Action]], p. 11, "Purposeful Action and Animal Reaction". Referenced 2011-11-23.</ref>

In France, the Right's support of capitalism can be traced to the late 19th century.<ref name="Knapp" /> The so-called [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] Right, popularised by [[US President]] [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[UK Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]], combines support for [[free markets]], [[privatisation]], and [[deregulation]] with traditional right-wing support for social conformity.<ref name="Lukes" />

=== Nationalism ===
{{Main|Nationalism|Neo-nationalism}}
[[File:Darwin restored2.jpg|thumb|Darwin's biological concepts of [[natural selection]] and [[survival of the fittest]] were applied to sociology, economics and politics ([[social Darwinism]]).<ref>{{cite book |author=Williams, Raymond |title=Herbert Spencer: Critical Assessment |publisher=Routledge |year=2000 |isbn=9780415181846 |editor=John Offer |location=London; New York |pages=186–199 |chapter=Social Darwinism}}</ref>]]
In France, [[nationalism]] was originally a left-wing and republican ideology.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Doyle|first1=William|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordhistoryoff00doyl|title=The Oxford History of the French Revolution|date=2002|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-925298-5|edition=2nd|location=Oxford [u.a.]|quote="An exuberant, uncompromising nationalism lay behind France's revolutionary expansion in the 1790s...", "The message of the French Revolution was that the people are sovereign; and in the two centuries since it was first proclaimed it has conquered the world."}}</ref> After [[Georges Ernest Boulanger|the period of ''boulangisme'']] and the [[Dreyfus affair]], nationalism became a trait of the right-wing.<ref>[[Michel Winock|Winock, Michel]] (dir.), ''Histoire de l'extrême droite en France'' (1993).</ref> Right-wing nationalists sought to define and defend a "true" national identity from elements which they believed were corrupting that identity.<ref name="Knapp" /> Some were [[supremacism|supremacists]], who in accordance with [[scientific racism]] and [[social Darwinism]] applied the concept of "[[survival of the fittest]]" to [[nations]] and [[race (human categorization)|races]].<ref>Adams, Ian ''Political Ideology Today'' (2nd edition), Manchester University Press, 2002, p. 68.</ref>

Right-wing nationalism was influenced by [[Romantic nationalism]] in which the state derives its political legitimacy from the organic unity of those who it governs. This generally includes the language, race, culture, religion, and customs of the nation, all of which were "born" within its culture. Linked with right-wing nationalism is [[cultural conservatism]], which supports the preservation of the heritage of a nation or culture and often sees deviations from cultural norms as an existential threat.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ramet|first1=Sabrina|title=The Radical Right in Central and Eastern Europe since 1989|last2=Griffin|first2=Roger|date=1999|publisher=[[Pennsylvania State University Press]]|isbn=978-0271018119|location=University Park}}</ref>{{page needed|date=November 2016}}

In the 21st century, [[neo-nationalism]] came to prominence after the [[Cold War]] in the [[Western world]]. It is typically associated with cultural conservatism, [[right-wing populism|populism]], [[anti-globalization movement|anti-globalization]], and [[nativism (politics)|nativism]] and is [[anti-immigration|opposed to immigration]]. The [[ideology]] takes historical association in determining membership in a nation, rather than [[racism|racial concepts]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Barber|first=Tony|date=2016-07-11|title=A renewed nationalism is stalking Europe|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/53fc4518-4520-11e6-9b66-0712b3873ae1|access-date=2023-09-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Neo-Nationalism - ECPS|url=https://www.populismstudies.org/Vocabulary/neo-nationalism/|access-date=2023-09-23|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Natural law and traditionalism ===

Right-wing politics typically justifies a hierarchical society based on [[natural law]] or [[tradition]].<ref name="T. Alexander Smith 2003. p. 30" /><ref name="Allan Cameron pg. 37" /><ref name="Fuchs, D. 1990. p. 203"/><ref name="Lukes" /><ref name="Clark"/><ref name="autogenerated68">''Left and right: the significance of a political distinction'', Norberto Bobbio and Allan Cameron, pg. 68, [[University of Chicago Press]], 1997.</ref>

Traditionalism was advocated by a group of United States university professors (labelled the "New Conservatives" by the popular press) who rejected the concepts of [[individualism]], [[liberalism]], [[modernity]], and [[social progress]], seeking instead to promote what they identified as cultural and educational renewal<ref>Bruce Frohnen, Jeremy Beer and Jeffrey O. Nelson, ed. (2006) ''American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia'' Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, p. 870.</ref> and a revived interest in concepts perceived by traditionalists as truths that endure from age to age alongside basic institutions of western society such as the church, the family, the state, and business.

=== Populism ===
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[[Right-wing populism]] is a combination of [[Civic nationalism|civic-nationalism]], [[Cultural nationalism|cultural-nationalism]] and sometimes [[Ethnic nationalism|ethno-nationalism]], [[Localism (politics)|localism]], along with [[anti-elitism]], using populist rhetoric to provide a critique of existing political institutions.<ref>[[Cas Mudde|Mudde, Cas]] and Rovira Kaltwasser, Cristóbal (2017) ''Populism: a Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. pp.14-15, 72-73. {{isbn|978-0-19-023487-4}}</ref> According to Margaret Canovan, a right-wing populist is "a charismatic leader, using the tactics of politicians' populism to go past the politicians and intellectual elite and appeal to the reactionary sentiments of the populace, often buttressing his claim to speak for the people by the use of referendums".<ref name="Canovan">{{cite book|last1=Canovan|first1=Margaret|url=https://archive.org/details/populism00cano|title=Populism|date=1981|publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich|isbn=978-0151730780|edition=1st|location=New York}}</ref>{{page needed|date=November 2016}}

In Europe, right-wing populism often takes the form of distrust of the [[European Union]], and of politicians in general, combined with [[anti-immigrant]] rhetoric and a call for a return to traditional, national values.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hayward|first1=Jack|title=Elitism, Populism, and European Politics|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0198280354|location=Oxford}}</ref> Daniel Stockemer states, the radical right is, "Targeting immigrants as a threat to employment, security and cultural cohesion".<ref name="Daniel Stockemer 2016">Daniel Stockemer, "Structural data on immigration or immigration perceptions? What accounts for the electoral success of the radical right in Europe?." ''JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies'' 54.4 (2016): 999-1016.</ref>

In the United States, the [[Tea Party movement]] stated that the core beliefs for membership were the primacy of individual liberties as defined by the Constitution of the United States, preference for a small federal government, and respect for the rule of law. Some policy positions included opposition to illegal immigration and support for a strong national military force, the right to individual gun ownership, cutting taxes, reducing government spending, and balancing the budget.<ref>{{cite web|date=2 September 2004|title=About Us|url=http://www.teaparty.org/about-us/|access-date=15 November 2016|publisher=Tea Party}}</ref>

In Indonesia, Islamic populism has a significant impact on right-wing politics.<ref name="Hadiz2018">{{Cite journal |last=Hadiz |first=Vedi R. |date=2018-08-08 |title=Imagine All the People? Mobilising Islamic Populism for Right-Wing Politics in Indonesia |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00472336.2018.1433225 |journal=Journal of Contemporary Asia |language=en |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=566–583 |doi=10.1080/00472336.2018.1433225 |issn=0047-2336|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This is largely due to the historical context which Islamic organizations had during the 1960s in destroying the Indonesian Communist Party.<ref name="Hadiz2018" /> Whilst the party is adopting democratic processes with neo-liberal market economies, socially pluralist positions aren't necessarily adopted.<ref name="Hadiz2018" /> The Islamic populism in Indonesia has boosted its influence in 1998 after the demise of the Suharto authoritarian regime.<ref name="Hadiz2018" /> Islamic populism in Indonesia has similar properties with Islamic populist regimes like in the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa (MENA).<ref name="Hadiz2018" /> The emphasis on social justice, pluralism, equality and progressive agendas could be potentially mobilised by Islamic cultural resources.<ref name="Hadiz2018" /> 

In India, supporters of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) have more authoritarian, nativist, and populist ideas than other Indian citizens. Under Narendra Modi, populism is a core part of the party's ideology. The party's rhetoric reflects the idea is that the ordinary, "good" individuals are continuously under attack from "bad" political forces, the media, etc. Since Narendra Modi became the leader of the BJP, it has increasingly been considered a populist radical right party (PRR) and has also been considered a Hindu nationalist party.<ref name="AmmassariFossatiMcDonnell2023">{{Cite journal |last1=Ammassari |first1=Sofia |last2=Fossati |first2=Diego |last3=McDonnell |first3=Duncan |date=October 2023 |title=Supporters of India's BJP: Distinctly Populist and Nativist |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0017257X22000185/type/journal_article |journal=Government and Opposition |language=en |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=807–823 |doi=10.1017/gov.2022.18 |hdl=10072/415334 |issn=0017-257X |url-access=subscription |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
Philosopher and diplomat [[Joseph de Maistre]] argued for the indirect authority of the [[Pope]] over temporal matters. According to Maistre, only governments which were founded upon Christian constitutions—which were implicit in the customs and institutions of all European societies, especially the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] European monarchies—could avoid the disorder and bloodshed that followed the implementation of [[Rationalism|rationalist]] political programmes, such as the chaos which occurred during the [[French Revolution]]. Some prelates of the [[Church of England]]–established by [[Henry VIII]] and headed by the current sovereign—are given seats in the [[House of Lords]] (as [[Lords Spiritual]]), but they are considered politically neutral rather than specifically right- or left-wing.

In ''[[Demons (Dostoevsky novel)|The Possessed]]'' (1872) and ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'' (1880), [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]] portrayed socialism as an attempt to build a kingdom of Man as opposed to [[Kingdom of God (Christianity)|kingdom of God]]. According to Dostoevsky himself, the intention of the latter book was to portray "the seed of the idea of destruction in our time in Russia among the young people uprooted from reality". This seed is depicted as: "the rejection not of God but of the meaning of His creation. Socialism has sprung from the denial of the meaning of historical reality and ended in a programme of destruction and anarchism".<ref>Letter of May 10, 1879, quoted in {{cite book |last=Frank |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Frank (writer) |title=Dostoevsky A Writer in his Time |date=2010 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9780691128191 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/dostoevskywriter00fran/page/n5/mode/2up |page=788}}</ref>
[[File:Pius XI, by Nicola Perscheid (retouched).jpg|thumb|In ''[[Quadragesimo anno|Quadragesimo Anno]],'' [[Pope Pius XI]] ({{reign|1922|1939}}) declared socialism and communism irreconcilable with Christianity.]]
In his 1931 encyclical ''[[Quadragesimo anno|Quadragesimo Anno]]'', [[Pope Pius XI]] wrote that "true socialism" was irreconcilable with the teachings of the [[Catholic Church]] "because its concept of society itself is utterly foreign to Christian truth", stating:<ref name="autogenerated122">''Quadragesimo anno'', 115–118</ref>{{Quote|text="For, according to Christian teaching, man, endowed with a social nature, is placed on this earth so that by leading a life in society and under an authority ordained of God he may fully cultivate and develop all his faculties unto the praise and glory of his Creator; and that by faithfully fulfilling the duties of his craft or other calling he may obtain for himself temporal and at the same time eternal happiness. Socialism, on the other hand, wholly ignoring and indifferent to this sublime end of both man and society, affirms that human association has been instituted for the sake of material advantage alone"|author=Pope Pius XI|title=''[[Quadragesimo Anno]]'', 15 May 1931}}American right-wing media outlets oppose sex outside marriage and [[same-sex marriage]], and they sometimes reject scientific positions on [[evolution]] and other matters where science tends to disagree with the [[Bible]].<ref>{{cite book|last=DeGette|first=Diana|url=https://archive.org/details/sexsciencestemce00dege|title=Sex, Science, and Stem Cells: Inside the Right Wing Assault on Reason|publisher=[[The Lyons Press]]|year=2008|isbn=978-1-59921-431-3}}</ref><ref>Chris Mooney, ''The Republican War on Science: Revised and Updated'', ASIN: B001OQOIPM</ref>

The term ''[[family values]]'' has been used by right-wing parties—such as the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in the United States, the [[Family First Party]] in Australia, the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] in the United Kingdom, and the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] in India—to signify support for traditional families and opposition to the changes the modern world has made in how families live. Supporters of "family values" may oppose [[abortion]], [[euthanasia]], and [[birth control]].<ref>{{cite web|title=2004 Republican Party Platform: A Safer World and a More Hopeful America|url=http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/News/Politics/Conventions/RNC-2004platform.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523005435/http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/News/Politics/Conventions/RNC-2004platform.pdf|archive-date=23 May 2012|access-date=23 July 2012|publisher=MSNBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.salon.com/2019/07/05/how-did-the-republican-party-become-so-conservative/|title=How did the Republican Party become so conservative?|work=Salon|last=Rozsa|first=Matthew|date=July 5, 2019|access-date=March 7, 2022|quote=To understand how the Republican Party became associated with right-wing politics — and, for that matter, how the Democratic Party became associated with a left-wing, progressive philosophy — it is essential to understand the history of the Grand Old Party.}}</ref>

Outside the West, the [[Hindu nationalism|Hindu nationalist movement]] has attracted privileged groups which fear encroachment on their dominant positions, as well as "plebeian" and impoverished groups which seek recognition around a majoritarian rhetoric of cultural pride, order, and national strength.<ref>Thomas Blom Hansen, ''The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India'', Princeton University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|1-4008-0342-X}}, 9781400803422.</ref>

In Israel, [[Meir Kahane]] advocated that Israel should be a [[Theocracy|theocratic state]], where non-[[Jews]] have no voting rights,<ref>{{cite web|title=Israel's Ayatollahs: Meir Kahane and the Far Right in Israel|url=http://kahane.org/meir/interview.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219141224/http://kahane.org/meir/interview.htm|archive-date=19 February 2009|quote="Any non-Jew, including the Arabs, can have the status of a foreign resident in Israel if he accepts the law of the Halacha. I don't differentiate between Arabs and non-Arabs. The only difference I make is between Jews and non-Jews. If a non-Jew wants to live here, he must agree to be a foreign resident, be he Arab or not. He does not have and cannot have national rights in Israel. He can have civil rights, social rights, but he cannot be a citizen; he won't have the right to vote. Again, whether he's Arab or not."}}</ref> and the far-right [[Lehava]] strictly opposes Jewish assimilation and the Christian presence in Israel.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rubin|first1=Shira|title=Good Will and Peace Towards Men Elusive This Year in Nazareth|url=https://forward.com/news/327875/good-will-and-peace-towards-men-elusive-this-year-in-nazareth/|website=Forward|date=24 December 2015}}</ref> The [[Jewish Defence League]] (JDL) in the United States was classified as "a right wing terrorist group" by the FBI in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|title=FBI — Terrorism 2000/2001|url=https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/terror|publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation}}</ref> Many [[Islamism|Islamist]] groups have been called right-wing, including the [[Great Union Party]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Demirtas, Burcu|date=27 March 2009|title=Rescue Teams Could Not Reach Turkish Party Leader, Muhsin Yazicioglu after Helicopter Crash|url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/68827/rescue-teams-could-not-reach-turkish-party-leader-muhsin-yazicioglu-after-helicopter-crash.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305234419/http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/68827/rescue-teams-could-not-reach-turkish-party-leader-muhsin-yazicioglu-after-helicopter-crash.html|archive-date=5 March 2012|access-date=1 June 2012|publisher=Turkishweekly.net|df=dmy-all}}</ref> the [[Combatant Clergy Association]]/Association of Militant Clergy,<ref>{{cite web|date=Fall 2007|title=Readings|url=http://www.uvm.edu/~fgause/168read.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006083545/http://www.uvm.edu/~fgause/168read.htm|archive-date=6 October 2012|access-date=1 June 2012|publisher=uvm.edu|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=10 February 2000|author-first1=Jim|author-last1=Muir|title=Poll test for Iran reformists|work=BBC News|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/623899.stm|access-date=1 June 2012}}</ref> and the [[Islamic Society of Engineers]] of Iran.<ref>{{cite web|date=23 May 1997|title=Middle East Report Online: Iran's Conservatives Face the Electorate, by Arang Keshavarzian|url=http://www.merip.org/mero/mero020101.html|access-date=13 May 2010|publisher=Merip.org|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305030242/http://merip.org/mero/mero020101.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Anoushiravan Ehteshami and Mahjoob Zweiri, ''Iran and the rise of its neoconservatives: the politics of Tehran's silent revolution'', I.B. Tauris, 2007.</ref>

=== Social stratification ===
[[File:Kirk 1962.jpg|thumb|[[Russell Kirk]] (1918–1994) in 1962|227x227px]]

Right-wing politics involves, in varying degrees, the rejection of some [[Egalitarianism|egalitarian]] objectives of [[left-wing politics]], claiming either that [[Social inequality|social]] or [[economic inequality]] is natural and inevitable or that it is beneficial to society.<ref name="autogenerated68" /> Right-wing ideologies and movements support [[social order]]. The original French right-wing was called "the party of order" and held that France needed a strong political leader to keep order.<ref name="Knapp" />

Conservative British scholar R. J. White, who rejects egalitarianism, wrote: "Men are equal before God and the laws, but unequal in all else; hierarchy is the order of nature, and privilege is the reward of honourable service".<ref name="autogenerated2003">Moyra Grant. ''Key Ideas in Politics''. Cheltenham, England, UK: Nelson Thornes, Ltd., 2003. p. 52.</ref> American conservative [[Russell Kirk]] also rejected egalitarianism as imposing sameness, stating: "Men are created different; and a government that ignores this law becomes an unjust government for it sacrifices nobility to mediocrity".<ref name="autogenerated2003" /> Italian scholar [[Norberto Bobbio]] argued that the right-wing is inegalitarian compared to the left-wing, as he argued that equality is a relative, not absolute, concept.<ref>Bobbio, Norberto. Left and right: The significance of a political distinction. University of Chicago Press, 1996, pp.60-62</ref>

[[Right-libertarianism|Right libertarians]] reject collective or state-imposed equality as undermining reward for personal merit, initiative, and enterprise.<ref name="autogenerated2003" /> In their view, such imposed equality is unjust, limits personal freedom, and leads to social uniformity and mediocrity.<ref name="autogenerated2003" />

In the view of philosopher [[Jason Stanley]] in ''[[How Fascism Works]]'', the "politics of hierarchy" is one of the hallmarks of [[fascism]], which refers to a "glorious past" in which members of the rightfully dominant group sat atop the hierarchy, and attempt to recreate this state of being.<ref>[[Jason Stanley|Stanley, Jason]] (2018) ''How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them''. New York: Random House. p.13. {{Isbn|978-0-52551183-0}}</ref>

== History ==
According to ''[[The Cambridge History of Political Thought|The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought]]'', (2003) the Right has gone through five distinct historical stages:<ref>Ball, T. and R. Bellamy, eds., ''The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought'', pp. 610–12.</ref>
# The reactionary right sought a return to [[aristocracy]] and [[State religion|established religion]].
# The moderate right distrusted intellectuals and sought limited government.
# The radical right favoured a [[Romantic nationalism|romantic]] and aggressive form of [[nationalism]].
# The extreme right proposed [[Opposition to immigration|anti-immigration]] policies and implicit [[racism]].
# The [[Neoliberalism|neo-liberal]] right sought to combine a market economy and economic deregulation with the traditional right-wing beliefs in [[patriotism]], elitism and law and order.<ref name="Clark"/>{{page needed|date=August 2018}}

The political terms [[Left–right political spectrum|''Left'' and ''Right'']] were first used in the 18th century, during the [[French Revolution]], referencing the seating arrangement of the [[French parliament]]. Those who sat to the right of the chair of the presiding officer (''le président'') were generally supportive of the institutions of the [[Monarchism|monarchist]] [[Ancien Régime|Old Regime]].<ref name="Parliaments 1988 pp. 287–302">Goodsell, Charles T., "The Architecture of Parliaments: Legislative Houses and Political Culture", British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 18, No. 3 (July 1988), pp. 287–302.</ref><ref>Linski, Gerhard, ''Current Issues and Research In Macrosociology'' (Brill Archive, 1984) p. 59</ref><ref>Clark, Barry ''Political Economy: A Comparative Approach'' (Praeger Paperback, 1998), pp. 33–34.</ref><ref name="Knapp"/> The original "Right" in France was formed in reaction to the "Left" and comprised those supporting hierarchy, tradition, and [[clericalism]].<ref name="Carlisle"/>{{rp|693}} The expression {{lang|fr|la droite}} ("the right") increased in use after the [[Bourbon Restoration in France#Second Restoration|restoration of the monarchy in 1815]], when it was applied to the [[ultra-royalist]]s.<ref>Gauchet, Marcel, "Right and Left" in Nora, Pierre, ed., ''Realms of Memory: Conflicts and Divisions'' (1996) pp. 247–248.</ref>

From the 1830s to the 1880s, the [[Western world]]'s [[social class]] structure and economy shifted from [[nobility]] and [[aristocracy]] towards [[capitalism]].<ref>Alan S. Kahan. ''Mind Vs. Money: The War Between Intellectuals and Capitalism''. New Brunswick, New Jersey: [[Transaction Publishers]], 2010. p. 88.</ref> This shift affected [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]] movements such as the [[Conservative Party (UK)|British Conservative Party]], which responded supporting capitalism.<ref>Ian Adams. ''Political Ideology Today''. Manchester, England, UK; New York, New York, US: [[Manchester University Press]], 2001. p. 57.</ref>

The people of [[English-speaking countries]] did not apply the terms ''right'' and ''left'' to their politics until the 20th century.<ref>''The English Ideology: Studies in the Language of Victorian Politics'', George Watson Allen Lane, London, 1973, p. 94.</ref> The term ''right-wing'' was originally applied to [[Traditionalist conservatism|traditional conservatives]], [[Monarchism|monarchists]], and reactionaries; a revision of this which occurred sometime between the 1920s and 1950s considers the ''[[extreme right-wing|far-right]] to'' denote [[fascism]], [[Nazism]], and [[racial supremacy]].<ref>Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics'', ''Right (-wing)...and for extreme right parties racism and fascism.'', p. 465, Oxford, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-19-920780-0}}.</ref>

Rightist regimes were common in Europe in the [[Interwar period]], 1919–1938.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bresciani |first=Marco |date=2021-01-01 |title=Conservatives and Right Radicals in Interwar Europe |url=https://www.academia.edu/44836859 |journal=Conservatives and Right Radicals in Interwar Europe}}</ref>

=== China ===
{{see also|Conservatism in China}}
==== Republic of China (1912–1949) ====
Among [[Kuomintang]] (KMT)'s conservatives during the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]], [[Dai Jitao Thought]] supporters formed the [[Western Hills Group]] in the [[1920s]].

[[Chiang Kai-shek]] initially claimed himself as a 'centrist' in the KMT left-right conflict, but became an anti-communist right-wing after [[Shanghai massacre]]. [[Chiangism]] (or 'Chiang Kai-shek Thought') was related to [[Confucianism]], [[party-state capitalism]], [[paternalistic conservatism]], and [[Chinese nationalism]].

==== People's Republic of China ====


[[Conservatism in China#Neoauthoritarianism|Neoauthoritarianism]] is a current of political thought that rose in China in the late 1980's and came into ascendancy after the death of [[Deng Xiaoping]]; it advocates a powerful state to facilitate [[Reform and Opening Up|market reforms]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bramall |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9Rr-M8MXAEC&pg=PA475 |title=Chinese Economic Development |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-19051-5}}</ref> It has been described as right-wing, [[Traditionalist conservatism|classically conservative]] even though it incorporated some aspects of Marxist–Leninist and [[Maoism|Maoist]] theories.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Yuezhi Zhao |title=Communication in China: Political Economy, Power, and Conflict |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RdNqAAAAQBAJ&dq=%22right+-+wing+ideology+of+neo-+authoritarianism%22&pg=PA170 |date=March 20, 2008 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |pages=170|isbn=978-0-7425-7428-1 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sautman|first=Barry|author-link=Barry Sautman|date=1992|title=Sirens of the Strongman: Neo-Authoritarianism in Recent Chinese Political Theory|journal=[[The China Quarterly]]|volume=129|issue=129|pages=72–102|doi=10.1017/S0305741000041230|issn=0305-7410|jstor=654598|s2cid=154374469}}</ref>

=== France ===
{{See also|Conservatism in France|Left–right politics}}{{Multiple image
| image1            = Cogordan - Joseph de Maistre, 1894 (page 12 crop).jpg
| image2            = De Gaulle-OWI (cropped)-(c).jpg
| caption1          = [[Joseph de Maistre]] (1753–1821)
| caption2          = [[Charles de Gaulle]] (1890–1970)
| total_width       = 350
}}

The political term ''right-wing'' was first used during the [[French Revolution]], when [[Liberalism|liberal]] deputies of the [[Estates-General of 1789|Third Estate]] generally sat to the left of the presiding officer's chair, a custom that began in the [[Estates General (France)|Estates General]] of 1789. The nobility, members of the [[Estates General (France)|Second Estate]], generally sat to the right. In the successive [[Legislative Assembly (France)|legislative assemblies]], [[Monarchism|monarchists]] who supported the [[Ancien Régime|Old Regime]] were commonly referred to as rightists because they sat on the right side. A major figure on the right was [[Joseph de Maistre]], who argued for an [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] form of [[conservatism]].

Throughout [[France in the 19th century]], the main line dividing the left and right was between supporters of the republic and those of the monarchy, who were often secularist and Catholic respectively.<ref name="Knapp">{{cite book|author=Andrew Knapp and Vincent Wright|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=67ttjXHhT3wC&q=the+government+and+politics+of+france|title=The Government and Politics of France|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-35732-6}}</ref> On the right, the [[Legitimists]] and [[Ultra-royalist]]s held [[counter-revolutionary]] views, while the [[Orléanist]]s hoped to create a [[constitutional monarchy]] under their preferred branch of the royal family, which briefly became a reality after the 1830 [[July Revolution]].

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, but limited the wealth redistribution measures characteristic of [[social democracy]].{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

=== Hungary ===
The dominance of the political right of [[Hungary between the two world wars|inter-war Hungary]], after the collapse of a short-lived Communist regime, was described by historian [[István Deák]]:
:Between 1919 and 1944 Hungary was a rightist country. Forged out of a counter-revolutionary heritage, its governments advocated a "nationalist Christian" policy; they extolled heroism, faith, and unity; they despised the French Revolution, and they spurned the liberal and socialist ideologies of the 19th century. The governments saw Hungary as a bulwark against [[bolshevism]] and bolshevism's instruments: [[socialism]], [[cosmopolitanism]], and [[Freemasonry]]. They perpetrated the rule of a small clique of aristocrats, civil servants, and army officers, and surrounded with adulation the head of the state, the counterrevolutionary [[Miklós Horthy|Admiral Horthy]].<ref>István Deák, "Hungary" in Hans Roger and Egon Weber, eds., ''The European right: A historical profile'' (1963) p 364-407 quoting p. 364.</ref>

=== India ===
{{see also|Conservatism in India}}
Although [[Freedom fighters of India|freedom fighters]] are favoured, the right-wing tendency to elect or appoint politicians and government officials based on aristocratic and religious ties is common to almost all the states of India.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://origins.osu.edu/article/right-wing-politics-india-Modi-Kashmir-election|title=Right wing politics in India, by Archana Venkatesh|publisher=osu.edu|date=1 October 2019|access-date=November 11, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/hindutva-enters-takes-centre-stage-andhra-pradesh-politics-134277|title=Hindutva enters, takes centre-stage in Andhra Pradesh politics, by Balakrishna Ganeshan|publisher=thenewsminute.com|date=1 October 2020|access-date=November 30, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsclick.in/Global-Rise-of-Right-Wing-Populism-Modi-Cultural-Sociology|title=India Will Move Beyond Modi, his Party, and Right Wing Populism, by Ajay Gudavarthy|work=NewsClick |publisher=newsclick.in|date=11 July 2020|access-date=November 30, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Rao|first1=Jaithirth|title=The Indian Conservative : A History of Indian Right-Wing Thought|date=25 October 2019|publisher=Juggernaut Press|location= New Delhi|isbn=978-9353450625|page=280|edition=First}}</ref> Multiple political parties however identify with terms and beliefs which are, by political consensus, right or left wing. Certain political parties such as the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]], identify with conservative<ref>{{Cite journal|last=IWANEK|first=Krzysztof|title=Is the BJP Conservative?|s2cid-access=free|date=2019|journal=Politeja|volume=16|issue=59|pages=55–72|doi=10.12797/Politeja.16.2019.59.04|jstor=26916353|s2cid=212822106|issn=1733-6716|doi-access=free}}</ref> and nationalist elements. Some, such as the [[Indian National Congress]], take a liberal stance. The [[Communist Party of India]], [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]], and others, identify with left-wing socialist and communist concepts. Other political parties take differing stands, and hence cannot be clearly grouped as the left- and the right-wing.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-04-24|title=Left-wing or Right-wing: Why labels simply don't capture India|url=https://www.firstpost.com/politics/left-wing-or-right-wing-why-labels-simply-dont-capture-india-721481.html|first1=Sagarika|last1=Ghose|access-date=2021-02-18|website=Firstpost}}</ref>

=== United Kingdom ===
[[File:Socialism Throttling the Country.jpg|thumb|1909 [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] poster]]
{{see also|Conservatism in the United Kingdom}}
{{Expand section|date=December 2020}}
In British politics, the terms ''right'' and ''left'' came into common use for the first time in the late 1930s during debates over the [[Spanish Civil War]].<ref>[[Charles Loch Mowat]], ''Britain Between the Wars: 1918–1940'' (1955), p. 577.</ref>

=== United States ===
[[File:Anticommunist Literature 1950s.png|thumb|American [[anti-communist]] [[propaganda]] of the 1950s, specifically addressing the entertainment industry]]
{{see also|Conservatism in the United States}}
{{Multiple issues|section=y|
{{Expand section|date=March 2021}}
{{POV section|date=September 2021}}
}}<!-- this needs to be about right wing politics in the US generally. Current version is just right wing extremism. -->

In the United States, following the [[World War II|Second World War]], social conservatives joined with right-wing elements of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] to gain support in traditionally [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] voting populations like white southerners and [[Catholics]]. [[Ronald Reagan|Ronald Reagan's]] election to the presidency in 1980 cemented the alliance between the [[religious right in the United States]] and social conservatives.<ref>{{cite book|last=Farney|first=James|date=2012|title= Social Conservatives and Party Politics in Canada and the United States|url=https://eds.p.ebscohost.com/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzY4Mjg4NF9fQU41?sid=bb8cd8b3-9f6c-43d7-948a-baba732e8bf0@redis&vid=5&format=EB|location=Toronto|publisher=University of Toronto Press|page=28|isbn=978-1-4426-1260-0}}</ref>

In 2019, the United States populace leaned [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]], with 37% of Americans self-identifying as [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]], compared to 35% moderate and 24% [[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]]. This was continuing a decades long trend of the country leaning centre-right.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/275792/remained-center-right-ideologically-2019.aspx|title=The U.S. Remained Center-Right, Ideologically, in 2019|date=9 January 2020|publisher=Gallup|access-date=9 November 2021}}</ref>

The [[United States Department of Homeland Security]] defines right-wing extremism in the United States as "broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly anti-government, rejecting federal authority in favour of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/irp/eprint/rightwing.pdf|title=Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment|publisher=United States Department of Homeland Security|access-date=16 October 2017}}</ref>

== Types ==
The meaning of right-wing "varies across societies, historical epochs, and political systems and ideologies".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Augoustinos|first1=Martha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CYjEwFRPEQgC&pg=PA230|title=Social Cognition: An Integrated Introduction|last2=Walker|first2=Iain|last3=Donaghue|first3=Ngaire|date=2006|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=9780761942191|edition=2nd|location=London|page=320}}</ref> According to ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics'', in liberal democracies, the political right opposes [[socialism]] and [[social democracy]]. Right-wing parties include [[Conservatism|conservatives]], [[Christian democracy|Christian democrats]], [[Classical liberalism|classical liberals]], and [[Nationalism|nationalists]], as well as [[Fascism|fascists]] on the [[far-right]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=McLean|first1=Iain|title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics|last2=McMillan|first2=Alistair|date=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199205165|edition=3rd|location=Oxford|page=465}}</ref>

British academics [[Noël O'Sullivan]] and [[Roger Eatwell]] divide the right into five types: reactionary, moderate, radical, extreme, and new.<ref>Davies, p. 13.</ref> [[Chip Berlet]] wrote that each of these "styles of thought" are "responses to the left", including liberalism and socialism, which have arisen since the 1789 French Revolution.<ref name="Berlet, p. 117">Berlet, p. 117.</ref>

# The reactionary right looks toward the past and is "aristocratic, religious and authoritarian".<ref name="Berlet, p. 117" />
# The [[Centre-right politics|moderate right]], typified by the writings of [[Edmund Burke]], is tolerant of change, provided it is gradual and accepts some aspects of liberalism, including the rule of law and capitalism, although it sees radical ''[[laissez-faire]]'' and individualism as harmful to society. The moderate right often promotes nationalism and social welfare policies.<ref>Eatwell: 1999, p. 284.</ref>
# [[Radical right (disambiguation)|Radical right]] is a descriptive term that was developed after World War II and it was applied to groups and ideologies such as [[McCarthyism]], the [[John Birch Society]], [[Thatcherism]], and the [[Republikaner Party]]. Eatwell stresses that this usage of the term has "major typological problems" because it "has also been applied to clearly democratic developments".<ref>Eatwell: 2004, pp. 7–8.</ref> The radical right includes [[right-wing populism]] and various other subtypes.<ref name="Berlet, p. 117" />
# The [[Extreme Right|extreme right]] has four traits: "1) [[anti-democracy]], 2) [[ultranationalism]], 3) [[racism]], and 4) the strong state".<ref>Eatwell: 2004, p. 8, "Today four other traits feature most prominently in definitions: 1) anti-democracy; 2) nationalism; 3) racism; 4) the strong state".</ref>
# The [[New Right]] consists of the [[Liberal conservatism|liberal conservatives]], who stress [[small government]], [[free market]]s, and individual initiative.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Vincent|first1=Andrew|title=Modern Political Ideologies|date=1995|publisher=Blackwell|isbn=978-0-631-19507-8|edition=2nd|location=Oxford [u.a.]|quote=Who to include under the rubric of the New Right remains puzzling. It is usually seen as an amalgam of traditional liberal conservatism, Austrian liberal economic theory ... extreme libertarianism (anarch-capitalism) and crude populism.}}</ref>

Other authors make a distinction between the centre-right and the far-right.<ref>Betz & Immerfall 1998; Betz 1994; Durham 2000; Durham 2002; Hainsworth 2000; Mudde 2000; Berlet & Lyons, 2000.</ref>
* Parties of the centre-right generally support liberal democracy, capitalism, the market economy (though they may accept government regulation to control monopolies), private property rights, and a limited welfare state (for example, government provision of education and medical care). They support conservatism and economic liberalism and oppose socialism and communism.
* By contrast, the phrase "far-right" is used to describe those who favour an absolutist government, which uses the power of the state to support the dominant ethnic group or religion and criminalise other ethnic groups or religions.<ref name="Routledge">{{cite book|last1=Davies|first1=Peter|url=https://archive.org/details/routledgecompani00davi|title=The Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far Right|last2=Davies|first2=Peter Jonathan|last3=Lynch|first3=Derek|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0-415-21495-7|quote=far right.|access-date=13 May 2010|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Durham|first1=Martin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ual1NR2WPasC&q=%22far+right%22|title=The Christian Right, the Far Right and the Boundaries of American Conservatism|year=2000|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-5486-0|access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Merkl|first1=Peter H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sVZ8EUvJjJ4C&q=%22far+right%22|title=Right-wing Extremism in the Twenty-first Century|last2=Weinberg|first2=Leonard|last3=Leonard|first3=Weinberg|last4=Merkl|first4=Professor Peter|date=30 June 2000|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7146-5182-8|access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Eatwell|first1=Roger|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JcJ5nr2MZfUC&q=%22far+right%22|title=Western Democracies and the New Extreme Right Challenge|last2=Mudde|first2=Cas|year=2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-36971-8|access-date=13 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=7 March 2002|title=Pim Fortuyn: The far-right Dutch maverick|work=BBC News|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1857918.stm|access-date=1 June 2012}}</ref> Typical examples of leaders to whom the far-right label is often applied are: [[Francisco Franco]] in [[Spain]], [[Benito Mussolini]] in [[Italy]], [[Adolf Hitler]] in [[Nazi Germany]], [[Augusto Pinochet]] in [[Chile]], and [[Jorge Rafael Videla]] in [[Argentina]].<ref>{{cite web|date=14 September 2006|title=A Dictator's Legacy of Economic Growth|website=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6069233|access-date=15 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Greenwald|first=Glenn|date=31 May 2012|title=Glenn Greenwald|work=Salon.com|url=http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/05/04/politico_funding/|access-date=1 June 2012}}</ref><ref name="Canovan" />{{page needed|date=November 2016}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Betz|first=Hans-Georg|url=https://archive.org/details/radicalrightwing00betz|title=Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=1994|isbn=978-0-312-08390-8}}</ref><ref>Michael E. Brown, Owen R. Cote Jr., ''Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict'', "Anti-immigrant and anti-refugee feeling is being exploited by extreme right-wing parties throughout Europe...", p. 442, MIT Press, 2001, {{ISBN|978-0-262-52315-8}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GkVHAAAAYAAJ&q=%22extrema+derecha%22+%22Jorge+rafael+videla%22|title=La teoría social latinoamericana: La centralidad del Marxismo|date=1995|publisher=Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, Coordinación de Estudios Latinoamericanos, Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico|isbn=978-968-36-4710-8|language=es}}</ref>

== See also ==
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{Div col|colwidth=20em|small=no}}
* [[Alt-right]]
* [[Center right]]
* [[Christian right]]
* [[Far right]]
* [[List of right-wing political parties]]
* [[New Right#United States|New Right]]
* [[Old Right (United States)|Old Right]]
* [[Radical right (Europe)]]
* [[Radical right (United States)]]
* [[Right realism]]
* [[Right-wing authoritarianism]]
* [[Right-wing terrorism]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

== References ==
{{Reflist |refs= <!-- alphabetical by last name -->

<ref name="Bobbio-1996">{{cite book|last1=Bobbio|first1=Norberto|last2=Cameron|first2=Allan|title=[[Left and Right: The Significance of a Political Distinction]]|date=1996|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-226-06246-4|pages=51, 62}}</ref>

<ref name="Carlisle">{{cite book|last1=Carlisle|first1=Rodney P.|title=Encyclopedia of Politics: The Left and the Right|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpo0000carl|url-access=registration|date=2005|publisher=[[SAGE Publishing]]|location=Thousand Oaks [u.a.]|isbn=978-1-4129-0409-4}}</ref>

<ref name="Allan Cameron pg. 37">''Left and right: the significance of a political distinction'', Norberto Bobbio and Allan Cameron, p. 37, [[University of Chicago Press]], 1997.</ref>

<ref name="Clark">{{cite book|last1=Clark|first1=William Roberts|title=Capitalism, Not Globalism: Capital Mobility, Central Bank Independence, and the Political Control of the Economy|date=2003|publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]]|location=Ann Arbor [u.a.]|isbn=978-0-472-11293-7|edition=[Online-Ausg.].}}{{page needed|date=August 2018}}</ref> 

<ref name="EB online">{{cite web|date=2009-04-15|title=Right|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/right|access-date=2022-05-22|website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|language=en}}</ref>

<ref name="Fuchs, D. 1990. p. 203">[[Seymour Martin Lipset]], cited in Fuchs, D., and Klingemann, H. 1990. The left-right schema. pp. 203–34 in Continuities in Political Action: A Longitudinal Study of Political Orientations in Three Western Democracies, ed.M.Jennings et al. Berlin:de Gruyter</ref>

<ref name=Gidron-2019a>{{cite journal|author1=Gidron, N|author2=Ziblatt, D.|title=Center-right political parties in advanced democracies 2019|year=2019|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|volume=22|page=23|quotation=Defining the right by its adherence to the status quo is closely associated with a definition of the right as a defense of inequality (Bobbio 1996, Jost 2009, Luna & Kaltwasser 2014). As noted by Jost (2009), within the context of Western political development, opposition to change is often synonymous with support for inequality. Notwithstanding its prominence in the literature, we are hesitant to adopt this definition of the right since it requires the researcher to interpret ideological claims according to an abstract understanding of equality. For instance, Noel & Therien (2008) argue that right-wing opposition to affirmative action speaks in the name of equality and rejects positive discrimination based on demographic factors. From this perspective, the right is not inegalitarian but is "differently egalitarian" (Noel & Therien 2008, p. 18).|url=https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/dziblatt/files/gidron_and_ziblatt_2019.pdf|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-090717-092750|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<ref name="Gidron-2019b">{{cite journal|author1=Gidron, N|author2=Ziblatt, D.|title=Center-right political parties in advanced democracies 2019|year=2019|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|volume=22|page=24|quotation=...since different currents within the right are drawn to different visions of societal structures. For example, market liberals see social relations as stratified by natural economic inequalities.|url=https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/dziblatt/files/gidron_and_ziblatt_2019.pdf|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-090717-092750|s2cid=182421002}}</ref>

<ref name="Goldthorpe-1985a">{{cite book|last1=Goldthorpe|first1=J.E.|title=An Introduction to Sociology|date=1985|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-24545-6|page=156|edition=Third}}</ref> 

<ref name="Goldthorpe-1985b">{{cite book|last1=Goldthorpe|first1=J.E.|title=An Introduction to Sociology|date=1985|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-24545-6|page=156|edition=3rd|quote="There are ... those who accept inequality as natural, normal, and even desirable. Two main lines of thought converge on the Right or conservative side...the truly Conservative view is that there is a natural hierarchy of skills and talents in which some people are born leaders, whether by heredity or family tradition. ... now ... the more usual right-wing view, which may be called 'liberal-conservative', is that unequal rewards are right and desirable so long as the competition for wealth and power is a fair one."}}</ref>

<ref name="Johnson-2005">{{cite web|work=A Politics Glossary|url=http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/right-wing|publisher=Auburn University website|last=Johnson|first=Paul|title=Right-wing, rightist|year=2005|access-date=23 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819232535/http://www.auburn.edu/~johnspm/gloss/right-wing|archive-date=19 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="Lukes">{{cite book |last=Lukes |first=Steven |author-link=Steven Lukes |date=2003 |chapter=Epilogue: The Grand Dichotomy of the Twentieth Century |title=The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought |editor1-last=Ball |editor1-first=Terence |editor2-last=Bellamy |editor2-first=Richard |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=London |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521563543.030 |isbn=9780521563543 |oclc=7334137654 <!--oclc-book=50737086--> |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-twentiethcentury-political-thought/DA22CCF70AD0B5A45671D7C6B82E3835 |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-history-of-twentiethcentury-political-thought/epilogue-the-grand-dichotomy-of-the-twentieth-century/E83641F59518832F8A811962B443DBC3 |pages=610–612 <!--chapter=602–626-->}}</ref>

<ref name="Scruton-1996">Scruton, Roger "A Dictionary of Political Thought" "Defined by contrast to (or perhaps more accurately conflict with) the left the term ''right'' does not even have the respectability of a history. As now used it denotes several connected and also conflicting ideas (including) 1)conservative, and perhaps authoritarian, doctrines concerning the nature of civil society, with emphasis on custom, tradition, and allegiance as social bonds ... 8) belief in free enterprise free markets and a capitalist economy as the only mode of production compatible with human freedom and suited to the temporary nature of human aspirations ..." pp. 281–2, Macmillan, 1996</ref>

<ref name="T. Alexander Smith 2003. p. 30">T. Alexander Smith, Raymond Tatalovich. ''Cultures at war: moral conflicts in western democracies''. Toronto, Canada: Broadview Press, Ltd, 2003. p. 30. "That viewpoint is held by contemporary sociologists, for whom 'right-wing movements' are conceptualized as 'social movements whose stated goals are to maintain structures of order, status, honor, or traditional social differences or values' as compared to left-wing movements which seek 'greater equality or political participation.' In other words, the sociological perspective sees preservationist politics as a right-wing attempt to defend privilege within the ''social hierarchy''."</ref>

<ref name=Smith-2003b>Smith, T. Alexander and Raymond Tatalovich. ''Cultures at War: Moral Conflicts in Western Democracies'' (Toronto, Canada: Broadview Press, Ltd., 2003) p. 30. "That viewpoint is held by contemporary sociologists, for whom 'right-wing movements' are conceptualized as 'social movements whose stated goals are to maintain structures of order, status, honor, or traditional social differences or values' as compared to left-wing movements which seek 'greater equality or political participation.'</ref>

}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* Bacchetta, Paola, and Margaret Power, eds. 2002. ''Right-Wing Women: From Conservatives to Extremists around the World''. New York: Routledge.
* Berlet, Chip. 2006. "When Alienation turns Right." In ''The Evolution of Alienation: Trauma, Promise, and the Millennium'', edited by Langman, Lauren, and Kalekin-Fishman. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. {{ISBN|0-7425-1835-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7425-1835-3}}
* Davies, Peter. 2002. ''The Extreme Right in France, 1789 to the Present: From De Maistre to Le Pen''. New York, NY: Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-23982-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-415-23982-0}}.
* Eatwell, Roger. 1999. "Conclusion: The 'End of Ideology'." In ''Contemporary Political Ideologies'', edited by R. Eatwell and A. Wright. Continuum International Publishing Group. {{ISBN|0-8264-5173-X}}, {{ISBN|9780826451736}}.
* —— 2004. "Introduction: the new extreme right challenge." In ''Western Democracies and the new Extreme Right Challenge'', edited by [[Roger Eatwell|R. Eatwell]] and [[Cas Mudde|C. Muddle]]. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|0-415-36971-1}}, {{ISBN|978-0-415-36971-8}}
* Fielitz, Maik, and Laura Lotte Laloire, eds. 2016. ''Trouble on the Far Right. Contemporary Right-Wing Strategies and Practices in Europe''. Bielefeld: transcript. {{ISBN|978-3-8376-3720-5}}
* Gottlieb, Julie, and Clarisse Berethezéne, eds. 2017. ''Rethinking right-wing women: Gender and the Conservative Party, 1880s to the present''.
* {{cite book|last1=Miles|first1=Michael W.|title=The Odyssey of the American Right|date=1980|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780195027747}}
{{Refend}}

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