Between ideology and social representations: Four theses plus (a new) one on the relevance and meaning of left and right

This study analyzes the relevance and the meaning given by Italians to the political labels of “left” and “right” between 1975 and 2006. Based on the responses to the open-ended question “What do you mean by ‘left/right’ in politics?” we compare five alternative hypotheses on the meaning of the left-right axis and show that, despite the alleged end of ideologies, the relevance of the axis has increased over time. A core of abstract meanings (e.g. values and principles) persists throughout the thirty-year period considered. As the importance of abstract meanings has increased over time, reference to more concrete contents (e.g. parties and leaders) has decreased. Our findings thus support the hypothesis that the left-right axis has the functional characteristics of social representations.