Radical right (United States)

Especially historically in United States politics, the radical right is a political preference that leans towards extreme conservatism and anti-socialism. The term was first used by social scientists in the 1950s regarding small groups such as the John Birch Society in the United States, and since then it has been applied to similar groups worldwide.

The term "radical" was applied to the groups because they sought to make fundamental (hence "radical") changes within institutions and remove from political life persons and institutions that threatened their values or economic interests. They were called "right-wing" primarily because of their opposition to socialism, communism, anarchism, social democracy, progressivism and liberalism and their ultraconservative or reactionary tendencies which limited new access to power and status.

There is disagreement over how right-wing movements should be described, and no consensus exists regarding what the proper terminology should be, although the terminology developed in the 1950s, using the words "radical" or "extremist" is the most commonly used one. Other scholars simply prefer to call them "The Right" or "conservatives", which is what they call themselves. The terminology is used to describe a broad range of movements. The term "radical right" was coined by Seymour Martin Lipset and included in a book titled The New American Right, which was published in 1955. The contributors to that book identified a conservative "responsible Right" as represented by the Republican administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower and a radical Right that wished to change political and social life. Further to the right of the Radical Right, they identified an ultraright. Most ultraright groups operate outside political life, call for drastic change and in extreme cases they use violence against the state. These groups were seen as having developed from the Radical Right, both by adopting an ideology and containing members drawn from them. In The Radical Right a contrast is made between the main section of the Radical Right that developed in the 1950s and was able to obtain influence during the Reagan administration, and the related ultraright that had turned to violent acts including the Oklahoma bombing.

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