text: in politics, what do they mean far right, left, moderate, and conservative?   both major parties have individuals who lean left or right, especially on particular issues.  liberals lean left or even far left.  conservatives lean right or even far right.  moderates are middle of the road on most issues and are present in both parties.  there are also independents who are not a party and are not loyal to either party.  they may be individuals who are even more left or right of center.  being left or right often refers to the fact that political bodies (such as congress) are seated such that one party is together on the left of an aisle and the other party is on their right.  liberals and conservatives often agree that something needs to be done but often not how to do it, or who should pay for it.  perhaps welfare is a good example.  both liberals and conservatives support welfare, however liberals allowed the system to reach the point where many people believed that the government owed then a living while conservatives saw it as a bridge over troubled circumstances back to self-sufficiency.  welfare case workers feared losing their jobs if they did not maintain a long client list while others wondered why a low-paid worker should pay taxes to support a person who could work.  finding the happy medium (the job of the moderates?) is often difficulty.