Right-wing politics

:Right wing is also a term used in several sports; see winger (sport).

Fascism and right-wing politics

Despite the important differences from other right-wing ideologies, fascism is almost universally considered to be a part of "the right." This is somewhat parallel to the customary inclusion of Marxism-Leninism (and, in particular, that of the Stalinist Soviet Union and Maoist China) in "the left." Nonetheless, fascism differs significantly from other politics that are usually classified as right wing, and most right-wingers (even many far right groups) reject any association with it on the grounds that fascism is collectivist and statist rather than individualist. Most left-wingers (even many communists) reject any association with Stalinism and Maoism as well.

Related Topics:
Marxism-Leninism - Stalinist - Soviet Union - Maoist - China

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Many of the creators of Italian Fascism had originally been supporters of the political left. Philosophers such as Robert Michel, Sergio Panunzio, and Giovanni Gentile were originally syndicalists, a group normally identified with the left and whose tactical propensity for direct action became an element in Italian Fascism. In Gentile's treatise Doctrine of Fascism, fascism is identified as being of the "collective" century and it is declared that the 20th century will be the "century of the state". Benito Mussolini, himself, was originally a socialist, though he disavowed his ties by the time he was leading the fascist party and many of his old comrades were the first targets of his political police.

Related Topics:
Robert Michel - Sergio Panunzio - Giovanni Gentile - Syndicalists - Direct action - Doctrine of Fascism - 20th century - Benito Mussolini

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David Schoenbaum argued in his book Hitler's Social Revolution: Class and Status in Nazi Germany, 1933-1939 that Nazism contained certain revolutionary and socialist aspects (although more in rhetoric than in reality), and it was no coincidence that the Nazis often found themselves in a struggle with the Communists for the same constituency. The DAP, which later became the Nazi Party, was formed in response and in opposition to a brief Communist revolt in Bavaria. While the Nazis opposed individualism and laissez faire capitalism, vigorous opposition to Communism and Social democracy was a founding and continuing tenet of National Socialism.

Related Topics:
David Schoenbaum - Nazism - Revolutionary - DAP - Nazi Party - Bavaria - Individualism - Laissez faire - Capitalism - Social democracy

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Imperial Japan in the 1930s and during World War II, while a distinct phenomenon, is also ordinarily understood as an expression of a right-wing philosophy; but like other forms of fascism, it is only unequivocally right wing if the terms of comparison are limited.

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In contemporary politics, neofascists and neonazis are said to be far-right. Authoritarian conservatives such as supporters of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet or supporters of the military juntas that ruled much of Latin America in the 1970s are also said to be far-right.

Related Topics:
Neonazi - Far-right - Authoritarian - Chile - Augusto Pinochet - Junta - Latin America - 1970s

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