Left-right distribution actually reflects the way of thinking of political struggle.
The left wing is also often used to describe the politics of one-party capitalist countries such as the former Soviet Union. This concept was accepted by many people in the early 20th century. But today, many left-wing politicians don't think they have anything in common with such a political way.
Rightists are often used to describe conservatism, but after the 20th century, Rightists have also been used to describe fascism, based on fascism's suppression of trade unions, minority rights and other leftists.
Standards vary from country to country. Western countries classify conservatism, theocracy and fascism as Rightists; Socialism, capitalism and anarchism are classified as leftists. Europe (except Britain) regards liberalism as center-right, and the liberal party in Europe advocates free market. In North America, liberalism is regarded as neo-liberalism or social liberalism, which is the center-left American right. On the other hand, it defines itself as a conservative. In fact, it is deeply influenced by European traditional liberalism, especially emphasizing the power of individuals against the government advocated by British traditional liberalism. Therefore, both liberals/leftists and conservatives/Rightists are hostile to the US government.
In China, the standard of left and right distribution is also different. The following is an excerpt from Qin Hui's article about the differences and present situation of extreme left, left, right and extreme right. By the way, the extreme left and extreme right mentioned here are also in line with what Clint Eastwood said:
The slogan of the French Revolution is very beautiful, called "Freedom, Equality and Fraternity". But any exciting slogan has one disadvantage, that is, it can't stand scrutiny. Everyone's talent and living environment are different. If everyone is allowed to develop freely, their wealth and status will not be equal. If everyone wants to be "equal" economically, it will inevitably limit the freedom of the strong to protect the weak. The left and right factions originated from the French Constitutional Convention, but were soon shaped into two factions that had nothing to do with the original intention. Among them, the left supports equality, emphasizes building a welfare state, and helps the weak more through state intervention. Rightists emphasize freedom, oppose excessive welfare, support competition, oppose state intervention, emphasize the establishment of a "weak" government, and oppose excessive restrictions on the strong. But the difference between left and right is only based on the emphasis on equality and freedom. The left is more equal and the right is more free. They all have the same understanding of the basic rights of equality and freedom.
The so-called extreme left is to push leftist thinking to extremes and break through the "bottom line of freedom". In order to obtain indiscriminate justice and abolish most freedoms, we must build an incomparably powerful state machine and put all people's activities under the control of the state. The so-called extreme right, if we push the correct thinking to the extreme, break through the "bottom line of equality." Opposing the state to restrict the strong is interpreted as asking the strong to control the state to bully the weak, claiming that "the state exists for the strong" (Stolypin), practicing oligarchy and canceling all protection and freedom for the weak.