Far-left

Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some scholars consider it to be the left of communist parties, while others broaden it to include the left of social democracy. In certain instances—especially in the news media—''far left'' has been associated with some forms of authoritarianism, anarchism, communism, and Marxism, or are characterized as groups that advocate for revolutionary socialism and related communist ideologies, or anti-capitalism and anti-globalization. Far-left terrorism consists of extremist, militant, or insurgent groups that attempt to realize their ideals through political violence rather than using democratic processes.

Ideologies

Far-left politics are the leftmost ideologies on the left of the left–right political spectrum. They are a heterogeneous group of ideologies within left-wing politics, and wide variety exists between different far-left groups. Ideologies such as socialism, communism, and anarchism are typically described as far-left. Far-left politics is typically regarded as being to the left of social democracy. As with all political alignments, the exact boundaries of centre-left versus far-left within left-wing politics are not clearly defined and can vary depending on context. Far-left parties sometimes avoid anti-capitalist rhetoric to appeal to the centre-left, while the centre-left may invoke language of radicalism or incorporate some of its ideas. The modern far-left distinguishes itself from social democracy through its inherent opposition to capitalism, neoliberalism, and globalisation.

Academic study of far-left politics often uses ''radical left'' as an all-encompassing term, though some far-left groups object to this usage as derogatory. ''Extreme left'' and ''anti-capitalist'' are also commonly used as synonyms for the far-left. The ''radical left'' and the ''extreme left'' are often used as equivalents, though some writers create distinctions between them. ''Hard left'' may also be used. Far-left political parties use a variety of descriptors for themselves, including workers', labour, socialist, communist, militant, and revolutionary parties. Far-left ideologies are typically derived from either anarchism or Marxism, and the two are frequently combined or integrated together.

A unified working class has traditionally been the focus of far-left movements. Karl Marx defined the working class in the 19th century to include all waged employees of all industries. The development of middle management and decline of the ''petite bourgeoisie'' complicated the definition over time. The modern European far-left overall has higher educational attainment than its far-right equivalent. Students and intellectuals have often been inclined to support far-left politics. The far-left may appeal to independent producers or craftsmen who fear competition for large corporations. The unemployed, including the elderly and disabled, are associated with the working class as defined by the far-left because of the disadvantages they may face. The majority of left-leaning labourers preferred social democracy over far-left ideologies.

The far-left is sometimes divided into the Old Left and the New Left. The New Left developed as a separate movement from Soviet-style communism, considering it to be too resistant to social change. It came as a response to developments of the mid-20th century like deindustrialization, globalization, and neoliberalism. It is common for these far-left movements to define themselves based on their opposition to these concepts instead of affirmative descriptions of their ideologies. The New Left is anti-imperialist, anti-American, and anti-NATO. It emphasises ideas relating to civil rights, environmentalism, and feminism. Rather than form a vanguard party, New Left groups typically seek to incite a desire among the public to revolt, which can then bring about a more established leadership. Ideas such as standpoint theory and intersectionality emerged from New Left movements and became influential in academia. The New Left in the United States was associated with Black nationalism and the Black power movement. European Green parties formed from the New Left in the 1960s and 1970s, but these are not traditionally considered far-left. By the 21st century, the ideas of the New Left have largely been subsumed by either communists or social democrats.

Post-Soviet far-left movements in Europe and the United States are associated with anti-globalization and anti-neoliberalism. The far-left also includes left-libertarianism. The ultra-left is an anti-Leninist communist movement that believes communism should be allowed to rise naturally when the people of a given area are inspired to revolt, instead of through a planned revolution. Post-Soviet far-left parties often take ideas from multiple schools of far-left thought or represent the far-left more generally instead of endorsing a specific ideology.

Left-wing populism commonly expresses far-left ideals. Populists describe themselves as protectors of the common man and define a group of elites who rule through corruption. Populism within the far-left supports popular sovereignty and opposes political establishment. It may or may not support the democratic institutions through which it seeks power. Some populist movements may define themselves as far-left but lack cohesive ideology and only make use of left-wing rhetoric as a means toward anti-establishment politics. In Europe, the support for populist left politics comes from three overlapping groups: far-left subcultures, disaffected social democrats, and protest voters—those who are opposed to their country's European Union membership.

Radical environmentalism, while not inherently left-wing, often overlaps with the far-left. These movements primarily exist in North America and Europe.

Socialism

Various currents and movements of socialism are considered far-left. Socialism has historically been divided into left-wing reformist socialism and far-left revolutionary socialism. Modern social democracy is generally considered to be a centre-left socialist ideology.

Eco-socialism opposes capitalism from environmental and feminist perspectives as well as economic ones, seeing capitalism as the cause of environmental damage. The Nordic Green Left Alliance is a major eco-socialist party alliance in Northern Europe.

Democratic socialism supports the replacing the capitalist system with state ownership and participatory democracy, and welfare state. It opposes both totalitarianism and neoliberalism, presenting themselves as a third option to communism and centre-left social democracy. The emphasis that democratic socialists place on different issues can vary greatly between movements. They may be strictly socioeconomic parties, or they may also take stances on social or environmental issues. The term ''democratic socialism'' was not clearly defined in the 20th century when it was used interchangeably with ''social democracy'', but people who identified as democratic socialists were often those who considered themselves more radical than social democrats. This distinction has become more common since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Some communists also refer to themselves as democratic socialists to distinguish themselves from Marxism–Leninism. Some democratic socialist groups adopt a stronger form of social democracy involving non-electoral political movements, while others espouse more traditional leftism. They vary in their stances on Marxism.

Communism and Marxism

Communism is the belief that humanity should abandon class divisions in favor of a communist society organized around the needs and abilities of its citizens. Modern communism is a form of revolutionary socialism based on support for the communist society described in the writing of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxism supports total equality in all aspects and oppose individual freedom. Since its introduction, elements of Marxism have become a common factor between most far-left groups. Communist ideology appears in a variety of forms, especially since the dissolution of the Soviet Union left communists without a unifying force.

Marxism is based heavily in political theory and is directed toward a planned system for society. Marxism specifically opposes capitalism, as opposed to anarchists who oppose the state in its entirety. Marx and Engels believed that the most developed nations were the most likely to see a communist revolution.

Marxists believe that capitalism should be replaced by a dictatorship of the proletariat, which would cause capitalism to degrade and quickly disappear. The early Soviet Union applied this through soviet councils, which were to serve as a democratic method of achieving the dictatorship of the proletariat. Historically, successful communist revolutionaries have consistently imposed authoritarian rule over society despite invoking concepts of equality when seeking power. Academics in the 21st century generally consider communism to be incompatible with democratic society, though advocates of communism may counter this with proposals of communal organisation to compete with privatisation.

Leninism sees the proletariat as the primary movers of the revolution. It moved away from the belief that, by taking advantage of popular unrest, revolutions would occur in more developed nations. It was unsuccessful in more developed nations, as the middle and upper classes were more established, and the unionist working class outnumbered any revolutionary peasantry.

Marxism–Leninism has historically been a major far-left ideology, especially before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Stalinism supports a one-party state with a planned economy. Conservative groups within Marxism–Leninism, such as the Communist Party of Greece and the Portuguese Communist Party, support revitalisation of Soviet-style government and adhere to a classical Leninist interpretation of communism. Reform communists such as the Cypriot Progressive Party of Working People retain Soviet-style organization but adopt public involvement in government, the use of a market system, and acceptance of New Left policies.

Maoism developed as an alternative form of Marxist—Leninist-style vangaurdism that emphasised anti-imperialism. Maoism sees the peasantry as the primary movers of the revolution. This spawned Guevarism, an ideology advocated by Che Guevara and Régis Debray which holds that foco guerrilla warfare can serve the role of a vanguard instead of a formal vanguard party.

Eurocommunism supports a reformist, democratic approach to achieving communism and opposes the ideology of the Soviet Union.

Latin American liberation theology blends Catholicism and Marxism.

Anarchism

Anarchism is a far-left ideology that rejects all forms of authority, social hierarchy, or socially-imposed control over the people. This manifests as a total rejection of the state in any form. It is a revolutionary ideology that seeks to overthrow capitalism at once instead of dismantling it over time. Some anarchists like Mikhail Bakunin and Peter Kropotkin advocate a society based on social relations and interdependence. Individualist anarchism, developed by figures like Max Stirner and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, supports the abolition of mutual ties between individuals. Insurrectionary anarchism holds that civilisation must be actively destroyed because it is the cause of human suffering. It involves the use of individual cells to carry out guerrilla attacks against people and places associated with political or economic power. Green anarchism is an ideology within anarchism, and in its modern form it argues that climate change will become apocalyptic. Anarcho-primitivism is a sub-type of green anarchism which holds that civilisation is responsible for environmental damage and must be dismantled.

Historical anarchist movements believed that acts of violence would make revolution more viable. The belief was that acts of violence would make the public more aware of grievances against the established political system, demonstrate that the state is vulnerable, provoke the state into responding to expose hypocrisy, and encourage others to carry out their own acts of violence. Opponents of civilisation may support accelerationism, which endorses acts that will increase chaos and instability within society to bring about its downfall more quickly. Anarchism has never achieved widespread success.

Positions

Economics and class

The goal of far-left politics is to create a classless society. It seeks a post-capitalist world without exploitation, oppression, or class inequality. Here every individual would have access to basic necessities while prosperity and knowledge would be shared. This is often described as communist society, though terms such as ''socialism'' or ''democratisation'' may be used to describe a similar concept. Under a communist society as envisioned by the far-left, all means of production would be owned collectively and resources would be subject to distribution according to need. The specific nature of this society is not strictly defined, but it is generally agreed among the far-left that it would be self-governing and extend globally. The method to bring about communist society became the primary distinction among far-left ideologies as they developed, and ideas of how communist society should function changed over time. While the far-left historically opposed social democracy over its reformist nature, the post-Soviet far-left accuses social democracy of being too comfortable with neoliberalism.

Far-left groups support redistribution of income and wealth and advocate equality of outcome over equal opportunity. It argues that capitalism and consumerism cause social inequality and advocate their dissolution. Some far-left groups also support the abolition of private property. The far-left rejects neoliberalism, but it also rejects centre-left ideas like social democracy and Keynesian economics. It supports social advances within capitalism, but only as temporary measures until capitalism's abolition. Far-left ideology presents a moral hierarchy in which those who are deemed oppressive are considered wholly immoral.

As an extension of left-wing politics, the far-left maintains that inequality is a fixable problem. European populist left politics share many of the values of centre-left politics, including cosmopolitanism, altruism, and egalitarianism. By the 21st century, the European far-left expressed interest in many political issues traditionally associated with progressivism, including cost of living, housing shortages, and identity politics. Marxists support nationalisation of industry and oppose gentrification. Supporters of the far-left and the far-right in 21st century Europe express similar concerns that lead them to radical ideology and typically come from lower economic classes. They both lean toward nationalism, Euroscepticism, and populism.

Social and environmental issues

Communism has historically emphasised economics and class over social issues. In the 1970s and 1980s, far-left movements in Western Europe were increasingly defined by the new social movements, which gave prominence to issues such as environmentalism, animal rights, women's rights, the peace movement. These ideas as a singular movement became less prominent in far-left politics as they were subsumed by green politics, but they are still disparately supported by many in the far-left. The American far-left advocates social equity, and it cites white privilege and male privilege as the causes of inequity.

Far-left parties hold a variety of positions on environmentalism. Far-left environmentalist movements may support their causes for the sake of all living things, or out of interest in social justice for those affected by environmental damage. Those who support radical environmentalism might also support typical pro-environmental positions but demand that they be done rapidly instead of gradually. Modern radical environmentalists maintain belief in the idea of climate apocalypse, which has been adopted by moderates in some nations as well. The far-left opposed nuclear power in the 1980s on environmental grounds. The anti-globalisation movement adopted environmentalism as one of its main causes as it developed in the 1990s and 2000s.

Government and revolution

The far-left is a form of radical politics, as it calls for fundamental change to the capitalist socio-economic structure of society. This distinguishes it from the reformist politics of the centre-left. Members of the far-left have varying opinions on revolution and the state. Both anarchist and statist far-left ideologies may support disestablishment of traditional sociopolitical structures. The far-left has different stances on democracy, but it opposes liberal democracy. Far-left groups sometimes support direct democracy or participatory democracy with emphasis on protecting the rights of those who are disenfranchised in liberal democracy. The revolutionary left supports total rebellion against capitalist governments. This form of far-left politics has become less common over time as revolutions failed to develop and far-left groups have become more willing to work within liberal capitalist nations. Deradicalisation has become more common within the broader political left.

As a radical ideological system, the far-left opposes political pluralism. Academics such as Hans Eysenck and Edward Shils suggest that extremism is a better means to define ideology than the left–right spectrum, and that far-left ideas like Bolshevism are related to far-right ideas like Nazism because of their common opposition to political pluralism, liberal democracy, and private enterprise. Opponents of this view argue that extreme ideologies are separated by social class or that the far-left supports non-democratic means only to a democratic end. Some supporters of left-wing politics define support for democracy as equivalent to being left-wing, rejecting ''extremist'' label and arguing that communist states are actually far-right entities. In developed nations where the proletariat has influence over society, communist groups opt for institutional compromise over revolution.

Far-left groups frequently advocate the Marxist system of vanguardism, in which a select group is allowed to form a vanguard party to function as a revolution's leadership. It holds that history is guided by advances in technology and ownership of the means of production, that oppression permeates all aspects of society, that there will be an end of history where oppression no longer exists, and that there is a class enforcing this oppression that must be overcome because it cannot understand or accept the end of history. It emphasises that this system of oppression and revolution is something that could be studied scientifically, and the vanguard party asserts that it is able to understand this science. Vanguardism incorporates democratic centralism, where the party membership makes a decision together and then enforces it on all of its members. It presents the vanguard party's ideas as inevitable and allows contrary ideas to be dismissed as false consciousness that was imposed by oppressors.

Geopolitics and global affairs

As part of the left-wing, far-left politics is associated with internationalism and it rejects loyalty to the working class of one nation at the expense of others. During the Cold War, socialist internationalism was often applied to mean loyalty to the Soviet Union. Marxists oppose economic globalisation, and the post-Soviet far-left is especially associated with the anti-globalisation movement. The far-left opposes major geopolitical institutions such as NATO and the International Monetary Fund. The European far-left is typically Eurosceptic and opposes the European Union, either challenging its liberal orientation or rejecting the idea of a union entirely from the perspective of left-wing nationalism. Many support entry into the European Union but wish to reorganise or repurpose it.

The far-left is typically anti-imperialist, though supporters of the Eastern and Western blocs were often more accepting of their own side's actions during the Cold War. Marxists oppose imperialist actions and military activity by the Western world and especially from the United States. The far-left may support militancy while also opposing militarist ideas. During the Cold War, far-left groups associated with new social movements advocated for the interests of the Third World. Far-left movements in Europe generally support Kurdish nationalism and provide assistance to militant Kurdish groups.

Electoral dynamics

Far-left parties have historically been unable to win control of the government in parliamentary systems unless they join coalitions with social democratic governments. They are commonly unsuccessful in enacting policy in times where they do lead the government. The far-left does not benefit from an incumbency advantage as much as other ideological groups and is more likely to fail in reelection efforts. As with far-right parties, far-left parties are typically forced to moderate in democratic systems to gain support among voters, leading to factionalism as they disagree on how much to moderate. Far-left parties may be challenged by right-wing parties with welfare chauvinism, which supports a welfare state but restricts it from those seen as foreigners.

The far-left gain more support in nations with long-term social inequality, and when there are poor economic conditions. Far-left voters are more likely to be working class, trade union members, and irreligious. Older, working class, male, and less educated voters are more likely to support communism over democratic socialism. The far-left primarily competes with social democratic parties for votes in electoral systems. Green parties sometimes provide electoral competition for the far-left, as both groups appeal to similar demographics. They vary in how willing they are to work alongside centre-left parties in electoral politics, which is a major point of dispute within many far-left groups. Alignment with centre-left parties sometimes causes far-left parties to moderate their positions. Strengthening of the far-left in a democratic system is associated with the weakening of democracy as it rejects political pluralism.

Far-left politics often has a sizeable non-electoral aspect, made up of trade unions and social movements. The far-left has historically supported direct activism over electoral gains, seeing it as a better position to improve workers' rights and build support for communist society. Movements in democratic nations may disagree over whether to participate in electoral politics, with some adhering to the Leninist belief that bourgeois governments should be overthrown. Ideologies such as anarchism, left-communism, and some New Left positions reject electoral participation entirely. When European far-left parties have gained power, they generally moved away from non-electoral activism and used their influence to limit its reach. Among the Western European far-left, support for electoral participation increased throughout the 20th century as revolution appeared unfeasible. Far-left parties in Europe are often affiliated with the Party of the European Left. The far-left is historically minuscule in Southeast Asia where it has been repressed or failed to develop.

Communist parties were the most common far-left parties between the 1920s and the 1960s, and in many cases they were the only ones. Many other far-left parties emerged in the 1960s, including socialist and left-wing nationalist parties. As industrial workers became less common by the 21st century, far-left parties seeking power have been forced to either define the working class more loosely or to form alliances with other classes and ideological groups.

History

Early history

Societies resembling communist society have been postulated throughout human history, and many have been proposed as the earliest socialist or communist ideas. The ideas of Plato have been described as an early type of socialism. In medieval Europe, some philosophers argued that Jesus believed in shared ownership of property and that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church was contrary to his teachings. This included the Taborites, who attempted to create a social structure that resembled a communist society. Numerous emancipation movements have occurred throughout history, including slave rebellions and peasant revolts. Early socialists believed that violent revolution against capitalism was virtually guaranteed to eventually take place, either because it would be initiated by the far-left or because democratic attempts to implement socialism would be fought by the far-right.

Early examples of communist societies in fiction include ''Utopia'' by Thomas More, which proposed a society without personal property, and '' The City of the Sun'' by Tommaso Campanella, which proposed a society without the family unit.

Far-left politics comes from the left-wing of the left–right political spectrum, which developed during the French Revolution. Modern far-left politics developed from support for socialism. This can be traced to Europe and North America in the late 18th century, when industrialization and political upheaval caused discontent among the working class. Socialists were those who objected to the changing social and economic structures associated with industrialization, in that they promoted individualism over collectivism and that they created wealth for some but not for others, creating economic inequality.

19th century

Early European socialism was developed in the 19th century as the concept of a working class formed. It was influenced by numerous philosophers, such as Mikhail Bakunin, Louis Blanc, Louis Auguste Blanqui, Henri de Saint-Simon, Friedrich Engels

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases