Explain left and right to me (political terms)

[Macoleco]

What is the difference between right and left political wings? And why is it necessary to differentiate them?

Shouldn't politics be about how to progress as a country? Shouldn't there be just like 1 or a few political parties who work together?

[Yonadav]

In American terms:

Left = Large government with a degree of wealth redistribution to social programs for retirement, healthcare, education, social safety nets, etc.
Right= Small government, free markets, minimal regulation, no redistribution of wealth.

These two visions of what government should be are not so compatible with each other.

[The Grand Nudger]

Both sides believe in big government and a massive welfare state.  The only difference between them is whether they think people or corporations should be the beneficiaries, and who they fully accept as "people" with rights, lol.

[onlinebiker]

Left = twats.
Right = cunts.


Although they would vehemently insist it' s the other way around.

[no one]

One side is full of assholes, the other side constantly talks shit.

[downbeatplumb]

In American terms:  

Left = Large government with a degree of wealth redistribution to social programs for retirement, healthcare, education, social safety nets, etc.
Right= Small government, free markets, minimal regulation, no redistribution of wealth.

These two visions of what government should be are not so compatible with each other.

The above is incorrect. It seems to be what americans are told but is basically flawed.

Left and right wing poilitics started with the French revolutionary parliament.

The people who supported the monarchy, centralising wealth and power sat to the right, the more they more extremes they were in those views the further right they sat.
The left were about wealth and power sharing and the more extreme they were in those views...you get the idea.

So lets look at right wing countries and left wing countries (not Stalinist communist as although it has some aspects of left wing the shows aspects of the right in its centralisation of power)

So left wing does not have to mean large government. Wealth distribution, well its more about building a fairer society that works better for all so more wealth equality but not redistribution which implies stealing money.
Socialist societies can have free markets why not. I would say that infrastructure and health care should not be part of the free market but where you buy your fish why not. So a mixed economy works best. In the UK we were better when more stuff was nationalised and the rot set in when Thatcher sold our services. Bus services are terrible now compared to when they were nationalised.

And the right wanting minimal regulation. true but dangerous, regulation is there for a purpose. Without regulation we would have more deaths and more shocks to the economy. It is unregulated markets that have led to all the major crashes.

[The Grand Nudger]

That's the fun part, at least with respect to american politics.  There's an overarching lie, and then the propaganda we tell as sub-lies within the larger set.

[Yonadav]

In American terms:  

Left = Large government with a degree of wealth redistribution to social programs for retirement, healthcare, education, social safety nets, etc.
Right= Small government, free markets, minimal regulation, no redistribution of wealth.

These two visions of what government should be are not so compatible with each other.

The above is incorrect. It seems to be what americans are told but is basically flawed.

Left and right wing poilitics started with the French revolutionary parliament.

The people who supported the monarchy, centralising wealth and power sat to the right, the more they more extremes they were in those views the further right they sat.
The left were about wealth and power sharing and the more extreme they were in those views...you get the idea.

So lets look at right wing countries and left wing countries (not Stalinist communist as although it has some aspects of left wing the shows aspects of the right in its centralisation of power)

So left wing does not have to mean large government. Wealth distribution, well its more about building a fairer society that works better for all so more wealth equality but not redistribution which implies stealing money.
Socialist societies can have free markets why not. I would say that infrastructure and health care should not be part of the free market but where you buy your fish why not. So a mixed economy works best. In the UK we were better when more stuff was nationalised and the rot set in when Thatcher sold our services. Bus services are terrible now compared to when they were nationalised.

And the right wanting minimal regulation. true but dangerous, regulation is there for a purpose. Without regulation we would have more deaths and more shocks to the economy. It is unregulated markets that have led to all the major crashes.

I answered the question without loading my answer with my worldview. You read things into my answer that weren't there. Also, your notion that redistributing profit implies stealing money is a totally right wing.

[Divinity]

In terms of the US:

The Left Wing is about making progress.
The Right wing is about making shit up, and hoping idiots follow along.

[Anomalocaris]

In the US, the left wing is about giving the goose some food so it can keep laying Golden eggs for the billionaires

The right wing is about not feeding the goose and letting the billionaire teach in and get all the eggs in the goose now.

It use to be that both left and right wing believed there is value in reducing emiseration around the world.  Less emiserated people have more potential losses to consider when they are deciding on whether to act upon their hatred and loathing for America.

Now the right wing thinks emiserating people around the world is a good thing because it steduces the cost of acting against America, which enhances the bleak sense of existential threat that helps keep the right wing in power by making the dumber geese ask fewer questions about why it is they are being fed less for each egg.