History of Right-wing politics

Right-wing politics hold that certain social orders and hierarchies are inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable,[1][2][3] typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, or tradition.[4]:p. 693, 721[5][6][7][8][9] Hierarchy and inequality may be viewed as natural results of traditional social differences[10][11] or the competition in market economies.[12][13] The term right-wing can generally refer to "the conservative or reactionary section of a political party or system".[14]

The political terms "Left" and "Right" were first used during the French Revolution (1789 - 1799) and referred to seating arrangements in the French parliament: those who sat to the right of the chair of the parliamentary president were broadly supportive of the institutions of the monarchist Old Regime.[15][16][17][18] The original Right in France was formed as a reaction against the "Left" and comprised those politicians supporting hierarchy, tradition, and clericalism.[4]:693 The use of the expression la droite ("the right") became prominent in France after the restoration of the monarchy in 1815, when it was applied to the Ultra-royalists.[19] The people of English-speaking countries did not apply the terms "right" and "left" to their own politics until the 20th century.[20]

Although the right-wing originated with traditional conservatives, monarchists, and reactionaries, the term extreme right-wing has also been applied to movements including fascism, Nazism, and racial supremacy.[21] From the 1830s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from nobility and aristocracy towards capitalism.[22] This general economic shift toward capitalism affected centre-right movements such as the British Conservative Party, which responded by becoming supportive of capitalism.[23] In the United States, the Right includes both economic and social conservatives.[24] In Europe, economic conservatives are usually considered liberal and the Right includes nationalists, nativist opposition to immigration, religious conservatives, and historically a significant presence of right-wing movements with anti-capitalist sentiments including conservatives and fascists who opposed what they saw as the selfishness and excessive materialism inherent in contemporary capitalism.[25][26]