Leftism

Leftism is a broad grouping of ideological tendencies which seek to alter and advance past the given socio-economic and political status quo in favor of a more egalitarian arrangement. In a modern context, leftist politics centers around the abolition of capitalism in favor of socialism and communism. Modern leftists also oppose the ideological forces in support of capitalism, including liberalism and fascism.

Common left-wing tendencies include Marxism, anarchism, reformist or democratic socialism, and the various sub-groupings in those trends.

Etymology

The terms left-wing and leftism are derived from the French Revolution, when the more progressive, egalitarian political factions were seated on the left-side of the assembly whereas the reactionary factions sat on the right-wing.

Tendencies

Marxism

Main article: Marxism

Marxism–Leninism

Main article: Marxism–Leninism

Maoism

Main article: Maoism

Trotskyism

Main article: Trotskyism

Left communism

Main article: Left communism

Anarchism

Main article: Anarchism

Reformist

Main article: Reformism

Democratic socialism

Main article: Democratic socialism

Issues

State verses anarchy

A common point of division between leftists is towards the question of a revolutionary state. Most Marxists, particularly Marxist–Leninists and Maoists, argue it is necessary to create a revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat following the revolution to maintain the gains of the working class, fight class enemies, etc. Anarchists and other libertarian socialists on the other hand believe that creating a state in any form, socialist or not, will lead to the leaders of that state growing as corrupt as the bourgeois government preceding it, which will reproduce capitalist society. Therefore, from an anarchist perspective, statelessness is the most liberative form of political organization.

Revolution verses reformism

Main article: Reform versus revolution

One of the main contentions in left-wing thought is the question of whether socialism is to come by gradual reforms and participation in bourgeois democracy or by the extra-legal revolutionary overthrow of the capitalist system. Reformist socialists argue that electoralism and participation in bourgeois parliament is adequate in slowly developing socialism, and is preferable over the potentially negative repercussions of a revolution. The main supporters of reformism are democratic socialists and Eurocommunists.

Revolutionary socialists, including most anarchists, Marxists, and other tendencies, regard reforms under capitalism as nothing more than temporary concessions by the ruling class, which themselves are often only able to be afforded by the wealth gained from imperialist extraction like in modern social democracies. Although many socialists argue that under certain conditions, tactical participation in parliament is warranted, revolutionists ultimately believe that only after the total overthrow of the violent capitalist system is socialism truly able to be achieved, and that long-term participation in the bourgeois government will result in nothing more than the party degenerating into a capitalist party (e.g. the modern Social Democratic Party of Germany).

See also

• Left-unity
• Internal debates
• United front