I'm not sure if this the right subreddit but I have been given this question for my history class. I'm really not sure how to answer it but they have given me this paragraph to refer to.
"The growth of the left was a reflection of the desire for radical change in the wake of what was regarded as the bankruptcy or the old order. The effect of this upsurge on the left was to reinforce the noticeable shift of conservatism towards a more extreme position on the the right, a "new conservatism". The shift was, however, not simply a reaction against the left; it was propelled by a recognition that conservatism had to do more than now conserve: the task was not to conserve but rebuild. The right, too, had to engage in radical reform if the world was to be set aright."
I would really appreciate it if anyone could help or explain it to me in the simplest terms. Thanks!
Oh, the author is trying to be cute and clever with language. This paragraph tells you what the post-WWI landscape looked like; your job will then be to explain how WWI helped create it.
Think of "left" and "right" here as ends of a spectrum. Left is communism (FULLCOMMUNISM), right is fascism. Most people fall somewhere in the middle. This paragraph argues that after World War I, (1) more people took political stances at the two ends of the spectrum (2) the right-wing end of the spectrum looked different than before.
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Traditionally, left-wing movements are associated with "progressive/liberal change" (desire to improve society) or "radical change" (desire to break society and make something new.)
Right-wing movements are traditionally associated with either "conservatism" (preserve what is perceived to exist) or "reactionary" (restore what is believed to have been lost)
That helps explain the important parts of the paragraph:
growth of the left (what kind of growth?)
causes right-wing people to have more extreme opinions
BUT the extremist shift is not conservative => reactionary
extremist-right wants "radical" reform--break society and make something new
but it is a right-wing radical, ergo, fascist instead of communist
The first two points describe two major changes the author identifies. The last three describe how the second change is different post-WWI than in previous times.
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