<P> After World War II, communism became a global phenomenon and anti-communism became an integral part of the domestic and foreign policies of the United States and its NATO allies . Conservatism in the post-war era abandoned its monarchist and aristocratic roots, focusing instead on patriotism, religious values and nationalism . Throughout the Cold War, colonial governments in Asia, Africa and Latin America turned to the United States for political and economic support . Communists were also enemies of capitalism, portraying Wall Street as the oppressor of the masses . The United States made anti-communism the top priority of its foreign policy and many American conservatives sought to combat what they saw as communist influence at home . This led to the adoption of a number of domestic policies that are collectively known under the term "McCarthyism". While both liberals and conservatives were anti-communist, the followers of Senator McCarthy were called right - wing and those on the right called liberals who favored free speech, even for communists; leftist . </P> <P> In France after the French Revolution, the Right fought against the rising power of those who had grown rich through commerce and sought to preserve the rights of the hereditary nobility . They were uncomfortable with capitalism, the Enlightenment, individualism and industrialism and fought to retain traditional social hierarchies and institutions . In Europe's history, there have been strong collectivist right - wing movements, such as in the social Catholic right that has exhibited hostility to all forms of liberalism (including economic liberalism) and has historically advocated for paternalist class harmony involving an organic - hierarchical society where workers are protected while hierarchy of classes remain . </P> <P> In the nineteenth century, the Right had shifted to support the newly rich in some European countries (particularly England) and instead of favouring the nobility over industrialists, favoured capitalists over the working class . Other right - wing movements, such as Carlism in Spain and nationalist movements in France, Germany and Russia, remained hostile to capitalism and industrialism . However, there are still a few right - wing movements today, notably the French Nouvelle Droite, CasaPound and American paleoconservatives, that are often in opposition to capitalist ethics and the effects they have on society as a whole, which they see as infringing upon or causing the decay of social traditions or hierarchies that they see as essential for social order . </P> <P> In modern times, "right - wing" is sometimes used to describe laissez - faire capitalism . In Europe, capitalists formed alliances with the Right during their conflicts with workers after 1848 . In France, the Right's support of capitalism can be traced to the late - nineteenth century . The so - called neoliberal Right, popularised by US President Ronald Reagan and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, combines support for free markets, privatisation and deregulation with traditional right - wing support for social conformity . Right - wing libertarianism (sometimes known as libertarian conservatism or conservative libertarianism) supports a decentralised economy based on economic freedom and holds property rights, free markets and free trade to be the most important kinds of freedom . Russell Kirk believed that freedom and property rights were interlinked . Anthony Gregory has written that right - wing libertarianism "can refer to any number of varying and at times mutually exclusive political orientations". Gregory holds that the issue is neither right or left, but "whether a person sees the state as a major hazard or just another institution to be reformed and directed toward a political goal". </P>

What is the difference between right wing and conservative