If you want to dive down into the philosophical nuts and bolts, the difference between 'Right' and 'Left' in sociopolitical discussions is that Rightists invariably defend, promote, or advocate for hierarchical forms of social order, while Leftists defend, promote, or advocate egalitarian forms of social order. Back in the French revolution this meant that those who still supported the aristocracy and monarchy set on the right, while those seeking some republican form of government sat on the left.

Of course, the nature of hierarchical or egalitarian forms has evolved over time. Rightists in the Western world have largely given up on monarchical or aristocratic hierarchies, and instead reach for hierarchies based on:

• military or civil police forces (kratocracy)
• religion (theocracy or ecclesiocracy)
• wealth (plutocracy or corporatocracy)
• or social standing (timocracy, demagogracy, or ethnocracy)

Modern Leftists, by contrast, generally see the old Republican form as (at best) a compromise with entrenched power groups, and look instead for egalitarian systems based on:

• wealth leveling (socialism, communism, etc)
• expansion and universalization of human rights (social liberalism and democratic socialism)
• strengthening of political institutions (democracy or cultural liberalism)

But all-in-all the distinction between hierarchical and egalitarian forms of government defines the Right/Left distinction.

If you want to dive down into the philosophical nuts and bolts, the difference between 'Right' and 'Left' in sociopolitical discussions is that Rightists invariably defend, promote, or advocate hierarchical forms of social order, while Leftists defend, promote, or advocate egalitarian forms of social order. Back in the French revolution this meant that those who still supported the aristocracy and monarchy sat on the right, while those seeking some republican form of government sat on the left.

Of course, the nature of hierarchical or egalitarian forms has evolved over time. Rightists in the Western world have largely given up on monarchical or aristocratic hierarchies, and instead reach for hierarchies based on:

• military or civil police forces (kratocracy)
• religion (theocracy or ecclesiocracy)
• wealth (plutocracy or corporatocracy)
• social standing (timocracy, demagogracy, or ethnocracy)

Modern Leftists, by contrast, generally see the old republican forms as (at best) a compromise with entrenched power groups, and look instead for egalitarian systems based on:

• wealth leveling (socialism, communism, etc)
• expansion and universalization of human rights (social liberalism and democratic socialism)
• strengthening of political institutions (democracy or cultural liberalism)

But all-in-all the distinction between hierarchical and egalitarian forms of government defines the Right/Left distinction.