Political Left and Right: Our Hands-On Logic
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Bienfait, Frits
van Beek, Walter E. A.
Abstract / Description
The origins and immediate vitality of the left/right divide which emerged in French revolutionary politics from 1789 can only be understood against the background of a much older classification dynamic based on the primacy of the right hand, first described by Robert Hertz in 1909. This dynamic infused political thinking first in Versailles and since 1815 in democracies throughout the world. In the process, the classical left/right polarity acquired a new dimension: the complementary notions of ‘accepting’ and ‘questioning’ the existing social order. An essential feature of both the age-old classical polarity and the ensuing political polarity is that they are intimately bound up with local and evolving social contexts: there is no single content-based definition of left and right. As long as the majority of us are predisposed to use our right hand when acting in the world, ‘left versus right’ will remain the most important political antithesis in western-type democracies.
Keyword(s)
political left political right polarity Hertz classification order anthropology culturesPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2014-12-10
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
2
Issue
1
Page numbers
335–346
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Bienfait, F., & van Beek, W. E. A. (2014). Political Left and Right: Our Hands-On Logic. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2(1), 335–346. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.323
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Bienfait, Frits
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Author(s) / Creator(s)van Beek, Walter E. A.
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-26T12:44:44Z
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Made available on2018-11-26T12:44:44Z
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Date of first publication2014-12-10
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Abstract / DescriptionThe origins and immediate vitality of the left/right divide which emerged in French revolutionary politics from 1789 can only be understood against the background of a much older classification dynamic based on the primacy of the right hand, first described by Robert Hertz in 1909. This dynamic infused political thinking first in Versailles and since 1815 in democracies throughout the world. In the process, the classical left/right polarity acquired a new dimension: the complementary notions of ‘accepting’ and ‘questioning’ the existing social order. An essential feature of both the age-old classical polarity and the ensuing political polarity is that they are intimately bound up with local and evolving social contexts: there is no single content-based definition of left and right. As long as the majority of us are predisposed to use our right hand when acting in the world, ‘left versus right’ will remain the most important political antithesis in western-type democracies.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationBienfait, F., & van Beek, W. E. A. (2014). Political Left and Right: Our Hands-On Logic. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2(1), 335–346. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.323en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1347
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1703
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.323
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Keyword(s)political leften_US
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Keyword(s)political righten_US
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Keyword(s)polarityen_US
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Keyword(s)Hertzen_US
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Keyword(s)classificationen_US
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Keyword(s)orderen_US
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Keyword(s)anthropologyen_US
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Keyword(s)culturesen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitlePolitical Left and Right: Our Hands-On Logicen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers335–346
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Volume2
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record