Early ReviewersDouglas Giles

What is the core of politics? What are people trying to accomplish when they engage in political action and what are their motivations?

It is common to think of politics as a contest or battle between the left wing and the right wing. But what, if anything, do "left wing" and "right wing" mean, and if they are in conflict, what is that conflict about?

Avoiding partisan diatribe, Left Wing, Right Wing, People, and Power pulls back the curtain on political rhetoric so that we can start to see what's really going on in politics. The book analyzes the historical development of the left wing and the right wing to reveal that the core of politics is the conflict over power. Despite specific differences of time and place, political actions are consistently efforts to preserve or change the structure and dynamics of power in a society or community. The left wing and right wing have different beliefs about how power is best structured in society.

Politics is complex, and Left Wing, Right Wing, People, and Power offers insights on how we can understand political positions and actions. Well researched and written in an accessible style, the book will be informative and helpful to readers regardless of where they see themselves on the political spectrum. With clear but nuanced definitions of political ideologies and movements, the author shows how politics is about people and how people seek to express and expand their power in the social space around them. Thus, the clash of left wing and right wing is not about grand ideologies but about power relations and the flow of power among people.