<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The original use of "right - wing" in reference to communism had the conservatives on the right, the liberals in the center and the communists on the left . Both the conservatives and the liberals were strongly anti-communist . The history of the use of the term "right - wing" to mean anti-communist is a complicated one . </P> <P> Early Marxist movements were at odds with the traditional monarchies that ruled over much of the European continent at the time . Many European monarchies outlawed the public expression of communist views and the Communist Manifesto, which began "(a) spectre (that) is haunting Europe", stated that monarchs feared for their thrones . Advocacy of communism was illegal in the Russian Empire, the German Empire and Austria - Hungary, the three most powerful monarchies in continental Europe prior to World War I . Many monarchists (except constitutional monarchists) viewed inequality in wealth and political power as resulting from a divine natural order . The struggle between monarchists and communists was often described as a struggle between the Right and the Left . </P> <P> By World War I, in most European monarchie, the divine right of kings had become discredited and replaced by liberal and nationalist movements . Most European monarchs became figureheads and elected governments held the real power . The most conservative European monarchy, the Russian Empire, was replaced by the communist Soviet Union . The Russian Revolution inspired a series of other communist revolutions across Europe in the years 1917--1922 . Many of these, such as the German Revolution, were defeated by nationalist and monarchist military units . In this period, nationalism began to be considered right - wing, especially when it opposed the internationalism of the communists . </P>

Meaning of right wing and left wing in politics