Far-left politics

Not to be confused with Ultra-left, Radical left, Radicalism (historical), or Hard left.

French far left groups marching on May 1, 2007; including members of Lutte Ouvrière, Confédération nationale du travail and flags of Cuba

Far left and extreme left are terms used to discuss the position a group or person occupies within a political spectrum.The terms far left and far right are often used to imply that someone is an extremist. Some groups considered to be far left do not wish to govern within the current institutional framework, and this may be what distinguishes them from other left-leaning groups. However, these terms are controversial because the labels are considered by some to be subjective based upon the perspective of those who consider themselves "centrists" or slightly left or right of center with an underlying assumption that anything more radical than those views is 'extreme' or wrong.

In the current context, those labelled far left tend to posit class struggle as the central feature of modern politics. The term far left has been associated with ideologies such as communism, social anarchism, anarchist communism, left communism, anarcho-syndicalism, Marxist-Leninism, Trotskyism and Maoism. Some groups and organisations on the left define themselves as revolutionary socialist.

The terms far left and far right are based on the assumption that political views can be coherently divided according to a left-right spectrum. Therefore, the terms have been criticized by groups that believe politics is not one-dimensional, and that there are more than two kinds of political extremes.

History and usage

The origin of left as a political term is the seating arrangements in the French National Assembly during the French Revolution. The most radical of the Jacobins were seated on the far left of the chamber. The term Jacobin was used to describe far left people throughout much of the 19th century. Since then, the term far left has been used to describe persons or groups who hold radical egalitarian views and support radical social and political change.

Similar terms

During the 19th century, the term radical was used by progressive liberals to distance themselves from classical liberals, which explains why some centre-left political parties today have radical in their names, such as Denmark's Det Radikale Venstre (which literally translates into English as "the radical left"), and France's Left Radical Party. In the 20th century, the definition of radical was revised in response to the models of communism and the Soviet Union. At that time, the political term radical often implied Marxism of some kind. Since the early 20th century, radical left has been used as an umbrella term to describe those on the political left who adhere explicitly and openly to revolutionary socialism, communism, or anarchism. In this context, it generally does not include democratic socialists, social democrats, liberals, nor others working in electoral politics, since the radical qualifier tends to denote a revolutionary fervor.

The term ultra-leftism, which originated in the 1920s, is sometimes used in the same way as far left, but also has a more specific meaning within the context of Marxism. The term hard left is sometimes used in the same way, but also has a specific meaning within the British Labour Party; a meaning that was used in particular in the 1980s.

Varying usage in different national contexts

English-speaking countries

In the 2000s, in nations where communist or socialist parties are not part of the political mainstream, such as the United States, the term far left can simply mean to the left of the most left-wing member of the legislature. For much of the English-speaking world - especially Australia and the United States - far left is sometimes a pejorative term to indicate that a person is extreme or on the fringe in their left-wing views. Commentators like Bill O'Reilly refer to politicans like John Edwards and sites like Media Matters for America as "far-left".

France

In France, the term extrême-gauche is the accepted term for Trotskyists, anarchists, Maoists and New Leftists, for example in reporting election results. The French Communist Party is not considered far left. Dictionnaire de l'extrême gauche ('Dictionary of the Far Left') by Serge Cosseron defines 'far left' as "all movements situated to the left of the Communist Party".

Italy

The The Left - The Rainbow coalition has described itself as "radical left".

See also

• Anarchism
• Extremism
• Communism
• Far right
• Glossary of the French Revolution
• Ideology
• Left-Right politics
• Left-wing politics
• Left-wing political parties
• Nolan Chart
• Political compass
• Political spectrum
• Right-wing politics
• Socialism
• Ultra leftism
• World's Smallest Political Quiz