Rightism

(From top to bottom) 1. King Louis XVIII of France, gaining power after the defeat of the French revolution and overseeing a period of monarchist reaction. 2. Italian fascists during the 1922 march on Rome, which led to the formation of the first fascist state in history 3. Nazi leaders inspect prisoners of war during the German invasion of the USSR. 4. US politician Joseph McCarthy, who headed a period of anti-communist terror. 5. Boris Yeltsin, first president of the reactionary Russian Federation after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, meeting with US president Bill Clinton 6. Right-wing extremists gather during the Unite the Right rally in the United States.

Right-wing politics, also known as rightism, is a broad spectrum of political thought which is in support of the status quo in society. This usually entails support for autocratic or oligarchic governmental systems, reactionary and discriminatory positions towards marginalized demographics, disdain for the exploited classes, xenophobia, and rejection of societal progress. Under capitalism, the most prominent right-wing ideologies include liberalism, fascism, monarchism, and bourgeois libertarianism.

Modern rightists are almost universally opposed to socialism, communism, and workers' movements in general, making them inherently opposed to left-wing ideology.

Etymology

Much like the origins of left-wing, right-wing is derived from the seating arrangement in the parliament of France during its revolutionary period. The more conservative, reactionary members of parliament would be seated on the right-side, opposite to the progressives and radicals on the left-side.

See also

• Reactionism
• Far-right politics
• Conservatism