Low system justification is associated with support for both progressive and reactionary social change

Abstract

Traditional definitions of political ideology state that right-wingers support system stability, whereas left-wingers support social change. However, during the last decade many right-wing movements have been on the rise and demanded far-reaching changes. We argue that both left-, and right-wing protestors reject the status quo, and are motivated to change it - albeit in opposing directions: either to increase equality (progressive social change), or inequality (reactionary social change). In two studies (N-Study1 = 453, N-Study2 = 614), both left-, and right-wingers scored lower on system justification than moderates. Further, latent profile analyses showed that supporters of progressive social change were characterized by low system justification and left-wing ideology, whereas supporters of reactionary social change were characterized by low system justification and right-wing ideology. This indicates that right-wingers do not necessarily support system stability - instead, they reject the status quo and promote change in the direction of greater inequality.