Left Wing Politics
Posted on January 24, 2008
Filed Under Politics
Meaning and definition
In politics, left-wing, the political left, or the Left are positions that advocate a society where all people have an equal opportunity, which leftists often describe as a “level playing field”. In general, the left seek to reform or abolish the existing social order in favor of a more equal distribution of wealth and privilege. Its emphasis on social change puts it in alliance with civil rights, feminist and green movements. Because of this, the left tends to support labor unions, worker cooperatives and sometimes communes.
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 many of the far left ideologies are not supported by all leftists.[1]
In political terms, now indicative of the radical or progressive socialist spectrum, but originally literally a spatial term. In the French estates general of 1789, commoners sat on the left of the king, because the nobles were in the position of honour on his right. This is the connection with the root sense of ‘left’ as pertaining to ‘the hand that is normally the weaker of the two’, a pejorative association also found in French gauche, Latin sinister, and their derivatives. In the assemblies of the French Revolution this evolved into a custom that the radical and egalitarian members sat towards the left-hand side of the assembly, viewed from the presiding officer’s chair (and higher up, so that some of them were labelled the ‘Mountain’).
What it is to be ‘left(-wing)’ varies so much over space or time that a definition is very difficult, but the following issue orientations would normally be involved: egalitarianism, support for the (organized) working class, support for nationalization of industry, hostility to marks of hierarchy, opposition to nationalistic foreign or defence policy. ‘Left’ is used to distinguish positions within parties as well as among them. A left-wing socialist is one who takes extreme positions on (some of) the items on this list. Left-wing communism (described by Lenin in a pamphlet of 1920 as ‘an infantile disorder’) may be cynically defined as all forms of communism not supported by the prevailing leadership of the Communist Party. However, in the 1920s and 1930s, left-wing deviation meant encouraging revolution among the people without caring sufficiently about the leading role of the Party; right-wing deviation meant too much support for NEP and the market.[2]
In politics, the portion of the political spectrum associated in general with egalitarianism and popular or state control of the major institutions of political and economic life. The term dates from the 1790s, when in the French revolutionary parliament the socialist representatives sat to the presiding officer’s left. Leftists tend to be hostile to the interests of traditional elites, including the wealthy and members of the aristocracy, and to favour the interests of the working class (proletariat). They tend to regard social welfare as the most important goal of government. Socialism is the standard leftist ideology in most countries of the world; communism is a more radical leftist ideology.[3]
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[1] Wikipedia
[2] Political Dictionary
[3] Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
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