Left-wing politics

"Left-wing" redirects here. For the term used in sports, see winger (sport).

"Leftism" redirects here. For the album of the band Leftfield, see Leftism (album).

In politics, left-wing, the political left, or the Left are positions that seek to reform or abolish the existing social order in favor of a more equal distribution of wealth and privilege. In general, the left advocates a society where all people have an equal opportunity, which they often describe as a "level playing field". Because of this, the left tends to support labor unions, worker cooperatives and sometimes communes. Its emphasis on social change puts it in alliance with civil rights, feminist and green movements in certain cases.

According to Barry Clark,

Leftists... claim that human development flourishes when individuals engage in cooperative, mutually respectful relations that can thrive only when excessive differences in status, power, and wealth are eliminated. According to leftists, a society without substantial equality will distort the development of not only deprived persons, but also those whose priveleges undermine their motivation and sense of social responsibility. This suppression of human development, together with the resentment and conflict engendered by sharp class distinctions, will ultimately reduce the efficiency of the economy.

Ideologies considered part of the left include; Progressivism, Social liberalism, Social democracy, Left-libertarianism, Socialism, Syndicalism, Marxism, Communism, Autonomism and most forms of Anarchism.

It should be noted that groups that associate themselves as left-wing can oppose each other's positions. . For instance, the United Kingdom's Labour Party - associated with the left in the UK - often advocates global capitalism and has helped develop one of the most capitalist economies in the world. In the other extreme, Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front - associated with the left in Zimbabwe - has developed one of the most socialist economies in the world. In countries such as Japan, Denmark, Chile, or United States, the left often pursues openly free-market capitalist policies, and varying levels of state spending.

Definition

From the 18th to 20th Centuries the "Old Left" argued that differences in social class determined the nature of a society.

The modern socialist movement largely originated in the late–19th century working class movement. During this period, the term "socialism" was first used by European social critics, who spoke against capitalism and private property. Karl Marx, who helped establish and define the modern socialist movement, wrote that socialism would be achieved through class struggle and a proletarian revolution. Marxism has had a lasting influence on most branches of socialism.

As the ideas of Marx and Engels took on flesh, particularly in central Europe, socialists sought to unite in an international organization. In 1889, on the centennial of the French Revolution of 1789, the Second International was founded, with 384 delegates from 20 countries representing about 300 labour and socialist organizations. It was termed the "Socialist International" and Engels was elected honorary president at the third congress in 1893.

When World War I began in 1914, many European socialist leaders supported their respective governments' war aims. The social democratic parties in the UK, France, Belgium and Germany supported their respective state's wartime military and economic planning, discarding their commitment to internationalism and solidarity.

Lenin, however, denounced the war as an imperialist conflict, and urged workers worldwide to use it as an occasion for proletarian revolution. The Second International dissolved during the war, while Lenin, Trotsky, Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, together with a small number of other Marxists opposed to the war, came together in the Zimmerwald Conference in September 1915.

Socialists seize power in Russia

The Russian Revolution of October 1917 brought about the definitive ideological division between Communists as denoted with a capital "C" on the one hand and other communist and socialist trends such as anarcho-communists and social democrats, on the other. The Left Opposition in the Soviet Union gave rise to Trotskyism which was to remain isolated and insignificant for another fifty years, except in Sri Lanka where Trotskyism gained the majority and the pro-Moscow wing was expelled from the Communist Party.

In 1922, the fourth congress of the Communist International took up the policy of the United Front, urging Communists to work with rank and file Social Democrats while remaining critical of their leaders, who they criticized for "betraying" the working class by supporting the war efforts of their respective capitalist classes. For their part, the social democrats pointed to the dislocation caused by revolution, and later, the growing authoritarianism of the Communist Parties. When the Communist Party of Great Britain applied to affiliate to the Labour Party in 1920 it was turned down.

After the World War II

During the 1960s this perspective was broadened by the "New Left" to include an egalitarian approach to cultural politics, including "New Social Movements" based on anti-racism, feminism, environmentalism and LGBT rights. This turn to so-called "identity politics" has been decried by organizations of the Old Left as being partially responsible, together with other failures to focus on the class structure of society as the essential issue, for the co-optation of leftist elements into establishment ones as in the neo-conservative, neo-liberals, and greens.

The last quarter of the twentieth century marked a period of major crisis for Communists in the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc, where the growing shortages of housing and consumer goods, combined with the lack of individual rights to assembly and speech, began to disillusion more and more Communist party members. With the rapid collapse of Communist party rule in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe between 1989 and 1991, the Soviet version of socialism has almost disappeared as a worldwide political force.

Today

Socialist left remains in power in many countries, such as People's Republic of China, Cuba, Syria. Angola, and Zimbabwe.

Center left refers to the left side of mainstream politics in liberal democracies. These support liberal democracy, representative democracy, and private property rights in combination with tax funded spending on social welfare, active regulation of the economy, and some public ownership. "Center" is generally defined relative to a particular national or regional norm rather than the global state of affairs.

Prominent examples of center-left parties include the UK Labour Party, the Liberal Party of Canada, the US Democratic Party, and the Social Democratic Party of Germany. There are also many nationalist parties who describe themselves as being on the left. For example in the United Kingdom in Scotland there is the Scottish National Party (SNP), in Wales there is Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales).

In some countries (especially the UK), "soft left" refers to reformist, democratic and/or parliamentary forms of socialism, whereas "hard left" refers to socialists who advocate more radical change in society. Organizations described as far left are rooted in the politics of the "Old Left." Ultra-left organizations are those on the extreme left of the political spectrum, such as autonomism and anarchism.

As with "center" the term 'left-wing' is relative to the politics of individual countries and regions. In an article on the 2001 general election in the United Kingdom, the American Washington Post newspaper observed that the British Conservative party's policies on healthcare and welfare would be on "the far left-wing fringe of American politics", and that the British election had been conducted way to the left of America's political dialogue.

Although the left is generally thought of as being secular, in some Roman Catholic countries there is a tradition of liberation theology which focuses upon "social justice", and in some Protestant countries there is a tradition of Christian Socialism. Some philosophers and historians, such as Eric Voegelin and Jacob Talmon, argue that the left is a utopian secular political religion.

Leftists themselves are divided among those who emphasize individual well-being (modern liberals) and communitarians (radicals and socialists).

Origins and history of the term

See also: Left-Right politics

The term originates from the French Revolution, when liberal deputies from the Third Estate generally sat to the left of the president's chair, a habit which began in the Estates General of 1789. The nobility, members of the Second Estate, generally sat to the right. It is still the tradition in the French Assemblée Nationale for the representatives to be seated left-to-right (relative to the Assemblée president) according to their political alignment.

In the years leading up to World War I, many on the left advocated communism as the best method to end the exploitation of the working class by the upper class. Left-wing revolutions in Russia and China overthrew the existing governments of those countries, and established where were called "people's" governments.

In contemporary Western political discourse, "the Left" is most often used to describe forms of socialism, social democracy, or, in the sense in which the term is understood in the United States and Canada, liberalism.

Some, such as Roger Scruton, deny that green politics is inherently "on the left" arguing (with reference to damage to the environment which occurred in communist regimes such as the USSR) that conservatism is the natural home of conservation. Libertarians argue that people with property rights are more likely to take care of property they own than they are of property held in common. Many Greens however associate the right with free market exploitation of natural resources. When Green politicians have formed political coalitions (most notably in Germany, but also in local governments elsewhere), it has almost always been with groups that classify themselves as on the left. Notable exceptions include Green Parties participating in center-right governments in Mexico, with the National Action Party (PAN); in the 4-party "green-blue" coalition in Finland; and, on March 9 2004 Indulis Emsis of Latvia's Union of Greens and Farmers became the first Green Prime Minister in the world, at the head of a minority center-right coalition.

Left-wing issues

The Left has traditionally identified with the lower classes and with combating oppression. Thus the industrial revolution saw left-wing politics become associated with the conditions and worker's rights in the new industries. This led to movements advocating social democracy, socialism and trade unionism. More recently, the left has criticized what it perceives as the exploitative nature by current forms of globalization, e.g. the rise of sweatshops and the "race to the bottom", and either has sought to promote more just forms of globalization, such as fair trade, or has sought to allow nation-states to "delink" or break free of the global economy.

Although specific means of achieving these ends are not agreed upon by different left-wing groups, almost all those on the left agree that some form of government or social intervention in economics is necessary, ranging from Keynesian economics and the welfare state through industrial democracy or the social market to nationalization of the economy and central planning.

As civil and human rights gained more attention during the twentieth century, the Left has allied itself with advocates of racial and gender equality and cultural tolerance.

Foreign policy positions

The Western left have been opponents of imperialist and colonial wars, and have championed anti-colonial rebellions. While some segments of the Western left are inspired by a strict adherence to pacifism, much left-wing opposition to war arises primarily from anti-capitalist sentiment. Left-wing opposition to war is also often characterized by the internationalist belief that world's workers share common interests with one another, rather than with the powers governing their respective countries.

History

The First World War triggered fierce debate among socialist groups as to the right response to take, with the leaderships of most socialist parties of the Second International supporting their governments, and a minority of socialists, such as Rosa Luxemburg and Lenin opposing the war as imperialist. Left-wing opponents to the war came together at the Zimmerwald Conference. The Bolsheviks responded to a revolt by soldiers against the First World War with promises of "bread, land and peace." This took place under economic blockade, and at a time when the Soviets put all their resources into efforts to defend their country from invasion, a period known as "War Communism."

As a result of the Nazi-Soviet pact supporters of the Soviet Union were instructed by Stalin to describe those who advocated military attacks upon Nazi Germany as capitalist warmongers, but when Hitler turned on Stalin by invading the Soviet Union the majority of those on the left who had opposed the war became supporters of military action against Germany.

The Spanish Civil War, in which a democratically elected government was opposed by a military coup, was seen by many on the left as an important fight against fascism. In response to the outbreak of war, many joined the International Brigades or other left-wing militias organized by trade unions or political parties, such as the Anarchist CNT-FAI or the left-wing Marxist POUM. Others campaigned for arms embargoes and advocated intervention by the League of Nations.

The biggest anti-war movement that involved the western left was that against military involvement by the USA and Australia in South Vietnam when it was faced with an insurgency by the Vietcong, who were supported militarily by North Vietnam. The protests were directed primarily against the American military intervention and eventually received considerable mainstream support.

The American-led war in Iraq led to revived support for anti-war movements. The governments of some social democratic political parties (such as Tony Blair's Labour Party) sent their countries' troops to participate in this war. A Left justification for this policy is supplied by, for example, Oliver Kamm Anti-Totalitarianism: The Left-wing Case for a so-called "Neo-Conservative" foreign policy. However, most of the left has opposed the war in Iraq. Some on the left claim that the war in Iraq is imperialist, that control of the Middle East with its strategic oilfields, and not the removal of regime of Saddam Hussein, was the actual goal. Others argue the legal justification for the war was inaccurate, specifically the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Some criticism has been leveled at some left-wing groups for forming anti-war coalitions with libertarian organizations (such as the paleolibertarian Antiwar.com) or with groups led by fundamentalist Islamists . Some on the French left (especially within ATTAC) argue that antiwar protests distract from the economic arguments advocated by the anti-globalisation movement. In the U.S., much left-wing activism was channeled into Anybody but Bush campaigns, which effectively meant supporting the centre-left Democratic Party. In the U.K, anti-war feeling may have been a factor in a drop in support for the pro-war Labour Party government, and the cause of gains for the Liberal Democrats.

Positions around the world

Violent struggle

Today Maoist organizations, grouped in RIM, have their greatest influence in South Asia. They have been involved in violent struggles in Bangladesh and, until recently, Nepal. The Nepalese Maoist militant struggles have ended and the Maoists have peacefully negotiated to become the majority party in the newly formed republic. There are also minor groups active in Afghanistan, Peru and Turkey.

In the Philippines, the Communist Party of the Philippines, which is not part of the RIM, leads an armed struggle through its military wing, the New People's Army.

In Peru, several columns of the Communist Party of Peru/SL are fighting a sporadic war. Since the capture of their leadership, Chairman Gonzalo and other members of their central committee in 1992, the PCP/SL no longer has initiative in the fight. Several different political positions are supported by the leadership of the PCP/SL.

In India, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) have been fighting a protracted war. Formed by the merger of the People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Center ("notorious for its macabre killings") originating from the 25 May 1967 peasant uprising., they have expanded their range of operations to over half of India and have been listed by the Prime Minister as the "greatest internal security threat" to the Indian republic since it was founded.

Bolivarian Revolution

The “Bolivarian Revolution” refers to a mass social movement and political process in Venezuela. Its most prominent leader is Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement and the current President of Venezuela. The "Bolivarian Revolution" seeks the implementation of Bolivarianism in Venezuela. Proponents of Bolivarianism trace its roots to an avowedly socialist interpretation of some ideals of Simón Bolívar, an early 19th century Venezuelan and Latin American revolutionary leader, prominent in the South American Wars of Independence. Critics inside Venezuela as well as foreigners say Chávez has used the Bolivarian Revolution to consolidate his power, nationalize industries, and use the government to change vast aspects of everyday life for Venezuelans.

Chávez is the most prominent exponent of Bolivarianism, which functions as the root ideology of the "Bolivarian Revolution". Chávez has listed a number of ideological streams that he sees as having contributed significantly to Bolivarianism.

Chávez asserted in his September 2005 speech at the Bronx's Latino Pastoral Action Center that Jesus of Nazareth was a radical activist who purportedly emphasized and sought redistributive social justice and democratic socialism--Chávez has stated that such emphases also characterize Bolivarianism. Chávez has repeatedly claimed that Jesus was a social, as well as an individual, savior and liberator who was active in class struggle, social justice, and human rights both individual and collective.

Chávez's statements on Bolivarian ideology have attracted the ire of some evangelical and conservative groups, who traditionally place almost exclusive emphasis on Jesus as a personal, as opposed to a social, savior.

Chávez's administration has sought to strengthen the Venezuelan government's control over the nation's vital oil industry while seeking to better redistribute the revenues earned from petroleum exports. Bolivarianism has continually changed and evolved as an ideology since Hugo Chávez was elected president in late 1998.

New leftism

New Leftism (Chinese: 新左派) in the People's Republic of China is an ideological tendency in opposition to capitalism and the Chinese economic reforms and in favour of the restoration of Maoist-style socialism. The movement first gained steam during the mid-1990s. New Leftism is seen as being more appealing to students in China today than liberalism or neoliberalism — problems faced by China during its modernisation, such as inequality and the widening gap between the rich and the poor, are becoming more serious. It is also known as 'neo-leftism'.

New Leftists can usually be divided into two main groups: (1) believers in either postmodernism or Mao's interpretation of Marxism; and (2) those who support Chinese nationalism. The Chinese New Left's origins lie mainly in scholarly people who were heavily influenced by the idea of postmodernism in universities in the Western world before coming back to China in the mid-1990s. They tend to think that the social problems faced by China are caused by capitalist loopholes and corruption. Current plans for a "New Socialist Countryside" could be seen as a concession to New Left ideas.

Positions in the West

Anti-globalization and alter-globalization

The Global Justice Movement movement, also known as the anti-globalisation or alter-globalization movement, are protesters against global trade agreements and the negative consequences they perceive them to have for the poor and the environment. This movement is generally characterised as left-wing, though some activists within it reject association with the traditional left. There are also those on the right, Pat Buchanan for example, who oppose globalization on nationalistic grounds. The Global Justice Movement does not oppose globalisation per se, on the contrary, it supports some forms of internationalism). The main themes of the movement are the reforms of international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and the creation of an international social justice movement. It rejects the leadership of any political party, defining itself as a "movement of movements."

Feminism

Main article: The left and feminism

Early feminism in the nineteenth century was often, although not always, connected to radical politics. Today, socialist feminists, Marxist feminists, liberal feminists and some radical feminists position themselves as on the left of the political spectrum.

Developing world

Left-wing political ideas and groups were involved in many of the anti-colonial movements in Africa, Asia and South America. Some left-wing groups in the developing world, such as the Zapatista Army of National Liberation in Mexico, Abahlali baseMjondolo in South Africa and the Naxalites in India, argue that the western left usually takes a racist and paternalistic attitude towards popular movements in dominated countries. There is particular criticism of the role played by NGOs and the assumption by the Anti-globalization movement in Europe and North America that it is a global movement with an automatic right to lead movements in the South.

Post-modernism

Left-wing Post-modernist theories reject attempts at universal explanatory theories such as Marxism, deriding them as grand narratives. They argue for an embrace of culture as the battle grounds for change, rejecting traditional ways of organising such as political parties and trade unions, focusing instead on critiquing or deconstruction. Left-wing critics of Post-modernism view it as a reaction to the economic failure of State Socialism (both in Europe and Latin America and the USA) and disillusionment with authoritarian Communist regimes. They assert that cultural studies courses inflate the importance of culture through denying the existence of an independent reality.

The most famous critique of post-modernism from within the left came in the form of a 1996 prank by physicist and self-described leftist Alan Sokal. Concerned about what he saw as the increasing prevalence on the left of "a particular kind of nonsense and sloppy thinking… that denies the existence of objective realities, or…downplays their practical relevance…", Sokal composed a nonsensical article entitled "Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity", in which a mix of mis-stated and mis-used terms from physics, postmodernism, literary analysis, and political theory are used to claim that physical reality, and especially gravitation, do not objectively exist, but are psychologically and politically constructed.

The journal Social Text published the paper in its Spring/Summer 1996 issue, whereupon Sokal publicly revealed his hoax. While some saw Sokal as attacking leftism in general, he was very clear that this was intended as a critique from within:

Politically, I'm angered because most (though not all) of this silliness is emanating from the self-proclaimed Left. We're witnessing here a profound historical volte-face. For most of the past two centuries, the Left has been identified with science and against obscurantism… epistemic relativism betrays this worthy heritage and undermines the already fragile prospects for progressive social critique. Theorizing about "the social construction of reality" won't help us find an effective treatment for AIDS or devise strategies for preventing global warming. Nor can we combat false ideas in history, sociology, economics and politics if we reject the notions of truth and falsity.… The results of my little experiment demonstrate, at the very least, that some fashionable sectors of the American academic Left have been getting intellectually lazy.

Traditionalist thinkers (conservative) scholar/critics view post-modernism as nihilistic. Gary Jason claims that "The failure of socialism, both empirically and theoretically, ... brought about a crisis of faith among socialists, and Post-modernism is their response."

See also

• Ideology
• Left-right politics -- discusses the range of various writers' meanings when they use the terms "left" and "right" in a political context.
• New social movements
• Political spectrum -- discusses various writers' views of the usefulness (or not) of the Left/Right dichotomy and of alternative spectra.
• Post-left anarchy -- discusses anarchist critiques critical of leftism, which attempts to escape the confines of traditional leftist ideology.
• Right wing politics
• Social criticism

Bibliography

• Encyclopedia of the American Left, ed. by Mari Jo Buhle, Paul Buhle, Dan Georgakas, Second Edition, Oxford University Press 1998, ISBN 0-19-512088-4
• Lin Chun, The British New Left, Edinburgh : Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1993
• Geoff Eley, Forging Democracy: The History of the Left in Europe, 1850-2000, Oxford University Press 2002, ISBN 0-19-504479-7
• Marxism on Terrorism by John Molyneux
• Terrorism and Communism by Karl Kautsky
• Leftism in India

External links

• The Marxists Internet Archive (a free online Marxist library)
• World Socialist Web Site News and analysis of current world developments in politics, economics and culture from a Marxist perspective.