Left Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

The left-right dichotomy is a conceptual tool to describe and classify political parties, actors, ideologies, attitudes, and specific policies along a spectrum. Historically, the terms left and right refer to the seating positions in the National Assembly, during the French Revolution, of pro– and anti–Ancien Régime members. The terms became part of the mainstream political language in the nineteenth century and are still used to describe opposed political affiliations—notwithstanding debates on the contemporary relevance of the dyad.

Positions on a left-right axis are relative and not absolute. The left is not monolithic and one can distinguish between extreme, moderate, or center lefts. The substantive content of the term left varies according to the political, social, cultural, or historical contexts, which explains that several disputed criteria have been put forward to differentiate the left from the right.

Very often the left has been defined as more in favor of change (seen as social progress), of collective (as opposed to individual) rights and responsibilities, of some forms of government or social interventions in the economy, and of redistributive social programs in order to reduce (or eliminate) inequalities construed as (largely) socially constructed. In contemporary political discourse, the left often refers to variants of communism, socialism, social democracy, and in the United States, liberalism.

This example Left Essay is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic please use our writing services. EssayEmpire.com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in.