View source for Left-wing politics

{{wikipedia|Left-wing politics}}
'''Left-wing politics''' describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy.<ref name="Smith">{{cite book|author-last1=Smith |author-first1=T. Alexander |author-first2=Raymond |author-last2=Tatalovich |title=Cultures at War: Moral Conflicts in Western Democracies |url=https://archive.org/details/culturesatwarmor0000smit |url-access=registration |location=Toronto, Canada |publisher=Broadview Press |year=2003 |page=[https://archive.org/details/culturesatwarmor0000smit/page/30 30] |isbn=9781551113340}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author-last1=Bobbio |author-first1=Norberto |author-first2=Allan |author-last2=Cameron |title=Left and Right: The Significance of a Political Distinction |url=https://archive.org/details/leftrightsignifi00bobb |url-access=limited |publisher=[[w:University of Chicago Press]] |year=1997 |page=[https://archive.org/details/leftrightsignifi00bobb/page/n58 37]}}</ref><ref name="Lukes">{{cite book|author-last1=Ball |author-first1=Terence |title=The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought |date=2005 |publisher=[[w:Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780521563543 |edition=Reprint. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N1h4_NqTOFoC&q=The+Cambridge+History+of+Twentieth-Century+Political+Thought |access-date=15 November 2016 |page=614}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author-last1=Thompson |author-first1=Willie |title=The Left In History: Revolution and Reform in Twentieth-Century Politic |date=1997 |publisher=[[w:Pluto Press]] |location=London |isbn=978-0745308913}}</ref> Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in society whom its adherents perceive as disadvantaged relative to others as well as a belief that there are unjustified inequalities that need to be reduced or abolished.<ref name="Smith" /> According to emeritus professor of economics Barry Clark, supporters of left-wing politics "claim that human development flourishes when individuals engage in cooperative, mutually respectful relations that can thrive only when excessive differences in status, power, and wealth are eliminated."<ref>{{cite book|author-last=Clark |author-first=Barry |date=1998 |title=Political Economy: A Comparative Approach |location=Westport, Connecticut |publisher=[[w:Praeger Press]] |isbn=9780275958695}}</ref>

Within the [[left–right political spectrum]], ''Left'' and ''[[right-wing politics|Right]]'' were coined during the French Revolution, referring to the seating arrangement in the French [[Estates General (France)|Estates General]]. Those who sat on the left generally opposed the Ancien Régime and the Bourbon monarchy and supported the Revolution, the creation of a democratic republic and the secularization of society<ref name="Knapp">{{cite book|author-last1=Knapp |author-first1=Andrew |url=https://archive.org/details/governmentpoliti0000knap |title=The government and politics of France |author-last2=Wright |author-first2=Vincent |date=2006 |publisher=[[w:Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-35732-6 |edition=5th |location=London [u.a.] |quote=the government and politics of france.|url-access=registration}}</ref> while those on the right were supportive of the traditional institutions of the Ancien Régime. Usage of the term ''Left'' became more prominent after the restoration of the French monarchy in 1815, when it was applied to the ''Independents''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Realms of memory: conflicts and divisions |date=1996 |editor-first=Pierre |editor-last=Nora |chapter=Right and Left |author-first=Marcel |author-last=Gauchet |pages=248}}</ref> The word ''wing'' was first appended to Left and Right in the late 19th century, usually with disparaging intent, and ''left-wing'' was applied to those who were unorthodox in their religious or political views.

Ideologies considered to be ''left-wing'' vary greatly depending on the placement of the [[Overton window]] along the [[left–right political spectrum|left-right political spectrum]] in a given time and place. At the end of the 18th century, upon the founding of the first [[Liberal democracy|liberal democracies]], the term ''Left'' was used to describe [[liberalism]] in the United States and [[republicanism]] in France, supporting a lesser degree of hierarchical decision-making than the ''right-wing politics'' of the traditional conservatives and monarchists.

==References==
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[[Category:Political spectrum]]