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[NOTE: The following message appeared first on TCH-ECON, but I thought  
someone here might be able to both correct the original story and provide  
a better account. Messages returned to the HES list will be posted both  
here and collected for a longer posting to the original list. -- RBE] 
 
Greetings: 
 
I know that socialists are called leftists and capitalists rightists 
because of an historical accident. The gist of the story I got goes back to 
the 1700s when the proper role of government was being debated in the 
French Parliament. In one of these instances in which the members of 
Parliament were called to vote on an issue calling for a more active role 
of  government, the leader of that body (that would be Newt's counterpart) 
directed those favoring the measure to sit on the left side of the aisle 
and the opposing side on the other side. From then on, supporters of an 
activist socialist government began to be labeled as leftists. Likewise, 
supporters of laissez faire got labeled as rightists.  
 
I got the story from a colleague at the Department of History but he has 
since then retired and I lost track of him. 
 
Is there anybody out there who can reference the story? I would like to 
know. 
 
Thanks, 
 
Andrew W. Bacdayan 
Professor of Economics 
Northwestern State University 
Natchitoches, LA 71497  
 
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