Far right

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The '''far right''' (or '''extreme right''' or '''radical right''') is a [[politics|political]] label used to identify parties and movements based on [[fascist]], [[racist]] and/or extremely [[reactionary]] [[Ideology|ideologies]]. Officially those on the far right embrace the concept of the "inequality of outcome", meaning that one group deserves better privileges than another. However, unlike more moderate right-wingers, They also tend to embrace inequality of ''opportunity'', favoring concepts such as [[slavery]], [[segregation]], mass deportation, or sometimes even [[genocide]] of groups perceived to be inferior — although many of them recognize that these abhorrent views are bad for publicity, so they sometimes keep these views hidden except when [[trolling]] anonymously/pseudonymously online. The label "far right" can apply to everything from absolute [[monarchy|monarchies]] to [[Nazism]], meaning that many far-rightists oppose others on the far-right who have a different idea of what the ruling class should be.

The label of "far-right" is a reference to the [[French Revolution]] to refer to those who sat on the [[right-wing]] of the Assembly and were in favor of an essentially unrestrained [[aristocracy]] in terms of the power allocated to them, essentially wanting to either maintain or (later) restore the old order. They also tended to be opposed to the [[Enlightenment]] and [[secularism]] in favor of more conservative religious influence in government.

From the start of the 20<sup>th</sup> century onwards more "[[populist]]" reactionary political philosophies such as ultranationalism/[[fascism]], [[racism|racial supremacy]] (often to a degree that was considered extreme ''even by the standards of the time''), and [[Theocracy|politically-oriented religious fundamentalism]] started to overtake the increasingly unpopular extreme pro-Aristocrat agenda that made up what could be considered the former far-right. To what degree there is much of a difference between them in practice is up for debate and usually changes from country to country.

During the [[Cold War]], the political far-right was associated mainly with extreme and violent [[anti-communist]] governments and paramilitary death squads; far-right movements of this type (defined less by ideology than by their focus on violent destruction of the Left) were often supported by the [[United States]] through programs such as Operation Condor and Operation Gladio. Some still exist in places where there are active leftist insurgencies, such as [[Colombia]]. However in the 21st century the far-right in the [[Western world]] has increasingly drifted towards broadly authoritarian [[Nativism|nativist]] thought, often influenced by former fascist movements.

In modern politics, the far right is ''not'' a form of [[conservatism]] because the far right rejects {{wpl|liberal democracy||,}} the [[rule of law]] and in the [[United States]] it rejects basic tenets of the [[US Constitution]].<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/06/11/radical-right-extremism-bell-hofstadter/ A 1955 book on right-wing extremists predicted the Jan. 6 attack] by Theo Zenou (June 11, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref><ref name=bell>''The Radical Right'', edited by Daniel Bell (2002) Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0765807491.</ref>
{{cquote|Clearly there is more to all this than merely a contest for power within a party. Something new has been happening in American life. It is not the rancor of the radical right, for rancor has been a recurrent aspect of the American political temper. Nor is it just the casting of suspicions or the [[conspiracy theory]] of politics, elements of which have streaked American life in the past. What is new, and this is why the problem assumes importance far beyond the question of the fight for control of a party, is the ideology of this movement — its readiness to jettison constitutional processes and to suspend [[Liberty|liberties]], to condone [[Communist]] methods in the fighting of Communism.|||Daniel Bell<ref name=bell/>{{rp|2}}}}

==Common opinions of the far right==
As ''far right'' is a neologism used by others than those considered far right, the definition is somewhat subjective. It is sometimes used interchangeably with "[[radical]] right", though historians and political scientists draw a distinction between the two.

*[[Xenophobia]] and anti-[[immigration]]; often combined with [[Islamophobia]]<ref group=note>Obviously, this is not the case with Muslims on the far-right.</ref> or other prejudice against the predominating ethnicity and/or religion of immigrants; in many cases outright [[racism]], such as [[white supremacy]] and/or ethnic-related conspiracy theories such as [[Holocaust denial]], [[Eurabia]] and [[white extinction scenario|ideas about "white extinction"]]. Historical far right movements have included everything from anti-Chinese sentiment to anti-Catholicism and even prejudice against Nordic people.
*Anti-[[rationalism]], defending its pet beliefs even from reason.
*Anti-[[leftism]]. This includes opposition to [[anarchism]], [[socialism]], [[Marxism]], as well as extreme anti-[[communism]] (as in endorsing conspiracy theories surrounding the subject, or [[Nazi Germany|committing]] [[Colombia|massacres]] [[Indonesia|against]] [[Taiwan#The_one_on_the_island|them]]). However, in some cases they support a limited [[welfare state]] and occasionally even "state capitalism" (except in the United States where ''any'' sort of welfare is seen as communism).
*Anti-[[Freemasonry]].
*[[Nationalism]], nativism and extreme [[patriotism]], possibly including [[historical revisionism]].
*Not strictly [[anti-abortion]] or [[pro-choice]] with regards to abortion. Childbirth is promoted with their in-group (see also [[white extinction scenario]]). However, abortion can be justified on the basis that those who wish to have them are mostly considered [[eugenics|undesirable]] by the far-right.<ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/article/450678/alt-right-abortion-richard-spencer-co-uphold-margaret-sangers-eugenicist-legacy The Alt-Right Carries on Margaret Sanger’s Legacy of Eugenics]. ''National Review''. August 22, 2017. {{quotebox|[[Richard Spencer]], the keynote speaker in Charlottesville and the central figure of the alt-right movement, finds abortion useful. He has explained that abortion will help to bring about his vision of an elite, white America: “The people who are having abortions are generally very often Black or Hispanic or from very poor circumstances.” The people whom Spencer wants to reproduce, he says, “are using abortion when you have a situation like Down Syndrome.” It is only “the unintelligent and blacks and Hispanics,” he claims, “who use abortion as birth control.”<br>
On this understanding, abortion is a form of eugenics, helping to shape the population to produce more desirables and fewer undesirables. This is why Spencer supports the practice — not because he believes that it is a moral good or that women are owed the right to choose, but because he views it as a morally neutral tool that improves the American gene pool by making it whiter and richer.}}</ref>
*Supporting [[family values]] and traditional [[gender]] roles (e.g. ''[[Kinder, Küche, Kirche]]''), and is virtually always [[homophobic]]<ref group=note>Though some on the far-right, such as the [[Front National]] or [[Geert Wilders]], may endorse or claim to endorse gay rights if they think it gives them a more "[[liberal]]" argument against [[Muslim]]s or other religious minorities</ref> and transphobic.
*Tough stance on [[crime]], probably in support of [[capital punishment]].
*[[Environmentalism]] might be prevalent, especially in a "protection home and soil" and anti-immigrant manner,<ref>https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/15/anti</ref><ref>https://newrepublic.com/article/154971/rise-ecofascism-history-white-nationalism-environmental-preservation-immigration</ref> though other far-right groups champion anti-environmental sentiment ([[climate change denial]], etc.) A more Christian Democratic approach to the environment ("protecting God's creation") can also be present in clerical fascism.
*Questioning universal [[civil rights]] and [[human rights]] (often concerning [[feminism]]). 
*Reactionary beliefs, meaning beliefs that [[good old days|things were better some time ago]] (often before some major legislative change, such as civil rights laws). The "evil era" tends to be the 1960s, which were a period of great change in much of the Western World, whereas the "good old times" can be anything from the 1950s to pre-industrial times.
*A far right group without even trace amounts of [[antisemitism]] is rare - even in places where Judaism is rare and there isn't even Jewish immigration. The exception is, of course, the Israeli far-right (for very obvious reasons), although they still hate Ethiopian Jews, Jews who "aren't Jewish enough", are left-wing, etc.
*[[Fundamentalism|Religious Fundamentalism]]- Religion is often very intertwined with far right beliefs, even if said far right beliefs conflict with their religious beliefs.
*Conspiracy theories — The far right & conspiracy theories go together better than bread & butter.
*[[Racist]] and anti-[[egalitarian]] views — The belief that groups of people are different and should be [[Segregation|segregated]]. This often overlaps with belief in a racial hierarchy, racial supremacy, and "master race". Therefore, "[[miscegenation]]" is highly frowned upon, and racial pride/purity are encouraged (often going as far as to promote [[ethnostate]]s).
*Opposition to [[democracy]] — Dictatorships, one-party states and centralised power are preferred. 
*Legitimisation of violence — Promotes killing and intimidating political dissidents. Can overlap with [[Genocide|genocidal]] views. 

In the 21st century, opposition to [[Islam]] in particular has also become a big issue for the far right. One can identify certain contemporary points of commonality between the far right and other right-wing or purportedly anti-[[identity politics]] movements, such as: opposition to Islam and/or supposedly high rates of Islamic [[immigration]], opposition to "[[political correctness]]" (see [[Gamergate]]), etc. The online far right try to exploit these commonalities, frequently by adding in [[fake news|fake or misleading news]], "edgy" [[trolling]] and [[memes|meme magic]] (which has the convenient advantage that memes often aren't actually arguments and therefore can't be refuted as such), in an attempt to recruit more moderate people to their cause. It has also been argued that some apparent online far-rightists don't really believe the horrible things they post and aren't actually far right but simply post them for shock value, but it is generally [[Poe's law|impossible to tell the difference]].

The "[[realist left]]" have argued that excessive emphasis on identity politics on the left, and the [[moonbat|extreme]] and [[postmodernism|postmodernist]] views of some of the more extreme identity politics practitioners, has driven some people — particularly straight white men — away from the left, and in some cases into the arms of the [[alt-right]], a modern form of the far right.

==Gender and racial diversity==
The far right in modern times is highly male-dominated, although there are a few Hitler-worshipping women to be found on social media. Far rightists try to downplay this gender imbalance by hand-waving about a supposedly silent iceberg of far right women,<ref>https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2017/08/we-need-talk-about-online-radicalisation-young-white-women</ref> and pointing out that far right activism is physically dangerous because of the risk of violent responses by [[antifa]].

Ironically, in places more hospitable to women (due to feminism of all things), the ratio of men to women in far right movements is far closer to .5. So much for their anti-feminism...

In majority-white countries, the far right tends to be exclusively white, for obvious reasons — however, the far right does exist in other countries too, such as in Japan, where it is exclusively made up of Japanese people. The far right [[British National Party]] was found by the British government to be illegally discriminating against non-white people who wanted to join it in its constitution. As a result, it was hilariously forced by the government to change its constitution (rather than forced to disband altogether, which would have been the more logical thing to require it to do), which it did with extreme reluctance — however, it is still racist in terms of its policies, and now uses more subtle techniques to make sure that its membership is still all-white in reality.

==Criticism of the label==
[[Conservatism|Conservatives]] and other "traditional" right-wingers might be critical of this label being applied to them. For example, dishonest [[Godwin's Law|Godwin]]/[[red-baiting]] loons like [[Dinesh D'Souza]], as well as [[horseshoe theory]] proponents, claim that [[Hitler and socialism|Nazism and other far right ideologies]] are actually [[far left]].

==Notes==
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==References==
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{{stub|politics}}

[[Category:Right-wing politics]]
[[Category:Racism]]

Categories: Right-wing politics, Racism