24 July 2022

Ever wondered why the political parties are called “Left” and “Right”?

I have been reading this book on Morality and how that explains the religious divide and the political divide. An interesting fact I picked up is the origin of “Left” and “Right” (in the context of political leanings).

Do you know where it comes from?

Turns out the root of this goes back to the French Revolution in 1789. The members of the French Assembly found themselves divided in their support for the revolution (against monarchy) and against (for the King). To avoid up close and personal fracas, the ones that favored change sat on the left of the chamber and the ones that favored preservation sat on the right. The terms “left” and “right” have stood for liberalism and conservatism ever since!

In a bit of irony, the “left” then were called “Republicans” (they wanted a republic over a monarchy)

Learnt something early this morning.



Posted July 24, 2022 by Rajib Roy in category "Musings

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