Everything about Leftism totally explained
In
politics, "
left-wing", "
the political left", or "
the Left" often refers to politics that seek to reform social hierarchies and promote a more equal distribution of wealth and privilege. In general, the left advocates for a society where all people have an equal opportunity, often described as a "level playing field". Toward this end, most people who consider themselves left-wing support
labor unions, because they tend to make
labor and
management more equal bargaining partners. The term "the Left" can encompass a number of ideologies, from
progressivism,
social liberalism,
social democracy,
Left-libertarianism,
Green politics, and
socialism to
Syndicalism,
Marxism,
Communism, and some forms of
Anarchism.
Definition
From the 18th to 20th Centuries the "
Old Left" argued that differences in
social class determined the nature of a society. 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 and
neo-liberals,
greens, etc.
According to Barry Clark,
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 to some spectrum defined in terms of the global state of affairs.
Prominent examples of center-left parties include the
UK Labour Party, 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's the
Scottish National Party (SNP), in
Wales there's
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's a tradition of
liberation theology which focuses upon "social justice", and in some
Protestant countries there's 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). 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.
The Left and global justice / anti-corporate 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 doesn't 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."
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.
The left and the 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's a global movement with an automatic right to lead movements in the South.
The left and 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, don't 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."
Further Information
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