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Phrases like left wing and right wing seem so culturally and historically dependent as to lose all meaning when used universally.

dade_ 7y ago
Only the original definition from France makes any sense, left is for the revolution, the right is against.
- segfaultbuserr 7y ago
  > left is for the revolution, the right is against. It becomes ambiguous when the official position of the establishment is historically revolutionary-leaning, and claims to follow the original ideology, then the "left" can be interpreted as either (1) supporters of current position of the establishment, or (2) revolutionaries who wish to overthrow the establishment. It gets even more ambiguous if you describe the positions in terms of civil rights, economic systems, foreign policies, etc, you'll see the terms are used in all possible and incompatible ways, which is a typical situation in a Chinese political discourse.
segfaultbuserr 7y ago
Yes. At least three comments already posted here were the result of misunderstanding the terminology. The words "left" and "right", when used in the context of politics in China, has a lot of different meanings. Even many native speakers have difficulties distinguishing them. 1. The conventional, stereotypical 1-dementional European/American popular political spectrum. Here, Democrat, Green, Labor Party, and pro-socialism are generally seen as left; Republicans, Libertarian, or Liberal Party is generally seen as right. This definition is rarely used domestically, only for discussions of international politics. 2. The 1-dementional political spectrum, but with the origin (0, 0) shifted to the official position of Chinese government. Here, "left" represents supporters who favor more radical policies than the current positions of the Communist Party of China, when used in historical context, most revolutionaries are also included. On the other hand, anything less authoritarian than the current government is seen as "right", which basically refers to almost everything else, but typically describes an American liberal. 3. When describing the political stance of a public politician, a "hawk" is seen as left, a "dove" is seen as right. 4. The general cultural implications and impressions of "left" and "right" in China, it doesn't have a precise definition, but in general the "left" refers to any liberal reformist, revolutionaries, progressivists, internationalists; the "right" represents conservatism (in the sense of pro-establishment, pro-CPC), nationalism, industrialists, populism or chauvinism. (4) is the meaning of the term in this article.

dade_ 7y ago

Only the original definition from France makes any sense, left is for the revolution, the right is against.

segfaultbuserr 7y ago
> left is for the revolution, the right is against. It becomes ambiguous when the official position of the establishment is historically revolutionary-leaning, and claims to follow the original ideology, then the "left" can be interpreted as either (1) supporters of current position of the establishment, or (2) revolutionaries who wish to overthrow the establishment. It gets even more ambiguous if you describe the positions in terms of civil rights, economic systems, foreign policies, etc, you'll see the terms are used in all possible and incompatible ways, which is a typical situation in a Chinese political discourse.

segfaultbuserr 7y ago

Yes. At least three comments already posted here were the result of misunderstanding the terminology. The words "left" and "right", when used in the context of politics in China, has a lot of different meanings. Even many native speakers have difficulties distinguishing them. 1. The conventional, stereotypical 1-dementional European/American popular political spectrum. Here, Democrat, Green, Labor Party, and pro-socialism are generally seen as left; Republicans, Libertarian, or Liberal Party is generally seen as right. This definition is rarely used domestically, only for discussions of international politics. 2. The 1-dementional political spectrum, but with the origin (0, 0) shifted to the official position of Chinese government. Here, "left" represents supporters who favor more radical policies than the current positions of the Communist Party of China, when used in historical context, most revolutionaries are also included. On the other hand, anything less authoritarian than the current government is seen as "right", which basically refers to almost everything else, but typically describes an American liberal. 3. When describing the political stance of a public politician, a "hawk" is seen as left, a "dove" is seen as right. 4. The general cultural implications and impressions of "left" and "right" in China, it doesn't have a precise definition, but in general the "left" refers to any liberal reformist, revolutionaries, progressivists, internationalists; the "right" represents conservatism (in the sense of pro-establishment, pro-CPC), nationalism, industrialists, populism or chauvinism. (4) is the meaning of the term in this article.