Ever since the French Revolution\, the terms &ldquo\;left&rdquo\; and &ldquo\;right&rdquo\;\n have been used to frame and explain the political positioning of \nparties\, voters and public policies. Although many thinkers claim that \nthis dichotomy is exhausted and no longer provides an adequate \nunderstanding of contemporary political divisions\, &ldquo\;left&rdquo\; and &ldquo\;right&rdquo\;\n remain central in political debate. But is the content of these terms \nreally understood by all political actors? What does each individual or \ngroup recognize as &ldquo\;left&rdquo\; and &ldquo\;right&rdquo\;?
\nIt\n is true that other classifications of political cleavages have been \nsuggested\, but none seems to have replaced the traditional division \nbetween left and right. \nMany people have thought that an opposition between materialist and \npost-materialist orientations or between libertarian and authoritarian \nvalues could cut across left and right.\n However\, these new oppositions seem to have been absorbed\, at least \npartly\, by the old dichotomy. But is this really the case? Are there\, in\n fact\, no other sets of terms that might provide a clearer division of \nthe political spectrum? The standard most commonly used to distinguish left from right has been the concern with equality. But is this social-economic \ncriterion actually the best? Particularly at a time when very divisive \n&ldquo\;new politics&rdquo\; issues arise? And even if\n one accepts the validity of the traditional criterion\, how can we \ndescribe and explain the approaches from left and right on equality issues?
\nFurthermore\, there is more than one ideology within each side of the political spectrum &ndash\; there is not only one left\, there are several lefts\, and the same is true about the right.\n If we accept that there is something that unifies these several lines \nwithin each side of the political divide\, what\, then\, separates \ndifferent views of the left or the right and allows us to distinguish between them? Which are the political values that are shared by the different ideologies on the left and on the right and which are those that keep them apart?\n \;
\nThe\n aim of this conference is to encourage a rethinking of this major \npolitical dichotomy\, through the discussion of this and of other rival \npolitical dichotomies and of the ideologies and concepts that define \nthem.
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