In recent decades, after a “blue screen” was lit up in every house, international news could not do without mentioning the left wing of the Bundestag or the right in the French parliament. Which of them is pursuing a policy? In Soviet times, everything was clear: the left is the adherents of socialism, and the right, on the contrary, stands for the capitalists, and their extreme manifestation is the fascists, they are national socialists, the party of small shopkeepers and bourgeoisie. 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 right parties occupy seats in one session hall of the parliament, sometimes they conflict, and sometimes they vote in solidarity, and there are also centrists.
Why are 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 has become the national anthem, there are the words "aristocrats on the lantern" - in the sense of a noose around his neck. But democracy is democracy, and parliamentarians with hostile positions settled in one spacious hall of the National Assembly, and so that there would be no skirmishes between them, they were grouped. It just so happened that the Jacobins chose their places on the left (Gauche), and their opponents - the Girondins - on the contrary (Droit). Since then, it has become the custom that political forces advocating radical changes in public life become leftist. It is clear that the Communists ranked themselves among them, it is enough to recall the “Left March” by V. Mayakovsky. Right-wing political parties take opposite positions, they are like conservatives.
A bit of modern history, or how the left becomes right
Under the slogans of improving the situation of workers, leaders came to power many times, bringing many misfortunes to their peoples. Suffice it to recall the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, who proclaimed National Socialism. During the struggle for the presidency, he promised voters many benefits, including high prosperity and justice, the annulment of the shameful Treaty of Versailles for the Germans , work for everyone, social guarantees. Having achieved his goal, Hitler first dealt with his political opponents - the left social democrats and communists, whom he partially destroyed physically, while he “reforged” others in concentration camps. So he became right, following the exiled Albert Einstein, proving that everything in the world is relative.
Another example. L. D. Trotsky was "too left" even for V. I. Lenin. This does not mean at all that the leader of the world proletariat was right. Just the idea of ​​the labor armies at that time seemed too inhuman, albeit completely Marxist. Lev Davidovich, who had caught on, was slightly scolded, corrected, and given friendly advice.
But this is all a story, and now it’s a long time ago. And what is happening with the left and right parties today?
Confusion in modern Europe
If before 1991 everything was clear, at least for us, then in the last two decades, with the definition of “rightness” in politics, it has become taut. The Social Democrats, traditionally considered leftist, in the European Parliament easily carry out decisions that would most recently be quite natural for their opponents, and vice versa. A huge role in determining the political course today is played by populism (especially during the election period), to the detriment of traditional platforms.
Left-wing political parties, namely liberals, voted in favor of providing financial assistance to Greece, which is completely inconsistent with the declared position to improve the social policy of their own people. There is, however, a continuity with respect to anti-fascism. The Left Party of Germany repeatedly, through the mouth of its deputies, opposed Merkel’s policy of supporting the Ukrainian nationalist forces, arguing for its position with numerous anti-Semitic and Russophobic quotes from speeches by leaders of the Right Sector and the Freedom Association.
The financial crisis has greatly complicated the situation. Currently, the European left and right parties have largely switched roles, while maintaining visible unity in everything regarding promises to improve the living standards of citizens of their countries.
"Right" positions in the former USSR
In the post-Soviet space, the interpretation of political orientation on the "cardinal points" as a whole remained the same as in Soviet times. The right-wing parties of Russia and other countries of the former "free republics" indicate in their program documents the goals that, in the opinion of their leaders, society should strive for, namely:
- building a truly capitalist society;
- complete freedom of enterprise;
- reduction of tax burden;
- fully professional armed forces;
- lack of censorship;
- the 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 by which the "undemocratic regime" "entangled" the country. The most courageous representatives of the right wing declare "European values" on the verge of propaganda permissiveness.
The variety of forms of "righteousness"
Nevertheless, the ruling party in Russia, the United Russia party, also belongs to this parliamentary wing, as it advocates the development of market relations. In addition to it, the right bloc cannot do without “Unity and Fatherland”, “Union of Right Forces”, “Yabloko”, “Party of Economic Freedom”, “Choice of Russia” and many other public associations that stand on the positions of liberalization of all forms of relations.
Thus, in the camp of political parties of the same orientation, there may also be contradictions, sometimes very serious.
What are the left
Traditionally, left-wing parties have advocated the revival of the achievements of socialism. These include:
- state funding of medicine and education, which should be free for the people;
- a ban on 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 enterprise
- equality, fraternity, etc.
The left-wing parties of Russia are represented by the vanguard - the Communist Party (actually two parties, Zyuganov and Anpilov), as well as the affiliated "Patriots of Russia", "Agrarians", "National Sovereigns" and several other organizations. In addition to the nostalgic projects of the departed socialism, they sometimes put forward quite useful and sound initiatives.
Ukrainian right
If in Europe it is difficult to understand the orientation, then in (or) Ukraine it is almost impossible to do. We are no longer talking about capitalism, socialism, liberalism, or ownership of the basic means of production. The main determining criterion in determining political, and at the same time, economic goals is the attitude to Russia, which the right-wing parties of Ukraine consider to be an extremely hostile country. The European choice is for the sake of which practically nothing is spared for them: neither the remnants of industrially-cooperated productions, nor their own population. The apotheosis of the development of this direction in domestic politics was the notorious "Maidan", quite possibly not the last. The so-called “Right Sector”, along with other ultra-nationalist structures, has turned into a militarized organization ready to carry out ethnic cleansing tasks.
Leftists in Ukraine
Ukrainian left and right parties are constantly opposing each other. Over the entire existence of an independent state, only proponents of market reforms have been in power, which, however, has been interpreted in a very peculiar way. Nevertheless, the “Left Bloc”, consisting of socialists, their own, but progressive, All-Ukrainian Party of Workers, and, of course, the Communists, was constantly in opposition. This situation, on the one hand, is convenient, due to the lack of responsibility for what is happening in the country, on the other hand, it shows that the ideals of Marxism are not very popular among the people. Actually, in Russia, the Communists have a similar situation. The difference is one, but significant. In today's Ukrainian parliament, the left is the only opposition association opposing an aggressively-minded nationalist government.
Who is considered right and who is left
So, the understanding of “leftism” and “rightism” in the Western world and post-Soviet countries varies significantly. At present, Ukrainian "pravoseki" have the opportunity to punish fellow citizens who dared to tie a St. George ribbon on their sleeve on Victory Day, declaring them to be "separatists" and "Colorado", and if it comes to verbal obstruction, then this is not the worst option.
Accordingly, each of these is automatically ranked among the left, regardless of its relationship to the ideas of universal social justice. At the same time, European left and right parties differ only in the colors of party flags, some program items and names.