Understanding politics

Elections 2022 News elections 2022: The article has been updated to include an analysis of the political positions of the candidates for President of the Republic.

Are you on the left or the right? Extreme left or extreme, right? Unclassifiable?

Do you simply want to immerse yourself in political culture, to discover what the major political issues of our time are, and to understand the positioning of the parties?

Please note that the indications extreme left, left, right, and extreme right that we give are valid for the whole world. The parties within each country take a little left, a little right, a little extreme left, a little extreme right, depending on the issues.

Example: The Rassemblement National (ex-FN) borrows from the extreme left on economic issues (such as the issue of globalization) but is clearly extreme right on immigration issues.

The political ideas expressed here are deliberately caricatured: their merit is to offer you a good introduction to politics by presenting you with the guidelines.

Understanding politics: a general approach

As a general rule

If you do not understand the following terms, which are used to identify a political color, no problem. Read the political positioning questions below carefully, and you will then understand by correspondence the terms used here in the introduction.

In economic matters:

The further to the left you go, the more you are protectionist and interventionist.

The more one tends towards the right, the more one is globalist and liberal.

In social matters:

The further to the left you go, the more progressive you are progressive.

The further to the right you go, the more conservative.

When it comes to identity:

The further to the left you go, the more you are cosmopolitan.

The further to the right you are, the more you are nationalist.

Understanding politics: a thematic approach

Taxes

Should taxes be increased or reduced?

Extreme left: We must tax the richest very heavily in order to redistribute to the poor. This seems logical when one sees the great inequalities that exist between the richest and the poorest in French society.

Left: For the same reasons, the richest should be taxed to redistribute to the poor, but without doing too much to avoid the criticisms launched by the right.

Right: The richest groups in France are the ones that drive the economy. Taxing the richest too much means risking their flight to foreign countries.

Extreme right: We absolutely must not tax the richest. If you look closely, they may have a lot of money, but they do not have it: it is their companies that are worth millions. Moreover, we must let the law of the market take its course: taxing – which is tantamount to regulating – would disrupt the proper functioning of the market.

Globalization

Should globalization be encouraged?

Far left: Protectionism is needed to protect the country’s economy. Indeed, opening up to competition would be unfair and counterproductive.

Left: Globalization should be regulated and limited to certain sectors, for example.

Right: Globalization should be encouraged, as it allows economies to compete with each other, and therefore promotes the economic health of all countries.

Extreme right: Globalization allows each country to specialize in one activity, and thus greatly increases the efficiency of the economy. Full-market competition also increases this efficiency.

Poverty

Should the state take responsibility for poverty and exclusion?

Extreme left: Totally. The state must reduce inequalities, by taking a lot from the richest to distribute to the poorest, and thus eliminate poverty and social exclusion.

Left: We have to be moderate, or else the richest will leave the country. But of course, it is the role of the state to reduce poverty, especially through taxes.

Right: The best way to reduce inequality is to pull the poor up, not pull the rich down. So less redistribution.

Extreme right: It is not up to the State to take care of the poor and the exclusion. In any case, it is precisely with less state and fewer taxes that poverty will decrease.

The place of the state

What should the state do?

Extreme left: The state can intervene in all areas if it reduces inequalities.

Left: The state has a role to play because it has a social mission.

Right: The State must limit its presence to leave individuals free.

Extreme Right: The State must limit itself to the police, justice, and national defense. Everything else remains free.

The companies

How should the State intervene with respect to companies?

Extreme Left: Employers almost always exploit employees. The employees should be given as much power as possible against the employers.

Left: The welfare of the workers must be protected. Workers must have protection against unfair dismissal.

Right: Protecting workers also means constraining businesses, which can be bad for the economy. If you protect employees from being fired, employers will be much more reluctant to hire.

Extreme right: We do not need worker protection: constraints like this are what break the economy. If layoffs are totally free, then there will be much more hiring.

Religion

Should everyone be able to live according to their religion?

Extreme Left: Religion is a leaden curtain that prevents people from thinking freely. We must reduce its influence as much as possible.

Left: Everyone should be able to live their religion as they wish, but without disturbing others.

Right: Everyone must be able to live his religion as he wishes, and associations, churches, religions, must be allowed to organize themselves as they wish.

Extreme right: Everyone is free to think about what he wants. Everyone has the religion he wants, and can express it freely.

Homosexuality

What rights should homosexuals have?

Far left: Homosexuality is natural. Equality implies that homosexuals should have the same rights as heterosexuals, and that they should be free to adopt, to have access to PMA and GPA.

Left: Homosexual marriage must be allowed. However, we must be careful about adoption, PMA, and GPA.

Right: Marriage is the union of a man and a woman. Same-sex marriage should not be allowed.

Far right: Homosexuality is not natural. It must be fought.

Abortion

Should abortion be allowed?

Extreme Left: Abortion should be allowed in all cases. Mothers have full control over their bodies.

Left: Abortion should be allowed, but the consequences should be emphasized.

Right: Abortion should only be allowed in exceptional cases, such as danger to the mother’s survival or in the case of rape.

Far right: All life is sacred. Abortion should be absolutely prohibited.

Drugs

How should the state react to drugs?

Extreme Left: Soft drugs should be legalized and hard drugs should be decriminalized. Legalize soft drugs, because they can be less harmful than tobacco, for example, which is already legal. Decriminalize, because it is not by force that we will get people out of the infernal circle of drugs.

Left: We must legalize soft drugs, and conduct experiments to eventually expand to hard drugs.

Right: We must ban drugs, simply because they are harmful to anyone.

Extreme right: We must severely punish the use of drugs, which must, of course, be totally forbidden.

Delinquency

Should individuals’ misdeeds be punished?

Extreme left: When someone commits a misdeed, it is often because of a context that does not depend on him (poverty, exclusion, etc.). We must be understanding and help him to behave better.

Left: Of course, the context has something to do with a person’s wrongdoing, but that person should still be punished with mitigating circumstances.

Right: The individual is responsible. The context does not help, but it is in his own conscience that this individual has committed a misdeed. He must therefore be sanctioned.

Extreme Right: All misdeeds must be severely and proportionally repressed. Everyone is responsible for his or her actions, and it is with punishments that further misdeeds are prevented.

The Right to Vote for Foreigners

Extreme Left: All immigrants, legal and illegal, should have the right to vote. This helps them to be included in society.

Left: Foreigners, whoever they are, should be welcomed. Legal immigrants should have the right to vote.

Right: We should only welcome foreigners who show signs of good integration and refugees. However, only nationals should have the right to vote.

Extreme right: Only refugees should be accepted. Only nationals should have the right to vote. Only the nationals of a country should control the politics of the country.

Immigration

Extreme left: We must welcome all foreigners who want to come. They know misery, war, and other misfortunes. They will be better off in the host country.

Left: We must welcome foreigners as far as the capacities of the host country allow, and we must have a policy to increase these capacities.

Right: Foreigners should be allowed to enter the country, but only if they respect its values, and if they come closer to the way of life of the people who welcome them.

Extreme right: Foreigners should be refused. Let everyone stay in their own country, it is better for both the country they would have left and the one that would have welcomed them.

Understanding politics: a party approach

Each party has its own values, and each has its own priorities.

The first thing to do is to identify which issues are most important to you. Only you can know this, because these are the political struggles of each person, the issues that are important to you.

For example, make a ranking of the three most important issues. Give them a higher coefficient, you decide by how much. Then count your position on each of these issues. Then you can compare with the ideas of each political party, as we summarize below.

Each party is complex. Likewise, each person who correction these questions has a complex position.

Some will be very liberal (i.e. far right) on economic issues, but very progressive (i.e. far left) on social issues.

Others, on the contrary, will be very economically interventionist (i.e. extreme left), but very conservative (i.e. extreme right) on social issues.

In the same way, the parties take a different position on each issue. This is why it is so complex to find the ideal party for you, the one that best fits your ideas. Nevertheless, you can get close to such a result by comparing them with the ideas on each issue of all parties.

Here are for the moment the main French political parties:

La République en Marche: President Macron’s party is often presented as left / center left / center right. Indeed, it borrows a little from each side, without ever positioning itself at the extreme.

• taxes: right
• globalization: right
• poverty: left
• the place of the State: left
• companies: right
• religion: left
• homosexuality: left
• abortion: left
• drugs: right
• delinquency: right,
• the right to vote for foreigners: left
• immigration: right

Rassemblement national: the Rassemblement national is presented as extreme right. In detail, we note that especially on the economic level they are rather left-wing, but they are extremely right-wing on the questions of society.

• taxes: left
• globalization: extreme left
• poverty: left
• the place of the State: left
• business: left
• religion: left
• homosexuality: left or right
• abortion: right
• drugs: extreme right
• delinquency: extreme right
• foreigners’ right to vote: extreme right
• immigration: extreme right

Les républicains: presented as right-wing, this party is in fact right-wing.

• taxes: right-wing
• globalization: left
• poverty: right
• in the place of the State: right
• companies: right
• religion: left
• homosexuality: right
• abortion: right
• drugs: extreme right
• delinquency: right
• foreigners’ right to vote: right
• immigration: right-wing

La France insoumise: presented as extreme left, this party is in fact.

• taxes: extreme left
• globalization: far left
• poverty: extreme left
• the place of the State: extreme left
• business: far left
• religion: far left
• homosexuality: far left
• abortion: far left
• drugs: left
• delinquency: far left
• the right to vote for foreigners: left
• immigration: left

You can also apply this reading grid to newspapers, to political personalities, to your entourage, to any person who expresses an opinion on politics. And in France as well as abroad.

Here is an example that we found interesting of political positioning at the Center, and in a foreign country even if this newspaper is distributed all over the world: The Economist.

The Economist: if this newspaper adopts extreme positions, the fact that it borrows from the political spectrum on the left as well as on the right, makes it come back to the center. It is in detail on the extreme left for social issues, and on the extreme right for economic issues.

• taxes: extreme right
• globalization: extreme right
• poverty: right-wing
• the place of the State: right
• corporations: far right
• religion: far right
• homosexuality: extreme left
• abortion: left
• drugs: extreme left
• delinquency: far left
• foreigners’ right to vote: far left
• immigration: far left

Understanding the 2022 presidential elections

On the occasion of the 2022 presidential elections, we summarize the political positions of the candidates on the themes that most concern the French before the election.

Emmanuel Macron: For a more general view of Emmanuel Macron’s political positioning, please refer to the analysis above of the République En Marche Party. As for the themes of the presidential election, Emmanuel Macron again takes from both the left and the right, but never from the extremes. His position can be summarized as a centrist, with a slight leaning to the right.

• health: left
• the fight against insecurity: right
• the fight against terrorism: right
• purchasing power: right
• the environment: left
• immigration: right

Valérie Pécresse: For a more general view of Valérie Pécresse’s political positioning, see the analysis above of the Republican Party, although Valérie Pécresse is historically part of the more centrist wing of this party. For the presidential election, she is effectively carrying the right-wing ideas of the Republicans.

• health: right wing
• of the fight against insecurity: extreme right
• in the fight against terrorism: extreme right
• purchasing power: right-wing
• environment: right-wing
• immigration: right-wing

Marine Le Pen: For a more general view of Marine Le Pen’s political positioning, please refer to the above analysis of the Rassemblement National. As for the themes of the presidential election, Marine Le Pen borrows mainly from the far right, but also from the far left, notably for her economic program.

• health: extreme left
• the fight against insecurity: extreme right
• in the fight against terrorism: far right
• purchasing power: far left
• the environment: right-wing
• immigration: extreme right

Éric Zemmour: This time, there is no party analysis, since Éric Zemmour does not lean on any particular party, taking mostly electorate from the Republicans and the National Rally. On the themes of the presidential election, Éric Zemmour is the most right-wing of all the candidates.

• health: right
• in the fight against insecurity: extreme right
• in the fight against terrorism: extreme right
• purchasing power: right-wing
• environment: right-wing
• immigration: extreme right

Jean-Luc Mélenchon: For a more general view of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s political positioning, please refer to the above analysis of France Insoumise.

• health: extreme left
• the fight against insecurity: extreme left
• the fight against terrorism: extreme left
• purchasing power: extreme left
• the environment: left
• immigration: left

Yannick Jadot: Green candidate, Yannick Jadot carries left-wing ideas on all subjects, and even more clearly on the environment around which most of his proposals are directed.

• health: left
• the fight against insecurity: left
• the fight against terrorism: left
• purchasing power: left
• the environment: far left
• immigration: left

Christiane Taubira: Christiane Taubira won the popular primary organized in2022.

• health: left
• the fight against insecurity: left
• the fight against terrorism: left
• purchasing power: left
• the environment: left
• immigration: left

How to contribute to this article? React

In the comments, please:

• Post your results (anonymously or not). Left, right, extreme left, extreme, right?
• Comment on how you feel about the positioning of this or that political party/organization presented above, and if we can refine our results.
• Have fun drawing the ideological portrait, because that is what this political positioning is all about, of a political personality or a political party or a newspaper.
• Suggest other political issues that we can address and illuminate in this political spectrum.
• Challenge our assertions. Feel free to do so. And we know that this will never please everyone.

We will edit this article with your comments to get closer and closer to the truth and increase the transparency of political ideas.

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