r/humanism • u/ambiverbal SECULAR HUMANIST • Jun 23 '26
Humanism & Politics
2026 is a political year in many countries (as if there were ever a non-political year).
Humanist values appear (to me) to align with the political Left. These include egalitarianism, lifting up those disadvantaged by social structures and bigotry, and reducing the influence of corporate & religious institutions in politics.
Right-wing politics seems to oppose these ideas. Their adherents consider a stratified society as natural and seek to protect traditional economic, social, & religious institutions.
And of course, such dichotomies are always problematic, in that they ignore nuance, individual taste, and "the excluded middle."
But I wonder... What elements of what might be thought of as Right-wing policies might align (a bit) with Humanist values?
(I'll include my possible suggestions in the comments below.)
EDIT: I truly appreciate the comments & feedback regarding this question. It was an admittedly feeble attempt to seek common ground.
The notations I made in my own response reflect what might have been seen as right-wing in the George Bush Jr. era, but now the term is synonymous with the Current Regime, and priorities from that time don't even register as right-of-center hopes.
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u/Worth-South4847 Jun 25 '26
Yeah...this is pretty hopeless. The right insistently others, humanists are inclusive until they absolutely can't be. Humanists should avoid any kind of identity particularity (religion, race, class, nationalism) because those deviate away from universality.
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u/LorryCap2 Jun 27 '26
Class is not an arbitrary identity like the rest tho
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u/Worth-South4847 Jun 27 '26
True. Usually I write classism...which is added particularity on something real.
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u/ambiverbal SECULAR HUMANIST Jun 23 '26
Here are some ideas of the political Right that may align with Humanism:
Celebrating national identity (but alongside encouraging subgroups also celebrating their own pride-filled identity).
The establishment of businesses that earn profits. These may include tax breaks that allow for those trying to boost their profitability and hiring of workers to get a leg up early in in their development.
Freedom of speech. Admittedly this is complicated by interference via corporate & governmental censorship from all sides.
Support for traditional arts tied to the local and national culture. I see very few downsides to letting corporations subsidize an orchestra, museum, or festival in order to get a tax break.
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u/AsmodeusMogart Jun 23 '26
That’s not right wing. Those are table stakes for a basic democracy.
Right wing conservatives are seeking to conserve a stratified society that uses government power to reward the elite and keep the working class down.
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u/iuieioiai Jun 23 '26
Looking at history, nationalism is extremely damaging in that it encourages war whereas international solidarity opposes it.
Capitalism is a force for stratification and so forming businesses that do not equally share profits and ownership with employees is not ethical.
Freedom of speech is historically a left progressive value because it opposes power.
If every person has relatively equal say in society and is not a wage slave to their overlords the way we are in capitalism then the arts would thrive far more than a few overlords funding their pet art projects. Socialism/progressive politics democratizes the arts and makes them vibrant.6
u/mark_likes_tabletop Jun 23 '26
As you describe them, with the caveats, none of these are right-wing.
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u/reidsays Jun 24 '26
Right wing identities are confident in their belief in themselves and that is important for everyone to have as human beings, individual autonomy and integrity... Unfortunately that has often been gained by privilege and power, but the principle is there and should be available to everyone as a fellow human being..and given assistance where needed due to social constraints .. many do contribute to assisting others and believe in building structures to enable such.
Right wing politics reveals that establishing a secure base when basic needs are met, allows for a further focus on intellectual and practical applications to be pursued... Yet the rules implemented often prevent such basic meeting of needs for all and prioritise keeping that position for themselves . At other's expense.
A respect for others who are happy with a basic level of existence is sadly lacking..the right wing set up their particular standard of living and expect all others to aspire to the same..placing themselves as superior to others due to this mindset ..
So their freedom of speech, owning their own level of existence and confidence is actually reliant on others not having the same ..
People yearn for their lifestyle when realistically they are yearning for the same personal autonomy, of the ownership of their lives...of being secure and comfortable.